Page 152 - 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
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konservator iji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela
Oficially they claimed that there were no funds for the construction of a
new building, and behind the enthusiasts’ back they spoke that Lithuanian
was an agricultural country and did not need a higher music school. In
addition, Šimkus still hoped to set up a conservatoire in Klaipėda and had
difficulty negotiating with Gruodis. Thus, at the end of the 1920s, only two
countries in Europe had no conservatoires: Albania and Lithuania.
On 9 October 1929, Gruodis and all the academic staff under him sent
a memo to the Ministry of Education to the effect that an imperfect Law
on State Music School, promulgated in 1921, forestalled the setting up of
a conservatoire, even though it already existed de facto. The places for the
amendment of the Law were indicated and the main arguments to justify the
amendments were laid out: a) the science of music did not know halfway; it
could not be compared to the field of general education, and half-educated
amateurs were not suitable for the practical activities in music; b) citizens
of Lithuania had to be provided with an opportunity of pursuing higher
musical education in their Motherland, otherwise they were going to go
abroad; c) graduates of the Conservatoire would fill vacancies in orchestras,
choirs, schools, and the State Opera House, and d) the Conservatoire
would bring together the best musicians and become an important centre
of national culture.4 Gruodis believed that the Conservatoire had to be a
universal educational institution set up in Kaunas and had to cover all the
stages of performer and composer training, from the lowest to the highest.
In 1931, a jubilee of the nationalised Kaunas Music School was solemn-
ly commemorated. On that occasion, Gruodis prepared an overview of
its achievements and emphasised that the said educational institution, by
working in accordance with the curricula of foreign conservatoires, gradu-
ally became a higher music school. It only had to get the amended law and
the official recognition of the conservatoire. The Government ultimately
started dealing with the law, however, instead of amending, they abolished
it. Instead of the law, the Statute of the Conservatoire was approved which
came into force on 1 September 1932 and was made public only on 23 Janu-
ary 1933.5 The Statute named six main departments – those of composition,
piano, organ, string instruments (violin, cello, harp, and double-bass), and
singing and wind instruments (along with percussion instruments), as well
4 Memo of the administration and the staff of the Kaunas State Music School to the
Ministry of Education, 9. 10. 1929, The Archives of Lithuanian Literature and Art, f.
84, ap. 1, b. 3, l. 2–7.
5 Antanas Smetona and Juozas Tūbelis, “Konservatorijos statutas” [Statute of the
Conservatoire], Vyriausybės žinios, no. 404 (1933): 1–4.
150
Oficially they claimed that there were no funds for the construction of a
new building, and behind the enthusiasts’ back they spoke that Lithuanian
was an agricultural country and did not need a higher music school. In
addition, Šimkus still hoped to set up a conservatoire in Klaipėda and had
difficulty negotiating with Gruodis. Thus, at the end of the 1920s, only two
countries in Europe had no conservatoires: Albania and Lithuania.
On 9 October 1929, Gruodis and all the academic staff under him sent
a memo to the Ministry of Education to the effect that an imperfect Law
on State Music School, promulgated in 1921, forestalled the setting up of
a conservatoire, even though it already existed de facto. The places for the
amendment of the Law were indicated and the main arguments to justify the
amendments were laid out: a) the science of music did not know halfway; it
could not be compared to the field of general education, and half-educated
amateurs were not suitable for the practical activities in music; b) citizens
of Lithuania had to be provided with an opportunity of pursuing higher
musical education in their Motherland, otherwise they were going to go
abroad; c) graduates of the Conservatoire would fill vacancies in orchestras,
choirs, schools, and the State Opera House, and d) the Conservatoire
would bring together the best musicians and become an important centre
of national culture.4 Gruodis believed that the Conservatoire had to be a
universal educational institution set up in Kaunas and had to cover all the
stages of performer and composer training, from the lowest to the highest.
In 1931, a jubilee of the nationalised Kaunas Music School was solemn-
ly commemorated. On that occasion, Gruodis prepared an overview of
its achievements and emphasised that the said educational institution, by
working in accordance with the curricula of foreign conservatoires, gradu-
ally became a higher music school. It only had to get the amended law and
the official recognition of the conservatoire. The Government ultimately
started dealing with the law, however, instead of amending, they abolished
it. Instead of the law, the Statute of the Conservatoire was approved which
came into force on 1 September 1932 and was made public only on 23 Janu-
ary 1933.5 The Statute named six main departments – those of composition,
piano, organ, string instruments (violin, cello, harp, and double-bass), and
singing and wind instruments (along with percussion instruments), as well
4 Memo of the administration and the staff of the Kaunas State Music School to the
Ministry of Education, 9. 10. 1929, The Archives of Lithuanian Literature and Art, f.
84, ap. 1, b. 3, l. 2–7.
5 Antanas Smetona and Juozas Tūbelis, “Konservatorijos statutas” [Statute of the
Conservatoire], Vyriausybės žinios, no. 404 (1933): 1–4.
150
