Page 151 - 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. 151
from courses to a conservatoir e ...
way out in the division of functions and gave a public lecture on the topic
in Kaunas: he proposed to foster church music in Kaunas and to train
orchestra musicians in Klaipėda. The teachers from Kaunas disagreed with
such a plan, which led to protracted disputes. Šimkus managed at least
to delay the process of reorganisation, which took five years. During the
period, the classes of piano and singing were closed in Klaipėda, but its
symphony orchestra stayed, and the first cohort of orchestra musicians –
over 50 of them – graduated from the school. Ultimately, in accordance
with the Government resolution, the educational institution was closed
in 1930. Just a small private music school was left, which was nationalised
seven years later. In 1939, after the Nazi army had occupied Klaipėda,
the school evacuated to Šiauliai and finished its existence in that city of
Northern Lithuania.
A Difficult Road to Recognition
Even though Naujalis was criticised for his curriculum for the Lithuanian
Conservatoire developed in 1923, he did not give up his idea to set up a
conservatoire. He kept gradually establishing new classes, set up a chamber
orchestra, opened a library, and started giving public concerts following
the example of Klaipėda. In 1925, a Statute of the Lithuanian Conservatoire
was drafted and sent to the Ministry of Education. Its officials did not fully
understand it, therefore, they had to be explained why new courses had
to be included in the curriculum, why some traditions taken over from
Russia had to be abandoned, and why it was necessary to focus on the
western traditions. However, the explanations did not help: the Lithuanian
Governent did not need a conservatoire. Naujalis did not have another choice
than to resign from the position of the director due to weakened health and
to leave the school to a young composer Juozas Gruodis (1884‒1948).
The new director found the school with several dozens of teachers and
over 200 students. Lectures and classes took place in a building consisting
of 15 communicating classrooms, totally unsuitable for the purpose of
education, and a small concert hall. Gruodis had to take care both of the
school facilities and amenities and the staff, however, his main goal was
to validate the status of the conservatoire. It took almost six years. In the
first year, the structure of the studies was revised as well as the syllabi of
the courses, and an updated statute was drafted following the examples of
the higher music schools of Vienna, Munich, Leipzig, and Berlin; however,
the officials did not change their mind and did not set up a conservatoire.
149
way out in the division of functions and gave a public lecture on the topic
in Kaunas: he proposed to foster church music in Kaunas and to train
orchestra musicians in Klaipėda. The teachers from Kaunas disagreed with
such a plan, which led to protracted disputes. Šimkus managed at least
to delay the process of reorganisation, which took five years. During the
period, the classes of piano and singing were closed in Klaipėda, but its
symphony orchestra stayed, and the first cohort of orchestra musicians –
over 50 of them – graduated from the school. Ultimately, in accordance
with the Government resolution, the educational institution was closed
in 1930. Just a small private music school was left, which was nationalised
seven years later. In 1939, after the Nazi army had occupied Klaipėda,
the school evacuated to Šiauliai and finished its existence in that city of
Northern Lithuania.
A Difficult Road to Recognition
Even though Naujalis was criticised for his curriculum for the Lithuanian
Conservatoire developed in 1923, he did not give up his idea to set up a
conservatoire. He kept gradually establishing new classes, set up a chamber
orchestra, opened a library, and started giving public concerts following
the example of Klaipėda. In 1925, a Statute of the Lithuanian Conservatoire
was drafted and sent to the Ministry of Education. Its officials did not fully
understand it, therefore, they had to be explained why new courses had
to be included in the curriculum, why some traditions taken over from
Russia had to be abandoned, and why it was necessary to focus on the
western traditions. However, the explanations did not help: the Lithuanian
Governent did not need a conservatoire. Naujalis did not have another choice
than to resign from the position of the director due to weakened health and
to leave the school to a young composer Juozas Gruodis (1884‒1948).
The new director found the school with several dozens of teachers and
over 200 students. Lectures and classes took place in a building consisting
of 15 communicating classrooms, totally unsuitable for the purpose of
education, and a small concert hall. Gruodis had to take care both of the
school facilities and amenities and the staff, however, his main goal was
to validate the status of the conservatoire. It took almost six years. In the
first year, the structure of the studies was revised as well as the syllabi of
the courses, and an updated statute was drafted following the examples of
the higher music schools of Vienna, Munich, Leipzig, and Berlin; however,
the officials did not change their mind and did not set up a conservatoire.
149
