Violin Concerto by V. Kazarin, analysis f2

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Form `2
Preparatory publication of terminology and scholarly apparatus for the concept of ‘Tonal Atonality’




An overview of Vyacheslav Kazarin’s violin concerto
in the context of the concept of ‘Tonal Atonality’

Video
https://youtu.be/A5p3HoWWH1Q



The concerto ‘From the Heart to the Sun!’ — a work in which the traditional idea of the violin concerto [soloist + orchestra] is reinterpreted through a contemporary harmonic model, where:

- tonality — structure,
- atonality — texture,
- polyphony — a mechanism of integration.

This is neither eclecticism nor polystylism: V. Kazarin does not mix styles, but weaves a musical fabric from a single principle, where the tonal and the atonal are not opposed, but mutually conditioned.



1. General dramaturgy and form


It is characteristic that the dramaturgy of this very lengthy score is built upon a progressive movement, seemingly from disparate episodes, whose purpose is to imitate the initial ideological and semantic instability [fragments of thematic material in development are taken from various sections of the work and incorporated into the exposition] - towards a stable sound, towards light, clarity, a vertical ascent culminating in the final affirmation of the hymnal Main Theme.
This corresponds to the title: ‘From the Heart to the Sun!’ – from the search for truth in the world of Yavi to the divinely exalted beyond earthly bounds.


Main stages of the form [in summary]:

` Introduction — a ‘luminous’ descending movement

- divisi in 8
- sul tasto
- polyrhythm 9:4:3:2
- absence of stable anchors
- in the complex ‘div. in 3 … p … legato … sul tasto’

Here, atonality functions as a texture, creating an ‘environment’ in which there are as yet no structural anchors.


` The soloist’s entrance — the emergence of structure The soloist introduces a linear, directional melody which gradually forms tonal centres. This is tonality as a structure emerging from a diffuse, sonorous sound.


` Development — the integration of polyphony The orchestra and soloist engage in complex polyphonic interactions:

- imitations
- canonical shifts
- polyrhythm
- ‘layered’ dynamic groups

Polyphony here is not mere ornamentation, but a mechanism for integrating the tonal and the atonal.


` Climaxes — ‘solar flares’

These are often built on:

- unison or octave movements
- a sharp transition from sul tasto to ordinario
- fp–f–ff dynamics
- dense vertical lines, not functional but ‘energetic’

These are moments where structure [tonality] and texture [atonality] coincide in a single energetic gesture.


` Conclusion — dissolving into light

A return to sul tasto, harmonics, and the most delicate dynamics [ppp]. But now the texture is not chaotic — it is illuminated by the structure — ‘the meaningful knowledge of the path travelled’.



2. The role of the solo violin



` The soloist is not a heroic fighter, as in a Romantic concerto, nor an ‘ensemble leader’, as in the Baroque. He is a generator of structure.

Functions of the soloist:

- introduces linear elements from which the orchestra ‘cultivates’ a harmonic environment
- initiates polyphonic processes
- stabilises tonal centres
- sometimes ‘dissolves’ into the texture (sul tasto, pp), becoming part of it

The soloist is the ‘heart’ from which the impulse emanates.



3. The string orchestra as a textural medium


In Kazarin’s work, the orchestra is not merely an accompaniment, but a creative medium for the soloist-creator.

Key features of the orchestration:

- divisi in 3–4 are almost constant
- polyrhythms (9:4, 7:4, 5:3)
- sul tasto / sul ponticello / flautando / gliss nat. flg
- dynamic layers, where each group plays its own dynamics
- micropolyphony reminiscent of Ligeti, but with tonal anchors

The orchestra creates an atonal texture, but this atonality is not chaos, but an organised environment subordinate to the structure.



4. Harmonic language: ‘Tonal Atonality’

According to the author’s definition, here: ‘Tonalitiy is structure, atonality is texture, polyphony is a mechanism of integration’.


In the concerto, this manifests itself as follows


` 4.1. Tonalitiy as structure is expressed:

- in the soloist’s stable melodic phrases
- in recurring intervals [often thirds, fourths]
- in centres of gravity [often on open strings: A, D, G]
- in the orchestra’s ‘supporting’ unisons

This is not functional tonality, but centric tonality.


` 4.2. Atonality as texture

The orchestra creates:

- clusters
- micropolyphony
- diffuse harmonies
- irregular rhythmic layers

Yet this atonality does not undermine the structure, but rather frames it.


` 4.3. Polyphony as integration

Polyphony in Kazarin’s work:

- is not thematic
- is not imitative in the classical sense
- but is energetic

It connects:

- the linearity of the soloist
- the textural quality of the orchestra
- harmonic centres

Polyphony is a mechanism that makes tonality and atonality parts of a single process.


` 5. Rhythm and metre

The concerto is rich in:

- polyrhythm
- metric shifts
- sustained pedal textures
- ‘floating’ durations
- ‘9:4’, ‘div. in 3’, ‘sul tasto pp’, ‘legato simile’

Rhythm is the movement of light, not a mechanical pulse.



Conclusion: the concerto’s place in contemporary music


Vyacheslav Kazarin’s violin concerto ‘From the Heart to the Sun’ is an example of 21st-century neotonal thinking, where:

- there is no opposition between tonal and atonal
- there is no destruction of tradition
- there is no stylistic eclecticism

There is a single principle of creation, where structure and texture are two sides of the same process.


This makes the concerto unique in contemporary music: it bears no resemblance to postmodernism, the avant-garde or neoclassicism.



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

` A-CVK