ABSTRACT
Dmitry Bortniansky indeed received the nice position of 'director of ecclesiastical music' at the court. In the 1780s, the arts in Russia crystallized into what would later be considered as the main style of the eighteenth century, reflecting the spirit of stability, grandeur and glorification. Bortniansky's concertos are little developed in harmony and texture, always written in major mode and standardized in structure. A prominent component in Bortniansky's concertos was that of the genre of the march, contributing energy and imperial glitter. Bortniansky minimized the use of polyphony, and at an early stage even rejected the traditional fugue in the finale of the cycle. In Berezovsky's concerto the imitative technique is strict, forceful and consistent, demonstrating that his compositional style was strongly indebted to the motet. Bortniansky joined the Young court at the right moment, when the atmosphere was one of constant demand for entertainment, naturally with music.
