Juozas Žilevičius ir jo epocha

LTNe visada menui, kultūrai, mokslui nusipelnę asmenys patenka į istorijos metraščius, nes juos užgožia kiti amžininkai. Tai įvyksta dėl įvairių priežasčių - politinės konjunktūros, laiko diktuojamų sąlygų, geografinių barjerų, artimosios aplinkos poreikių ir poveikių. Taip atsitiko ir su Juozu Žilevičiumi (1891-1985) - vargonininku, chorvedžiu, kompozitoriumi, muzikologu ir pedagogu, tuščioje vietoje dėjusiu tik ką atsikūrusios Lietuvos muzikinės kultūros pagrindus. Jo veikla šiandien daugiausia siejama vien su privalomojo muzikos dalyko programos įvedimu carinės Rusijos metais nualintose Lietuvos bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose. Kad šis žmogus yra ir pirmosios lietuviškos simfonijos bei noneto autorius, Operos vaidyklos steigėjas, muzikos istorikas ir etnografas, koncertinio gyvenimo organizatorius, Dainų švenčių tradicijos nepriklausomoje Lietuvoje kūrėjas, liaudies muzikos instrumentų kolekcininkas ir Muzikologijos archyvo įkūrėjas, retai kas prisimena. Pastarųjų dešimtmečių muzikos istoriografija byloja, kad „įsisprausti“ tarp Juozo Naujalio, Česlovo Sasnausko, Miko Petrausko ir Stasio Šimkaus J. Žilevičiui taip ir nepavyko. Nėra skelbta net paviršutiniška šio muziko biografija, nekalbant jau apie jo kūrybos, muzikologinių darbų suvestinę, epistolinio palikimo, iki šiol rankraščių pavidalu dūlančio lentynose, tyrimą.Užmaršties procesą daugiausia lėmė J. Žilevičiaus išvykimas iš Lietuvos. Jis iškeliavo į Ameriką 1929 metais ne kaip emigrantas, ieškantis geresnio gyvenimo, bet kaip mokslininkas, pasiryžęs parašyti lietuvių muzikos istoriją su plačiu skyriumi apie išeivijoje veikusius chorus, vargonininkus, kūrėjus ir atlikėjus. Šiam darbui atlikti buvo numatytas kelerių metų laikotarpis, bet jis užtruko ilgiau, o kai J. Žilevičius nutarė grįžti į gimtuosius namus, prasidėjo karas ir Lietuvos okupacija. Nusileidusi geležinė uždanga daugeliui metų atskyrė emigrantus nuo tėvynės. Kai dėl XX amžiaus 6-ojo dešimtmečio pabaigoje pasirašytos SSRS ir JAV kultūrinio bendradarbiavimo sutarties lietuvių menininkams ir mokslininkams atsirado galimybė apsilankyti Amerikoje ir susitikti su J. Žilevičiumi, jie išvydo beveik aklą seneliuką, kuris atrodė tarsi šešėlis nebūtin nugrimzdusios „smetoniškos“ Lietuvos. Į jį buvo žvelgiama kaip į darbščią, tačiau pilką bitelę, nešusią medų į lietuvių muzikologijos korį. [Iš Pratarmės]

ENJuozas Žilevičius (1891-1985) was a Lithuanian organist, choir conductor, composer, musicologist, educator, author ofthe first Lithuanian symphony and nonet, and founder ofthe Musicology Archive. In Lithuania, little is known about his life and work, and the aim of this book is to provide a detailed biography of the forgotten musician and an overview of his work in order to broaden the knowledge of music history and to introduce Žilevičius into the context of Lithuanian musical culture. Two thirds of the text are devoted to the life of the protagonist and the remaining third to the historical context, in order to better understand the nature of Žilevičius, his links with the past, relationships with his contemporaries, and visions for the future. Lithuania, which was incorporated into Russia in 1795, was called its Northwest Region and divided into governorates. Kaunas Governorate, established in 1843, included the territories of central and northern Lithuania as well as Samogitia, where Žilevičius was born in the late nineteenth century. It was inhabited by people of various nationalities, and at that time nationality was linked to social status. A Pole meant a nobleman or a city dweller, a Lithuanian a peasant, and a Russian a government representative. This attitude was shaped by the way people in certain areas were grouped together according to their denomination and type of activity. In the cities, foreigners - Russians, Poles, Germans - were active; the estates ofthe nobility and princes continued the traditions of aristocratic life in the times ofthe Grand Duchy of Lithuania and fostered Western European art; in the countryside, Lithuanian ethnic culture was prospering. In the period of 1864 through 1904, in all the governorates, press in Latin characters was banned as well as Lithuanian schools and secular choirs.However, not only this oppression did not suppress, but even encouraged the formation of the intelligentsia from the peasantry. It included priests (Antanas Baranauskas, Antanas Strazdas, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Motiejus Valančius, Antanas Vienažindys), medical doctors (Jonas Basanavičius, Vincas Kudirka), and church organists (Juozas Kalvaitis, Juozas Naujalis, Mikas Petrauskas, Česlovas Sasnauskas), who became the authors ofthe first Lithuanian hymns, songs, poems, prose works, and musical compositions. Through illegally published periodicals and books, they encouraged people to fight for their civil, national, and religious rights. A separate group consisted of landlords (the Princes Oginski and Count Tyzenhauz) who founded music schools and orchestras in Rokiškis, Rietavas, and Plungė as well as students from St Petersburg and Moscow who would return to their homeland during their holidays and organise secret evenings in barns. Kaunas was the administrative centre ofthe entire Kaunas Governorate. In the late nineteenth century, it became a fortified city of Russia, and as a result, the majority of its budget was spent on military, rather than educational or cultural, needs. Nevertheless, Kaunas gradually expanded. Around 1865, the City Garden with a pavilion was opened, where performances were given by passing troupes or individual performers; in 1882, the Musical Society was established, bringing together local musicians to give concerts; in 1892, the City Theatre was opened; moreover, a music school operated. However, Lithuanians were not interested in the activities of these institutions that had nothing to do with their needs.They secretly formed choirs, read illegal literature brought from Lithuania Minor by book smugglers, and after the ban on the press had been lifted, they started to establish their own societies and schools, publish Lithuanian hymnals, newspapers, artistic, scientific, and educational literature, and organise cultural life. Žilevičius belonged to a noble family of Samogitia. He was born in the countryside of this ethnographic region, learnt at Palanga Progymnasium, and studied music under local organists; early on he learned to play the piano and participated in a noblemen's ensemble, where he became acquainted with the main compositions of the Classical and Romantic eras and began composing himself. At the age of 17, he was invited to work as an organist at Plungė Church. He led the choir, prepared a new repertoire of liturgical and secular music, gave public concerts, and wrote for the periodical press. At that time, he established contact with Eduards Volters, professor, linguist, and researcher of Baltic culture at St Petersburg University, who visited Plungė, and with his student Ignas Končius. They were both collecting exhibits for the Russian Museum. This encouraged Žilevičius to take an interest in archaeology, to collect materials valuable for the history of Lithuanian culture, to start recording Lithuanian folk songs, and to further develop his musical skills. He was greatly influenced by the Lithuanian national movement of the nineteenth century, the first composers of Lithuanian hymns and songs, and especially by Sasnauskas, with whom he maintained close relations. Encouraged by him to continue his studies, young Žilevičius went to Warsaw Institute of Music for three successive summers to study organ and music theory, hoping to graduate from it with a diploma. [...]. [From the publication]