From Beethoven to Martinů: Approaching the Problem of the Spiritual and Style Traditions in European Music

The classic of Czech music of the 20th century Bohuslav Martinu created his own stylistic concept based on national and European art traditions. One of the starting points of his work, containing anticipations into the future, was the legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven, especially his late works. The influence of a musician of such a scale as Beethoven on the work of Bohuslav Martinů is considered in this article in three aspects: heroic-dramatic and lyric-genre concepts of symphony as the basis of musical drama; “The starry sky above us and the moral law within us” (Kant) as a creative Credo; phenomenon of late style. The Ninth Symphony, the summit achievement of Beethoven as a symphonist, summarized the main ideas of these concepts and served as a reference point for musicians for the next two centuries. Beethoven’s late style became the forerunner of stylistic realities in 20th-century musical art. The article notes the traits of continuity with the work of the Viennese classic and at the same time the novelty of the interpretation of the classical model in the art of the 20th century.