Music and Time Annotation << Back Nikolay Sidelnikov’s «Labyrinths» – the Search for a Compromise Between the Old and the New A.V. Korotina At the end of the twentieth century “Labyrinths” by N.N. Sidelnikov (1992) is a bright and atypical composition, even taking into account the achievements of the avant-garde. Based on the program of the ancient Greek myth, the composer created a one and a half hour novel-symphony for piano solo in five frescoes. By means of a single instrument, a truly orchestral sound is achieved – it is no coincidence that the composer even used multi-line writing method, as in an orchestral score. The musical language of the “Labyrinths” paradoxically and at the same time naturally combines the Greek modality, chromatic tonality and free 12-tone system, the tonal in nature baroque and classic-romantic forms with sonorics and numerous clusters. The use of individual avant-garde techniques by the composer is always determined by the program concept, and Sidelnikov’s appeal to different historical styles and a pronounced tendency for intertextuality provokes a discussion on the issue of the author’s commitment to the aesthetics of postmodernism. Keywords: N. Sidelnikov, novel-symphony, musical space, piano score, intertextuality, postmodernism. Pp. 37-44.