Educational and Methodical Literature for the Clavier and Piano in the History of Russian Music Publishing of the Second Half of the 18th — Early 20th Century

Abstract

The Russian piano school is a unique phenomenon in the global cultural space, a multifaceted and creative phenomenon, a source of creative insights and vivid interpretations. The history of Russian piano performance is deeply and comprehensively studied and is characterized by a wide semantic range. A special place in it is occupied by educational and methodical literature produced by major music publishers in Moscow and St. Petersburg during their formation and development.The appeal to this topic is connected with the need to create a primary idea of the activities of music publishers for the production of educational materials in the historical dynamics and perspective. This complex process can be perceived as a synthesis of European traditions and Russian experience — a multidimensional multifunctional landscape of the era, illustrative reflection of important events in the cultural life of the country.The specificity of the problem has an impressive demonstration volume. It includes the strategy and tactics of development of Russian music publishing companies, production of educational and scientific-methodical literature by Russian and foreign authors, stages in the development of piano art, increase in the production output, achievements of the Russian piano school and its unique pedagogical experience.“P. Jurgenson” company’s catalogues, stored in the Russian State library, reflect the trends and directions that were dominant in the educational literature for piano. They include well-established, tested methods of piano playing, collections of exercises, and anthologies that enriched the pedagogical repertoire with compositions to develop of the technical base of students and expand the arsenal of its expressive means. The study aims at a primary classification of “P. Jurgenson” publishing house’s educational resources recorded in its catalogues of the late 19th — early 20th century.