Valstybinės muzikos mokyklos kūrimosi peripetijos (1918-1920 m.)

LTM. K. Čiurlionis, Č. Sasnauskas, S. Šimkus, J. Naujalis, J. Tallat-Kelpša, T. Brazys – lietuvių muzikai, dar XX a. pr. puoselėję idėją įkurti konservatoriją Vilniuje. Tačiau 1918 m. nepavykus gauti Lietuvos Tarybos pritarimo, tinkamų patalpų mokyklai ir užtikrinto valstybės finansavimo, pasirinkta nuosaikesnė strategija. Valstybinės muzikos mokyklos įkūrimo Kaune aplinkybės iki šiol buvo tik fragmentiškai paminėtos, tačiau archyvinė medžiaga ir to meto periodikoje publikuota informacija skatina atkurti įvykių seką ir konstruoti išsamų istorinį naratyvą apie 1918–1920 m. įvykius. Praėjus šimtui metų šiuo tyrimu siekiama atskleisti istorinį kontekstą, papildyti ar patikslinti turimas žinias apie šios muzikos mokyklos įkūrimą. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Valstybinė muzikos mokykla, Lietuvos konservatorija, Juozas Naujalis, Juozas Tallat-Kelpša, Lietuvos meno kūrėjų draugija, tarpukario Lietuvos muzikos istorija, Kaunas. [Iš leidinio]

ENIn the first decades of the twentieth century, the idea of establishing the Lithuanian Conservatory was a serious challenge for the whole generation of musicians in our country. At that time, the establishment of conservatories in Europe was particularly intensive; the process was also active in the neighborhood of Lithuania (in 1919, in Latvia, in 1923, in Estonia, and in 1918 to 1920, in Belarus). In Lithuania, the aspiration for the “national conservatory” was fostered by the graduates of higher music schools in Warsaw, St. Petersburg, or Leipzig such as Čiurlionis, Sasnauskas, Naujalis, and Tallat-Kelpša. The Lithuanian music historiography underestimates the fact that, after the proclamation of Independence in 1918, two attempts were made to start conservatories in Vilnius and Kaunas. The first application was submitted to the recently formed Council of Lithuania in Vilnius in June 1918. However, it was rejected due to lack of funds. In November, Naujalis obtained the permission of the German government, which ruled Lithuania at the time, to start a conservatory in Kaunas, yet he did not have the funds or the appropriate premises to implement the idea. A more moderate strategy for the establishment and development of a music school was chosen, yet the goal of having a conservatory was not forgotten and seemed realistic to contemporaries. Due to political reasons (after Vilnius had been occupied, the capital was moved to Kaunas) and the difficult economic situation, the establishment and development of a music school was slow, and its founders faced various hindrances and challenges, the most important of which were the lack of funding and appropriate premises.Unlike the Latvian Conservatory of Music (which opened up in the spacious building of the former Alexander Boys’ Gymnasium in 1919), the private Naujalis Music School, after being granted the permission and state funding, started operating in several classrooms on the second floor of the Aušra Gymnasium. Naujalis’s pedagogical and organizational experience and acquired authority became the precondition for the establishment of the school. The school curriculum approved in the autumn of 1919 was quite obviously based on that of Naujalis’s Organ School (which operated in the years 1913 through 1914), and the qualification requirements for teachers met the requirements for conservatory staff. Over the first two years of its existence, Kaunas Music School moved three times and changed its premises and addresses: 1) Laisvės Ave. 55, 2) D. Vilniaus Str. 2, and 3) Maironio Str. 3 (moreover, it nearly moved to Vilnius in October 1920). The name and status of the school also changed three times: 1) Naujalis Private Music School (March 1919 through May 1920), 2) Music School of the Lithuanian Association of Art Creators (May through September 1920), and 3) the State Music School (from 1 October 1920). The heads of the school changed twice: in September through November 1920, Tallat-Kelpša took over the management of the school from Naujalis. During the period under examination, the school was threatened with closure, and options for merging with the Drama School were considered. Despite all the peripeteias, the school quickly gained public recognition and became one of the most important centers for musical culture in Kaunas.Thanks to Naujalis, Tallat-Kelpša, and other musicians who supported the idea (Juozas Žilevičius, Stasys Šimkus, etc.), the aspiration for the Lithuanian Conservatory was consistently nurtured. The State Music School became the starting point and the basis for the Lithuanian higher music school. Keywords: State Music School, Lithuanian Conservatory, Juozas Naujalis, Juozas Tallat-Kelpša, Lithuanian Association of Art Creators, interwar history of Lithuanian music, Kaunas. [From the publication]