Collegium Helveticum
Switzerland
fellow
Vadym Rakochi
2023-2024
Home institution
Zurich University of the Arts, CH
Country of origin (home institution)
Switzerland
Discipline(s)
Others
Theme(s)
Other; Performing arts
Fellowship dates
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Biography
Vadym Rakochi is a Ukrainian musicologist. Currently, he works as a lecturer and scientific collaborator at the Zurich University of the Arts. He received his PhD in musicology in Kyiv in 2016 and Dr. Habil. degree in Odessa in 2022. He subsequently spent six months at New York University as a Fulbright scholar.
Vadym has written widely on the history of the instrumental concerto from the 17th century to the present and on the history of the orchestra, including a monograph on the history of the orchestra (in Ukrainian), as well as many articles and book chapters. His main research interest is focused on the interaction between the evolution of the “orchestra” as a socio-cultural institution and the development of the instrumental “concerto” as a musical genre. Which traits must they have to bear these labels? How do they impact each other? What is the role of historical and cultural events in this process? These and other topics are at the core of Vadym’s works.
Beyond that, cooking and the study of foreign languages—two of Vadym’s hobbies—are seen as right ways to find the path to the heart.
Research Project
The Evolution of the Concerto Through the Lens of the Development of the Orchestra in the First Decade of the 19th Century
The work proceeds from the basic assumption that, compared with certain instrumental genres such as symphony, tone-poem, suite, overture, etc., the concerto orchestra (the orchestra in the instrumental concerto genre) has special features due to the presence of the soloist.
The research is contends with four main problems. First, the changes in the soloist–orchestra relationship and thus the evolving role of the concerto orchestra at the beginning of the 19th century. Second, the distinctive features of the concerto orchestra that differentiate it from a symphony orchestra. Third, the impact of changing approaches to timbre on the concerto’s orchestration. And fourth, the influence of the popularity of public concerts on the status of the orchestra as a socio-cultural institution.
By placing the concerto orchestra at the center of this study and using a cross-cultural perspective on the concerto’s analysis, this project fills a major gap in the analysis of the orchestra and contributes new analytical and cultural-historical perspectives to our understanding of the concerto genre.
Research Interests:
classical music; orchestra; 19th century