The Leopold Godowsky phenomenon: autodidacticism vs. established canons of professional musical education

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Autodidaktikos fenomenas; Autodidaktinis reiškinys; Leopold Godowski (1870–1938); Leopoldas Godowskis; Lietuvos kultūros istorija; Lietuvos muzikinės kultūros istorija; Lietuvos žydai; Muzikinio lavinimo šiuolaikinės sistemos universalizacija irkanonizacija; Šiuolaikinės muzikinio ugdymo sistemos universalizavimas ir kanonizavimas; Autodidact phenomenon; Canonization of the contemporary system of musical education; History of Lithuanian musical culture; Leopold Godowsky; Leopold Godowsky (1870–1938); Lithuanian Jews; The universalization and; The universalization and canonization of the contemporary system of musical education.

ENGodowsky's artistic development is a unique event in the history of music. This pianist, who ascended to the pinnacle of fame, always emphasized that he was an autodidact. The highest professionalism and faultless mastery possessed by this musician were not the result of effective pedagogical methods. He did not, under the careful attention of experienced teachers, consistently and with determination master the basics of performance technique and the principles of interpretation. Rather, his achievement was wholly his own doing, thanks to his intuition, internal sense of taste and accumulated listener impressions. The phenomenon of Godowsky forces us to think about the relationship between the expected and unavoidable on the one hand, and the individual and the unique on the other. Godowsky's environment undoubtedly fostered his induction into a system of developed musical stereotypes of his era: he thought in the understandings of that era and followed its criteria of value. At the same time, however, he became accustomed to the search for his own path by the fact that from early childhood he was not under a pedagogical diktat but rather developed completely independently and had the ability to decide for himself. [From the publication]