Interdisciplinary Studies on European Traditions in the History of Ukrainian Higher Musical Arts Education Based on the ’Theory of Pianism’ by Viktor Iwanowskyi (1880-1943)

Abstract

The purpose of the publication. This research into the heritage of Viktor Henrikhovych Iwanowskyi (1880-1943; ISO9: Ivanovskyi) opens some forgotten pages of higher musical education within the theoretical works of the 1920-1940s. Among the lesser-known pianists, composers, and music historians in Kyiv, the figure of Prof. Viktor Iwanowskyi attracts special attention. This versatile theorist of piano performing art and musicologist worked in Ukraine from 1925 until the tragic year of 1943. His activities in Kyiv began after years of independent professional work abroad. He devoted the last eighteen years of his life to Ukrainian music culture, working across three closely intertwined institutions: the Kyiv Conservatory, the Kyiv Musical College, and the Mykola Lysenko Music and Drama Institute (the Theatric University). Professor V. Iwanowskyi was engaged in scientific research on arts and music-historical studies on pianistic methodic. He also taught piano, chamber ensemble, theoretical analysis, history of music (musicology), polyphony, and music composition. He established the course on the history of piano performing art and theory of pianism, authoring the book "Pianism Theory' (the Theory of Pianism) in 1927. His work was published with the subtitle "A Study of the Scientific Foundations for Piano Teaching Methodology". Paradoxically, while the musician is allocated a rather modest place in the history of Kyiv's musical life, the core feature of his views — his vision for the universitization of music art education — was adopted by his colleagues. These ideas were reflected in their professional activities and developed further, continuing the Ukrainian legacy of Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912), the founder of the Music and Drama School in Kyiv, rooted in the Leipzig-tradition of Conservatoire of his time. This circle included such prominent professors as Felix Blumenfeld, and Heinrich Neihaus (Neuhaus), Borys Liatoshynskyi (Lyatoshynsky) and Les Kurbas, who worked at the Mykola Lysenko Music and Drama Institute during different periods. This approach advanced the idea of the "Leipzig-tradition", combining the Conservatoire concept with University principles of Higher music school (Hochschule). Currently, it is very little known from the sources about his activities in Kyiv. Consequently, there remains an incomplete overview of Prof. Viktor Iwanowskyi's scientific and practice research legacy. The thematic breadth of his work is impressive, encompassing methodological articles, memoirs, and his critical responses to the works of other professors at the Mykola Lysenko Music and Drama Institute (the University of Theatre). In his book << Pianism Theory >>, Viktor Iwanowskyi explored the << synthesizing tendencies >> and multi-vector nature within the pianistic art of the Kyiv pianistic tradition, contextualizing it within the history of Ukrainian higher education in music art. He envisioned the continuation of European pianistic traditions through the perspectives of specific Kyiv pianist-pedagogues at the previously mentioned educational music institutions. The author of significant works dedicated to the methodology, history, and theory of pianism, he practically left no room for the Soviet ideology of "socrealism", which was dictated as the only acceptable method alongside and simultaneously with the establishment of the of Soviet educational system in music art. This ideological independence of the scientist served as an additional reason for the subsequent oblivion of this musician's name from the Kyiv's history of music. This paper highlights the need for continued study of Viktor Iwanowskyi's activities in Kyiv from 1941 to 1943. The considered works of Viktor Iwanowskyi encourage further attentive study of the 1940s period, a highly difficult period in Ukrainian history. During the Second World War, the Kiew Conservatorium partially continued its operations in the conditions under the occupation of the city by the forces of the Germanic Wehrmacht. The educational process in Ukrainian city was sustained by the faculty and students who were unable to evacuate. Memories from contemporaries regarding this period have been preserved in archival sources under the classification 'Top secret'. The subject of this study demonstrates the necessity to further investigate the role of Viktor Iwanowskyi in the Kyiv history and theory of pianism, particularly in the context of his academic musicological research and development of Ukrainian art methodology. It is of great scholarly interest to learn more about European-Ukrainian culture legacy in education and about communication this person with other musicians abroad. Significant information was found regarding collaborations of Viktor Iwanowskyi in Germanist-Ukrainian interaction in art and musicological studies with Grygoryi Beklemishev (1881-1935), as well as his correspondence with Emiliy Rozenov (1861-1936), and Raoul Pugno (1852-1914). The methodology of the research incorporates the classic research toolkit of the humanities, comparative-holistic studies, and a critical reassessment of the aesthetic analysis of concepts. A biographical approach is employed to extract valuable information from previously unknown archival sources that have not yet been cited or interpreted by other Ukrainian musicologists. Notably, the study introduces and analyzes the previously unpublished Viktor Iwanowskyi's autobiography from these primary archival holdings (1941). Conclusions and prospects. It stimulates research interest in further studying the legacy of this scientist, especially considering the musician's transition into one of the most tragic and complex periods in the course of Ukrainian history. Furthermore, the appendix to this article features a fragment of the aforementioned 1941 autobiography, alongside two photographs sourced from a lifetime anniversary brochure of the Institute where Prof. V. Iwanowskyi worked.