Style composer V. Kazarin, analytics

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` We are pleased to present an information resource that provides a comprehensive overview of the work of the outstanding Russian composer Vyacheslav Kazarin within the context of the finest achievements of World Culture.

Sincerely, art historian Arina Ryazantseva!

Blog, there will be a lot of interesting things:
https://composervaycheslavkazarin.tilda.ws
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https://savasavichev.wixsite.com/composer-kazarin



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Form `1
Preparatory publication of the terminology and theoretical framework of the concept of Tonal Atonality
  Following the first three forms, the TA analysis will be organised into collections, making it easier for researchers interested in this topic to access.




A brief overview of Vyacheslav Kazarin’s style: his own original definition is ‘tonal atonality’, that is, a combination of traditional tonality with atonal structures, where the former ‘gives rise to’ the latter.



Key features of the style


` 1. Tonal atonality as the core of the language

Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that the basis of V. Kazarin’s style is the simultaneous presence of tonality and atonality, where the tonal foundation remains primary, whilst atonal elements grow out of it as a natural extension. This creates the effect of expanding the structures of form: the music remains ‘recognisable’ through its reliance on a tonal centre, yet is saturated with unconventional harmonies and free progressions.


2. Polyphonic Thinking

His works are characterised by a particularly vivid sense of polyphonic development, as well as a grand scale and multi-layered texture. This is most clearly evident in large-scale works such as: the violin concerto ‘From the Heart to the Sun’, the piano concerto ‘Along the Heavenly Iria’, ‘Agartha – On the Threshold of the Ages’, and ‘I Greet You, Da’Aria’.


` 3. ‘Natural essence’ and imagery

The composer’s priority is his pursuit of imagery and natural and cosmic metaphors — ‘sunlight’, ‘the universal scale of the narrative’, ‘naturalness’. This lends the music a distinctly emotional and philosophical orientation.


` 4. Synthesis of the academic and the experimental

V. Kazarin’s creative legacy is represented both in academic genres [symphonic and chamber works] and in experimental projects, including original genres of his own invention; see ‘The Commode Genre’. This speaks to a desire to expand the traditional boundaries of composition, and thus of compositional thinking as such.


5. Working with folk material

His piano and vocal music. Furthermore, in a number of projects, Kazarin uses folk melodies, creating contemporary arrangements and stylised adaptations – transcriptions [for example, ‘Moldavian’, ‘Caf; Latino’, ‘Lark’ in the Badaboom-Show project; the electronic violin project Natalya: ‘Jiga-Nata’, ‘Asia-Dance’; stylisations and quotations from folk music in the electronic art project ‘Rus Svetlaya’].


An overview of his style

Vyacheslav Kazarin’s style can be described as synthetic, philosophical and experimental, based on a combination of traditional musical logic with extended harmony and polyphony. His music strives for grand imagery, often drawing on the symbolism of light, nature and the cosmos, and also incorporates elements of folklore and original concepts.



Addition
V. Kazarin’s Style in the Context of Contemporary Music


` 1. Comparison with Arvo Pyart

Pyart — minimalism, ‘tintinnabuli’, asceticism, spiritual contemplation.
Kazarin — a richer texture, polyphonic development, vivid emotionality.
The main difference: P;rt strives for the purification of form, Kazarin for the expansion of harmony and imagery.


` 2. Comparison with Sofia Gubaidulina

Gubaidulina — mysticism, experimentation with timbres, spiritual symbolism.
Kazarin — also uses philosophical and cosmic themes, but harmonically relies on a tonal foundation rather than the radical avant-garde.
The main difference: Gubaidulina dismantles tonality, Kazarin — expands it.
 

` 3. Comparison with Valentin Silvestrov

Silvestrov — ‘metamusic’, post-Romanticism, nostalgic lyricism.
Kazarin — more epic, grand in scale, drawing on mythological and Slavic-Aryan imagery.
The main difference: Silvestrov — intimacy and silence; Kazarin — cosmic breadth and drama.


` 4. Comparison with John Adams

Adams — post-minimalism, rhythmic drive, clear structure.
Kazarin — rhythm, which is part of an overall process focused primarily on polyphony and imagery rather than rhythmic pulsation.
The main difference: Adams — structural clarity; Kazarin — free development and symbolism.


