Abstract: The research object of this article is Finnish musical culture. The subject of the study is the life and work of composer, teacher, conductor, and educator Erkki Melartin (1875–1937). The purpose of the article is to recreate the personal and creative portrait of Melartin as one of Finland’s most outstanding musicians during the first half of the twentieth century. The author examines in detail the composer's biography in close connection with all types of his activities and describes the main directions of the composer's creativity. The author pays special attention to Melartin's administrative activities as the head of the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy), his conducting, and his pedagogical work.

The main conclusions of the study are that Erkki Melartin made a tremendous contribution to the development of culture and musical professional education in Finland; his impressive compositional heritage (with many influences of other composers and Karelia folklore) has bright and distinctive features; Melartin is the author of the first national opera (Aino) and the first large-scale national ballet (Blue Pearl). Among his students: Aarre Merikanto, Yrjö Kilpinen, Vyane Raitio, Ilmari Hannikainen, Uuno Klami, Sukho Ranta, and Helvi Leiviskä —those who later formed the elite of the Finnish School of Composition in the twentieth century. The article, a first in Russian musicology, publishes detailed information about the composer's life, work, and social activities.
The main conclusions of the study: Erkki Melartin made a tremendous contribution to the development of culture and musical professional education in Finland; his impressive compositional heritage (with many influences of other composers and folklore of Karelia) has bright and distinctive features; E. Melartin is the author of the first national opera ("Aino") and the first large-scale national ballet ("Blue Pearl"). Among his students: Aarre Merikanto, Jurje Kilpinen, Vyane Raitio, Ilmari Hannikainen, Uuno Klami, Sulho Ranta and Helvi Leiviska – those who later formed the elite of the Finnish school of composition of the twentieth century. The article for the first time in Russian musicology publishes detailed information about the life, work and social activities of the composer.

Abstract: The article tells about the first didactic development in the history of Russian music pedagogy on elementary music theory, created in the 1930s by Rostov composer and teacher Tikhon Ivanovich Sotnikov for the independent development of musical and theoretical knowledge. The author of the article points out that the need to create such an educational and methodological manual for self-study was dictated by the current situation in the cultural life of the USSR since the 1930s, when there was an active growth of amateur artistic activity in the country. The gradual complication of the repertoire of collectives required the growth of musical literacy of its participants. Analyzing the historical situation, the author states that despite the developing system of music education, there were not enough schools and qualified music teachers nationwide. The situation was aggravated by the war years, when many libraries and archives were destroyed, and even the search for educational literature presented a significant problem for those who wanted to study musical literacy. The table and thematic cards developed by Sotnikov for independent studies contained not just brief information on musical literacy, but also made it possible to train theoretical knowledge in practice without the participation of a teacher. In addition, the versatility of the Rostov composer's development was also in the fact that his methodology for independent studies could be used in tandem with any of the textbooks on music theory that existed at that time. The idea was highly appreciated by professors of the leading musical universities of the USSR and was recommended for publication nationwide. In conclusion, the author of the article comes to the conclusion that in the context of the historical situation of the mid-twentieth century in the USSR, Sotnikov's development was not just relevant, but with timely publication could have a revolutionary significance for the development of musical culture in the country, and its significance for the history of music pedagogy is undeniable.