Faustian semantics of intonation dramaturgy in Second Symphony by S. Rachmaninoff

Abstract

The intonation dramaturgy of S. Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony – the center of attraction in the structure of the composer's emblematic art system - is characterized by an abundance of signs that allow to conjugate its content with the nearest and distant works of genius. The application of the contextual method of research and overcoming the established interpretations of the Second Symphony as “landscape” and “elegy” made it possible to reveal a semantic program typical of Faustinian themes in the composer's legacy, to interpret the work as a lyrical drama, a prophetic advance to the forthcoming “Faust Sonata”. The theme of the introduction to Part I is interpreted as the original “Faust complex”, the “faust-theme” (the schemes of doubt, unsolvable question, eternal dissatisfaction, and frustration) of Rachmaninoff's “Faust Symphony”. The traits of the drama of rock in its individualized-internal and objectivized-internal incarnations are established here. In the second part, the intonation symbols of the Mephistopheles and Eternal Beginnings were discovered in the context of the development of the Faustinian concept. The theme of love in the third part is similar to the Good News. Proceeding from the Faustian context, Finale is presented as an affirmation of the hero's courage, tested by doubt, confrontation with the sharpness of Mephistopheles' irony, and purification with divine love. In the fourth part, the image of Faust is embodied, similar to the hero of the finale of the second part of the Getev tragedy, whose “high soul” has learned the “highest moment” of truth.  The discovery of Faust's potential allows us to see in the Symphony features of both hidden and philosophical programming. Studying Second Symphony in the context of the intonation-semantic “dictionary” in Rachmaninoff's legacy allows us to reconsider the interpretation of the work as a festive landscape. A work in Rachmaninoff's legacy is regarded as a zone of attraction for works close to him (in particular, the "Faust Sonata") and distant in time (“Symphonic Dances”). The discovery of the associative intonation and sign layer of the work helps to reveal the multidimensional nature of the composer's idea and the dialectics of Rachmaninoff's worldview.