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License Agreement on scientific materials use.
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A creative image of Giovanni Punto, a horn player and composer, in the context of the 18th-century European musical culture
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Maria Vladimirovna Kholodova
Dmitry Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts, Krasnoyarsk
Olga Yurievna Kolpetskaya
Dmitry Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts, Krasnoyarsk
Ilya Igorevich Safronov
Krasnoyarsk College of Arts named after P. I. Ivanov-Radkevich
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Submitted:
August 27, 2026
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Abstract.
The aim of the study is to reconstruct a comprehensive creative image of Jan Václav Stich (Giovanni Punto, 1746-1803), an outstanding Czech horn player and composer, within the context of his era. Based on fragmented information from foreign sources introduced into Russian musicology for the first time, the authors trace the main stages of the musician’s biography – from his origins as a serf in Count Thun’s estate to his triumphant return home after decades of European tours; this accounts for the scientific novelty of the study. Special attention is paid to Punto’s interaction with leading composers of his time, W. A. Mozart and L. van Beethoven, as well as to the analysis of his legacy, which includes horn concerti, chamber ensembles, and methodological treatises. The research establishes that Giovanni Punto made a significant contribution to improving the technique of playing the natural horn, thereby greatly expanding its expressive capabilities and establishing it as a solo voice in concert practice. His activities had a substantial impact on the development of horn performance, fostering greater interest in the instrument among both composers and audiences. The life and artistic path of this Bohemian virtuoso provide an example of musical art professionalization and growing authority of a performer-composer during the Age of Enlightenment.
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Key words and phrases:
Джованни Пунто
Ян Вацлав Штих
валторновое исполнительство
чешские валторнисты
музыкальная культура Европы эпохи классицизма
Giovanni Punto
Jan Václav Stich
horn performance
Czech horn players
18th-century European classical music culture
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