Music and Time Annotation << Back On the Interpretation of the Perpetuum Mobile Genre in the Play "Alcan – Paganini" by Michael Finnissy N.A. Petruseva, I.A. Davydova The image of perpetuum mobile and the phenomenon of motion in general have become signifi cant in science (especially in mechanics and physics after attempts to create a continuously running engine), in philosophy (time as a continuous "streaming movement", according to Bergson, is the opposite of life as a static state) and in the space-time arts (music, dance, in the fi eld of cinema theater, literature), which determines the relevance of the topic. The authors explore the composition "Alcan – Paganini" by Michael Finnissy in a broad context (examples of perpetuum mobile, starting from the Baroque era, are given) in the aspect of interpretation of genre and form: M. Finnissi's intertextual comments and allusions, taken from some of the works of Ch. V. Alcan and Paganini, explain the program subtitle of the composition; double features, alternating hands, changing hemioles and tempo, pauses, are highlighted as criteria for dividing the sectional form. extended notes. Special attention is paid to the virtuoso work of the composer with the rhythmic opposition of rational and irrational durations, with the principle of total divisibility of hemioles. The conclusions emphasize the importance of combining the continuity of movement of rhythmic fi gures and the technical virtuosity of pieces in the genre of perpetuum mobile with the energy and work of the spirit — the intellectual side of musical language, including various kinds of research in the fi eld of form, compositional techniques, thematic and rhythmic fi gures. This partly explains the approach of Michael Finnissi and other composers of new music, for whom it is essential to overcome the boundaries of rational and irrational durations, abolishing the distinction between individual genres, between composition and improvisation. The work uses an integrated approach, as a combination of a structural and analytical research method (consideration of form, rhythm, counterpoint in Finnissy's play), comparative and elements of the intertextual methods. Keywords: Finnissy, perpetuum mobile, the cycle "The history of photography in sound", sectional, sectional form, rhythmic opposition. DOI: 10.25791/music.8.2024.1316 Pp. 27-35.