` 5. A comparison with contemporary Russian academic composers

Unlike many Russian composers who work within the strict academic tradition, Kazarin actively blends academic music, folk, rock elements and singer-songwriter genres.
His projects include art rock, singer-songwriter music, chamber music and experimental cycles.



To summarise.


` Composer Pyart:

Harmony – minimalism; Texture – transparent; Thematics – spirituality; proximity to Kazarin – low;


` Composer Gubaidulina:

Harmony – avant-garde; Texture – experimental; Thematics – mysticism; proximity to Kazarin – moderate;


` Composer Silverstev:

Harmony – post-Romanticism; Texture – lyrical; Thematic focus – nostalgia; proximity to Kazarin – moderate;


` Composer Adams:

Harmony – post-minimalism; Texture – rhythmic; Thematic focus – social abstraction; proximity to Kazarin – low;


` Composer Kazarin:

Harmony – tonal atonality; Texture – polyphony, density; Themes – space, mythology, nature;


Conclusion
Kazarin stands apart from his contemporary composers: he is neither a minimalist, nor an avant-gardist, nor a pure neo-Romantic. His style is a synthesis in which a hierarchical construct generates atonality from tonality, a distinct polyphonic logic, resulting in a formal structure defined by the concept of the Ontology of the Centre [see the TA glossary]. And all this within the context of sacred mythological imagery, which brings his style closer to the postmodernist tradition, yet with a distinctly personal philosophy.




Identifying possible ‘hereditary’ influences and
aesthetic parallels


`1. The root zone: the Russian symphonic tradition

This is the foundation upon which V. Kazarin’s compositional and imaginative thinking is built.
Rimsky-Korsakov — orchestral colour, natural imagery.
Borodin — epic grandeur, broad melodic lines.
Shostakovich — drama, grand scale of forms.
Scriabin — mysticism, cosmic symbolism, extended harmony.
Parallel: Kazarin inherits the Russian ‘cosmic’ tradition — from Scriabin to the late Shnitke — but makes it more tonally grounded, reinterpreting it down to a tonal anchor — a tonal ‘knot’.


` 2. Harmonic zone: tonal atonality

His own term — ‘tonal atonality’ — places him in dialogue with composers who expanded tonality without destroying it.
Similar in approach:
Lutos;awski — controlled atonality, hybrid harmonies.
Ligeti (early) — micro-polyphony, but with a sense of centres.
Sylvester — post-Romantic tonality, but with blurred boundaries.
Parallel: Kazarin does not venture into the radical avant-garde, but builds a bridge between tradition and experimentation.


` 3. The Polyphonic Realm

His music is often multi-layered, rich in voice leading and counterpoint.
Related figures:
Bach — as a source of polyphonic thinking (not in style, but in principle).
Shnitke — polystylistic multi-layeredness.
P;rt (early) — prior to minimalism, during the period of complex polyphony.
Parallel: Kazarin uses polyphony not as an academic discipline, but as a means of ‘unfolding’ an image.


` 4. The figurative-philosophical zone

Here lies his penchant for mythological, natural and cosmic themes.
Kindred spirits:
Scriabin — cosmism, mysticism.
Gubaidulina — spiritual symbolism.
Messiaen — nature, light, metaphysics.
Parallel: Kazarin gravitates towards ‘solar’ and ‘cosmic’ images, but does so drawing on Slavic-Aryan sacred traditions, less avant-garde than Gubaidulina, and less mystical than Messiaen.


` 5. Folklore and Ethnic Zone

In his academic music [we omit popular music here], elements of Slavic folklore are present, but without stylisation or direct quotation.
Parallels:
Lyadov — stylised folk character.
Sviridov — Russian lyricism and epic quality.
Kancheli — meditative simplicity with ethnic roots.
Parallel: Kazarin uses folklore not as a quotation, but as an ‘energetic code’.


` 6. The Postmodern Zone

His works feature a blending of genres, original formats, and a synthesis of academic and popular music.
Related figures:
Shnitke — polystylism.
Kancheli (late period) — simplicity + philosophical depth.
Glas — a synthesis of academic and popular perception.


Parallel: Kazarin is not a minimalist, but he utilises the postmodern freedom of blending.



Arina Ryazantseva, art historian and biographer of composer Vyacheslav Kazarin
Russia, Moscow 2026

` A-CVK