THE MUSIC ART AT THE DAWN OF THE NEW TIME
At the end of the last century the famous Russian
pedagogue Prof. K. D. Ushinsky, in his book “The Man as subject of
examination”, stated a very important thought “…The culture is
the inevitable part of the education of one nation, while the nation,
which is not educated, is nothing else but a gang of barbarians…”
We, who live in the region of former Yugoslavia, are the living proof,
making this sentence written by the founder of the modern
psychological pedagogy, a true one. This thought, finds its place
perfectly (looking at it for the first time) within the turmoil of the
century, called “century of education”, initiated by the French
Encyclopedists lead by Didro, Russo and others. It was parallel
correspondence with the ideas of the Rationalists, which were judging
all ideas coming out of the empirical, mystical and irrational points
of view.
Supporting constantly, until to-day, and most
probably even in the future, all fields of human action, today, the
original aim of the ideas of the Encyclopedists seems to fade away,
or…The existence of million of schools with different level of
education disorients the original Enc. Guidelines, especially towards
the Rationalistic point of view and the determination of the making
and the place of the culture in the modern world While on the West,
the technological culture takes the leading role, on the East the
culture develops and finds itself in symbiosis with the empirical, the
sensual, the irrational and the spiritual categories. In one of his
interviews, the famous Russian movie director Nikita Mihalkov, asked
to state his opinion over the differences between the East and the
West, has given, probably the most essential truth: “…while on the
West, people think HOW to live, on the East they think WHAT FOR they
live…”
This (first reading) digression, related to the
problems of the modern music education and the situation of the young
talents in the forthcoming millenium, has important influence over the
future development and guidelines of the sociological and cultural
relations. The music art, with no regards whether we speak about
creativity or reproduction, exists within the framework of the Nikita
Mihalkov’s dilemma “HOW and WHAT FOR”. The enormous rise of the
music culture on West in the XIX century was not accidental, yet
backed by undercover, mostly underestimated participation of the East
(Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Smetana, Musorgsky etc.), like, again not
accidental, the center of creativity was transferred to the East in
the XX century (Prokofiev, Schostakovich, Schnitke etc.), times when
mostly the whole West was setting itself towards justified
constructive relations. As when the instrumental and performing
categories are concerned, the situation is practically identical. It
is not necessary to remind us of the performing processes on the West
in the XIX century, and of the domination of the East afterwards,
during this century (first of all, the Soviet instrumental pedagogy).
The instrumental and the performing methods (problems and technique)
were practically solved until the beginning of this century. The
values of interpretation, however, accomplished extremely high results
(in wide areas) during the XX century, again through the dominant
results of Soviet instrumental school, although the results of the
other East European schools can not be avoided.
It would be interesting to make adequate analysis
of the spirit and the “socialist block” countries. While the
ideological pressure of the block division was falling apart, like a
symbolic Berlin Wall, the West was flooded over by numerous artists
from the East. Without pretensions for (absolute) punctuality of the
personal points of views, I think that quite a low number of the
Eastern teachers reconfirmed their previous accomplishments during
their pedagogical activities in the West, while, certain changes in
the performing styles can be also observed in between the music
performers. Within the Eastern Schools “WHAT FOR” was always
dictated by “HOW”, through the theoretically elaborated guidelines
for unity of the musical and technical development, through the
principle of artistic research in which from idea we move towards
realization, through individual approach in development of the
student’s skills and personality development. At the same on the
West, the students expect guidelines HOW to realize this or that
problem of interpretation. Since the development of one artistic
personality represents a long-life process, involving the task of
recovering and fostering the individual characteristics of the person
- all that through artistic and educational (research) methods, the
experts from the East, expecting an answer on the psychosis HOW, must
behave according to the expectations. The solution can be easily
found. You want to know HOW? This is the way HOW! By this indisputable
authority the accent must be transferred towards the techniques
problem, e.g. to analyze the interpretation movements, hands
positioning, setting up the urgent need of organized music and
sensitive flows. In best cases, the artistic and research methods can
be replaced by training, based over the indisputable principles of the
“school”. The modern pedagogy remains an alchemy caldron full of
noble expectations, to make gold from the lead. To be honest, the
mediocrity still grows, yet, only few people need it.
The sociological aspects of the place and the role
of the culture in the modern world are quite interesting. The analysis
showed that the level of obtaining general education. Not only in
Europe but also in America, dramatically falls. All over the world, we
have increasment of population that has superficial education, e.g.
uneducated citizens. At the same, we have a small number of schools
and universities in which the education level is extremely high. This
leads toward the creation of a mass of pseudo-educated (just enough
not be a horde or barbarians) and a small number of “brain trusts”
which are leading the mass. There are little problems, which occur due
to the fact that both groups have grown in the presence of video
games, the “supermen” psychology, and the enormous presence of
brutality and violence in the mass media. Similar division can be
observed in the Art, which, on first sight, is supported, but at the
same pressured and pulled back in the darkness. While “the four
tenors make spectacles all around the world, dozen of pianists and
violinists do the same, the opera funs search for a “ticket more”
in front of the Milan’s Scala, Metropolitan Opera and of course, few
other famous operas houses in the world”, at the same, great number
of symphony orchestras are closing down, the giant conservatoires are
producing a mass of musicians without any chances for employment, and
the pop, the rock and (eventually as positive option) the canzona. It
is the similar case with the Theater Art and Film, full of destruction
and violence. Seems that the real art and the real culture are not
welcomed anymore! It would be nice if all of this is a natural
process, yet i am afraid that this kind of thinking can be considered
as highly naïve. And there it is again, a small difference between
the reach West and the poor East, in which the orchestras are not
falling apart, the theaters are blooming, other kinds of arts and
culture achieve high results, ad the number of the real at consumer
constantly increases.
What the young musicians can expect in the next
millenium? First, solving the social, the sociological and the
spiritual confrontation between the East and the West. Afterwards,
within his/her own educational branch, to swim happily through the
alchemy caldron of the professional education-with undamaged identity
and personal integrity. Finally, to swim out (or to ground a shore!)
towards (for now) the unclear and foggy coasts of the new civilization
and the new world. Only the strongest persons will make it through,
and we must support them and wish them many, many luck.
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