Composers of the past in dialogue with contemporary culture

Alexandra V. Krylova

Abstract


This article examines the emergence of new formats through which the classical music heritage functions within the contemporary cultural space. Across the diverse spectrum of this artistic paradigm—ranging from traditional concert performance to advertising soundtracks—the music of past masters is revitalized through remakes, including those generated via multimedia computer technologies. It has become a crucial component of highly unconventional genre and stylistic blends (mixtes). The emergence of these hybrids has been facilitated by digitalization, collaboration of artistic collectives with neural networks, and a rapid, often artistically viable, convergence of technical and creative principles in contemporary art. Through an analysis of selected artifacts, the author demonstrates new possibilities for multi-level communication within synthetic artistic texts that integrate language, painting, music, photography, and digital content. The study draws on projects by André and Michel Decostère, Anri Sala, Carl and Åsa Unander-Scharin, and the art studio fuse*. Through interactive engagement with all participants in the artistic process — performers, conductors, audiences, and, in some cases, online communities participating through digital networks — the final creative product becomes inherently variable. Its presentation synthesizes the emotional responses of everyone involved in both the performance and its perception, thereby generating an inexhaustible multiplicity of meanings.

Keywords: remake, genre synthesis, performance, stylistic blends, classical music, multimedia art, fuse* studio.

For citation: Krylova, A. V. (2026). Composers of the past in dialogue with contemporary culture. Contemporary Musicology, 10(2), 191―211. https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2026-2-191-211

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2026-2-191-211

Copyright (c) 2026 Alexandra V. Krylova

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/