The interpretative dimension of R. Hahn’s piano creativity

Statement of the problem. Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947) is a French composer of the “Belle Époque” who remained in the shadow of his contemporaries for a long time, and his piano legacy, in particular, is insufficiently studied both in the scientific and performing context. The lack of an established interpretative tradition and systematized information about the available performing versions has led to a limited presence of his compositions in concert practice and the media space. The issue of identifying approaches to interpreting Hahn’s music is becoming particularly relevant, as it opens up the opportunity for performers and researchers not only to more deeply understand Hahn’s individual style, but also to reassess his role in the context of French musical culture of the early 20th century. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the article is to form a holistic view of the interpretative dimension of Reynaldo Hahn’s piano creative work by analysing the existing media publications and releases, as well as to identify the main approaches to the interpretation of his piano compositions by comparing two independent complete audio collections – by Italian pianists Cristin Ariagno and Alessandro Dellavan. The methodological basis is based on historical (using the chronological principle and elements of quantitative analysis), comparative and interpretive methods. The historical approach allowed us to trace the dynamics of the spread of interpretations of R. Hahn’s piano compositions in a time perspective and to analyse the back catalogues of performers, while the comparative method provided the possibility of a detailed comparison of two performing versions. The interpretive method made it possible to identify semantic, stylistic, and expressive features in the performers’ interpretation of Hahn’s works. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the interpretative dimension of R. Hahn’s piano creative work for the first time has become the subject of scientific attention not only in the Ukrainian, but also in the international musicological context. Results and conclusions. The article presents the releases of R. Hahn’s piano music available in the media space and traces the dynamics of their spreading over time. A comparison of the releases of the complete collection of R. Hahn’s piano compositions performed by Cristina Ariagno and Alessandro Dellavan allowed us to outline the artistic orientations of the pianists and the differences in their interpretations. Cristina Ariagno demonstrates an approach that can be characterized as dramatic-expressive: her interpretation is distinguished by active tempo movement, contrasting dynamics, bright sound colours, psychological tension and emotional rhetoric. Instead, Alessandro Dellavan chooses a lyrical-philosophical or contemplative type of interpretation, preferring chamberness, inner concentration and meditative sound. His interpretation is distinguished by a delicate touché, a subtle gradation of dynamics, which emphasizes the philosophical depth and shades of intimacy inherent in Hahn’s music. Both artists share a desire to popularize little-known composers, but their stylistic vectors differ: Ariagno focuses mainly on the French repertoire, while Dellavan’s interests have a wider range. The results obtained open the way for further musicological research into the piano legacy by R. Hahn, as well as their practical mastery by pianists-performers.