Manifestation of the “personal school” phenomenon in the creative activity of an artist (on the example of A. Leshchynsky’s multi-vector practice)

Abstract

Background. In the modern musicology studies, there has been a universal classifi - cation of the phenomenon “school”: individual, local (regional) and national. However, the authors deliberately do not consider another kind of this phenomenon – the so-called “personal” or “internal” school. Meanwhile, this phenomenon is inextricably linked with the real work of musicians. The peculiarities of the existence of such a school are still not revealed, although it is the basis of the multi-vector activity of the creative person. A striking example of the noted is the practice of a talented violinist and teacher, one of the founders of the Kharkiv violin school – Adolf Arnoldovich Leshchinsky (1915–1995). Unfortunately, his name, unlike O. Gorokhov, O. Krysa, B. Kotorovych and others, is unlikely to be known to a wide range of contemporary musicians. However, the consideration of the insignifi cant heritage left by A. Leshchinsky allows us to restore interest to the Ukrainian artist and highlight the previously unknown facets of his creative work; to realize the specifi cs of the phenomenon of “the personal school”. Objectives. The purpose of the present article is to reveal the mechanism of action of the “personal (or internal) school” as the basis for multi-vector creative work on the example of the many-sided practice of A. Leshchinsky. Methods. The theoretical positions raised in the article are based on the universal concept of the school, which was proposed by the author in the dissertation on the basis of the quadratic matrix approach. Despite the fact that attempts to study the phenomenon, called the “personal school” by us, can be found in some works, in particular by A. Borodin and O. Vinogradova, its purposeful consideration is carried out in musicology for the fi rst time. The life of A. Leshchinsky, in turn, is highlighted only in several works of his contemporaries – I. Sirotin, P. Sirotin and O. Schelkanovtseva. Results. The results of the study indicate that the functioning of the personal school enables the musician to equally successfully realize his potential in various fi elds of musical art. As it is known, any creative work (composition, performing interpretation, scientifi c article, study program) is one of the forms of materialization of a particular idea. The latter, in our opinion, is an energy informational singular, which a person learns according to his individual traits, experiences, layers of the collective and personal unconscious. Before getting a sound or verbal expression, the idea goes a certain way in the mind of the artist. As a result, the resonant chain determines the musician’s choice of characteristic of their specialization techniques and methods. For example, the play of the violinist I. Perlman is distinguished by not only the technical perfection, the depth of sound and the density of the tone, but also by the sincerity and maturity of the senses, the thought of fragmentation and, on their basis, somewhat, elusive for the eyes or ears – a certain energy effect that allows one to forget about “who, what composition and what instrument” are playing, directing the listener to comprehend the author’s idea. The basis for such subordination, the collegiality of the components of the performing process, in our opinion, is the personal (internal) school. But not in the form of a tradition or doctrine. Rather, it is a dynamic relationship between innate instincts and the whole set of acquired knowledge and skills. Meanwhile, the perception of the school as a creative system of energy information exchange explains the ability of outstanding musicians to equally successfully teach, write music and scientifi c works, and engage in concert activities. The artists deliberately build up direct and inverse relationships between the technological side of the playing on the instrument, theoretical information, musical images, means of expressiveness, their sensual, mental, spiritual “I”, involving all possible methods and techniques (in particular, analysis and synthesis). All this allows one to freely perceive this or that object (musical composition, its interpretation, the student, a certain doctrine, etc.) both concurrently and in the form of elements that interact with each other. The noted properties can be traced in the practice of many prominent musicians, including A. Leshchinsky. The study of his legacy, as well as the memoirs of his contemporaries, allowed us to confi rm the existence of the violinist’s personal school, since he proved himself not only in the realm of performing and pedagogy, but also in the fi elds of scientifi c knowledge, compositions. As a result of the elaboration of the biographical archival and published information, the interviews with his student A. Melnyk, the analysis of the composing (translation of the piano pieces by V. Kosenko) and methodical workings, it was possible to note such typical features for this artist with his personal school as the integrity of perception and transfer of information, creative approach, dynamism of views, lack of dogma, responsibility and, importantly, ability to nurture the given qualities in his students. The above is confi rmed by the constellation of A. Leshchinsky’s students, many of whom became laureates of prestigious international contests and continued their activities (pedagogical, performing, scientifi c and composing) abroad: V. Gradow, E. Idelchuk, A. Markov, G. Feigin and others. Conclusions. The functioning of the personal school opens the way for a musician to multi-vector creative implementation, as evidenced by the many-sided practice of A. Leshchinsky. The ability to operate freely with resonant chains allowed the violinist to create convincing interpretations, effective methodological recommendations, to reveal the potential of talented students, to skilfully manipulate all the components of the composition and to implement it under new instrumental conditions. Meanwhile, the school’s possibilities as a creative system of energy information exchange may also occur in one specialization, which opens up new perspectives in the study of the practices of the artists of the past and present; understanding their goals, motivations and methods, for example, in working with students. The personal school not only ensures the continuous evolution of the musician, but also exerts a powerful infl uence on the development of musical art on the local, national and world scale.