Page 138 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2020. Konservatoriji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela ▪︎ The conservatories: professionalisation and specialisation of musical activity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 4
P. 138
konservator iji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela
both working and learning conditions as well as the stock of material sup-
plies, procuring instruments, scores and books.
New generations of teachers are selected following competitions,
which test their value. Teachers from abroad continue to be invited. Grad-
ually, another phase is reached, where Romanian teachers are no longer
educated only at the great European conservatories (Paris, Vienna, Leip-
zig), but at the very institution they taught at in Bucharest and which in
1907 went by the name of the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art.
One of director Popovici-Bayreuth’s best initiatives is worth mentioning:
the introduction, in addition to the already existing disciplines of harmony,
counterpoint, and fugue, of a class of musical composition as an independ-
ent discipline. Italian composer and conductor Alfonso Castaldi was invit-
ed to teach the new subject. He was also entrusted with the Conservatory’s
orchestra. This turned out to be a decision with far-reaching consequenc-
es, as Castaldi thus formed the Romanian composers who would finalize,
in the first half of the 20th century, the process of catching up to the Euro-
pean models in musical composition.
The regulations, regularly revised, ensured an improved quality of
teaching and a coherent curricula strategy. The level of education is steadi-
ly increasing at Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art, and reflects ben-
efits on the students, be they instrumentalists, singers or actors: in addition
to the usual classes they are offered the chance to take part in the Conser
vatory’s concerts and opera or theatrical performances, and their talent be-
gins to attract the attention of the audience and music critics. Some of them
would become successful artists in Romania or abroad, others would them-
selves become teachers at the institution, which formed and improved their
skills. 45 years from its establishment, the institution registered a positive
outcome, as press would be quick to notice:
a very busy school, the Bucharest Conservatory is a highly useful
institution, seeing that music and theatre are closely tied to the ad-
vancement of a country’s civilisation …6
This stability, secured over a quarter of a century, ends with the beginning
of World War I. The difficult situation Romania goes through, especially
between 1916 and 1918, would impact the destinies of the members of the
academic community. Furthermore, in the 1916–1917 school year the Con-
6 Mihail Mărgăritescu, quoted by Octavian Lazăr Cosma, Universitatea Națională de
Muzică din București la 140 de ani [National University of Music Bucharest on its
140th Birthday], vol. 2 (Bucharest: UNMB Publishing House, 2008), 82.
136
both working and learning conditions as well as the stock of material sup-
plies, procuring instruments, scores and books.
New generations of teachers are selected following competitions,
which test their value. Teachers from abroad continue to be invited. Grad-
ually, another phase is reached, where Romanian teachers are no longer
educated only at the great European conservatories (Paris, Vienna, Leip-
zig), but at the very institution they taught at in Bucharest and which in
1907 went by the name of the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art.
One of director Popovici-Bayreuth’s best initiatives is worth mentioning:
the introduction, in addition to the already existing disciplines of harmony,
counterpoint, and fugue, of a class of musical composition as an independ-
ent discipline. Italian composer and conductor Alfonso Castaldi was invit-
ed to teach the new subject. He was also entrusted with the Conservatory’s
orchestra. This turned out to be a decision with far-reaching consequenc-
es, as Castaldi thus formed the Romanian composers who would finalize,
in the first half of the 20th century, the process of catching up to the Euro-
pean models in musical composition.
The regulations, regularly revised, ensured an improved quality of
teaching and a coherent curricula strategy. The level of education is steadi-
ly increasing at Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art, and reflects ben-
efits on the students, be they instrumentalists, singers or actors: in addition
to the usual classes they are offered the chance to take part in the Conser
vatory’s concerts and opera or theatrical performances, and their talent be-
gins to attract the attention of the audience and music critics. Some of them
would become successful artists in Romania or abroad, others would them-
selves become teachers at the institution, which formed and improved their
skills. 45 years from its establishment, the institution registered a positive
outcome, as press would be quick to notice:
a very busy school, the Bucharest Conservatory is a highly useful
institution, seeing that music and theatre are closely tied to the ad-
vancement of a country’s civilisation …6
This stability, secured over a quarter of a century, ends with the beginning
of World War I. The difficult situation Romania goes through, especially
between 1916 and 1918, would impact the destinies of the members of the
academic community. Furthermore, in the 1916–1917 school year the Con-
6 Mihail Mărgăritescu, quoted by Octavian Lazăr Cosma, Universitatea Națională de
Muzică din București la 140 de ani [National University of Music Bucharest on its
140th Birthday], vol. 2 (Bucharest: UNMB Publishing House, 2008), 82.
136
