NEOCLASSICAL THINKING IN SOLO VIOLIN SONATAS BY GUSTAV KŘIVINKA AND JAN NOVÁK

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of neoclassical thinking in the genre of the solo violin sonata in twentieth-century Czech music, based on the works of Gustav Křivinka and Jan Novák. The relevance of the study lies in the need for a systematic understanding of the transformation of historical genre and stylistic models within twentieth-century instrumental music, where neoclassicism emerges as one of the leading artistic strategies. In this context, the solo violin sonata acquires particular significance as a genre that combines the tradition of polyphonic thinking with modern means of musical expression. The aim of the article is to identify the specific manifestations of neoclassical principles in the solo violin sonatas of the aforementioned composers. The methodological framework is based on analytical, structural-functional, and comparative approaches, which make it possible to reveal the features of genre and formal organization, musical language, and principles of thematic development. The analysis demonstrates that in Gustav Křivinka’s solo violin sonata, neoclassical thinking is realized through a profound transformation of traditional models, particularly through the combination of polyphonic developmental principles with atonality and flexible metric organization. In contrast, Jan Novák’s Sonata solis fidibus represents a different type of neoclassical approach, based on the preservation of the structural clarity of historical forms while renewing them through contemporary musical language, including complex rhythmic organization and modal-chromatic combinations. It is established that the reference to Baroque and Classical traditions in both cases functions not as stylization, but as an active principle of musical organization. In these works, neoclassicism operates as a means of integrating historical experience into a new artistic context, resulting in multidirectional stylistic solutions and an expansion of the expressive potential of the genre. The findings allow the solo violin sonata to be considered an important model for the embodiment of neoclassical thinking in twentieth-century music.