Page 165 - 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. 165
the visions of lithuanian musical education
1906 with extremely poor artistic means. As a result, the Opera was the
most relevant and, in fact, the best-funded cultural institution.
In 1936, barely three years after the Kaunas School of Music acquired
the status of Conservatory, the composer and its long-time director, Juo-
zas Gruodis (1884–1948), emphasized the effectiveness of music education:
The Kaunas Conservatory gave musicians mainly for the National
Opera. There are more than 40 soloists in the orchestra and choir,
[...] as well as 23 students of the conservatory in the State Radio
Orchestra.10
The director of Klaipeda Music School, composer Stasys Šimkus, was
very excited about preparing musicians for a professional symphony or-
chestra. It was the first specialization of this school and the first difference
with its rival, the Kaunas Music School, because at the beginning of the
educational activity, both institutions were very similar. In 1924, Šimkus’s
initiative received financial support from the Minister of National Educa-
tion.11 It is obvious that the aim of the professional orchestras was to en-
courage the creation of symphonic works by Lithuanian composers. The
First Lithuanian symphony, written by Juozas Žilevičius in 1919, was creat-
ed in Kaunas in 1923 by a private orchestra.
The musical education of organists was another priority. They were
the main actors of the provinces, due to their being performers, composers
and teachers. Thanks to the strong influence of Caecilian Movement in the
church music, Gregorian chant replaced the pseudo-romantic, and there-
fore pseudo-sacred, style of Polish music.
Various foreign teaching traditions, upon which it was necessary to
count before being completely autonomous, created in Lithuania a rich
and high-level environment. For example, the piano was taught accord-
ing to the principles of the conservatories of Riga, Leipzig and St. Peters-
burg; singing, according to the principles of the Italian and French schools;
the violin, according to the German and Russian schools; and the wind in-
struments, according to the German school, dominant at the time. Visiting
professors gradually gave way to local graduates, although foreign schools
10 Algirdas Jonas Ambrazas, ed., Juozas Gruodis, Straipsniai, laiškai, užrašai. Amži
ninkų atsiminimai [Articles, letters, notes. Memories of contemporaries] (Vilnius:
Vaga, 1965), 233–234.
11 Danutė Petrauskaitė, Klaipėdos muzikos mokykla 1923–1939 [Klaipeda School of
Mus ic in 1923–1939] (Klaipėda: Mažosios Lietuvos fondas, 1998), 26–27.
163
1906 with extremely poor artistic means. As a result, the Opera was the
most relevant and, in fact, the best-funded cultural institution.
In 1936, barely three years after the Kaunas School of Music acquired
the status of Conservatory, the composer and its long-time director, Juo-
zas Gruodis (1884–1948), emphasized the effectiveness of music education:
The Kaunas Conservatory gave musicians mainly for the National
Opera. There are more than 40 soloists in the orchestra and choir,
[...] as well as 23 students of the conservatory in the State Radio
Orchestra.10
The director of Klaipeda Music School, composer Stasys Šimkus, was
very excited about preparing musicians for a professional symphony or-
chestra. It was the first specialization of this school and the first difference
with its rival, the Kaunas Music School, because at the beginning of the
educational activity, both institutions were very similar. In 1924, Šimkus’s
initiative received financial support from the Minister of National Educa-
tion.11 It is obvious that the aim of the professional orchestras was to en-
courage the creation of symphonic works by Lithuanian composers. The
First Lithuanian symphony, written by Juozas Žilevičius in 1919, was creat-
ed in Kaunas in 1923 by a private orchestra.
The musical education of organists was another priority. They were
the main actors of the provinces, due to their being performers, composers
and teachers. Thanks to the strong influence of Caecilian Movement in the
church music, Gregorian chant replaced the pseudo-romantic, and there-
fore pseudo-sacred, style of Polish music.
Various foreign teaching traditions, upon which it was necessary to
count before being completely autonomous, created in Lithuania a rich
and high-level environment. For example, the piano was taught accord-
ing to the principles of the conservatories of Riga, Leipzig and St. Peters-
burg; singing, according to the principles of the Italian and French schools;
the violin, according to the German and Russian schools; and the wind in-
struments, according to the German school, dominant at the time. Visiting
professors gradually gave way to local graduates, although foreign schools
10 Algirdas Jonas Ambrazas, ed., Juozas Gruodis, Straipsniai, laiškai, užrašai. Amži
ninkų atsiminimai [Articles, letters, notes. Memories of contemporaries] (Vilnius:
Vaga, 1965), 233–234.
11 Danutė Petrauskaitė, Klaipėdos muzikos mokykla 1923–1939 [Klaipeda School of
Mus ic in 1923–1939] (Klaipėda: Mažosios Lietuvos fondas, 1998), 26–27.
163
