Piano culture in Russia at the end of the XVIII – first half of the XIX century: amateur music making, pre-professional and vocational education.

Stepanidina Ol'ga Dmitrievna ORCID: 0000-0002-9137-0300 PhD in Art History Professor, Department of Chamber Ensemble and Concertmaster Training, The Saratov State Conservatoire named after L.V. Sobinov 410012, Russia, Saratov region, Saratov, Peter Stolypin Ave., 1 stepanidina047@gmail.com

Voinova Dar'ya ORCID: 0000-0002-9074-0752 PhD in Art History Teacher at L.I. Shugom Music School for Gifted Children at The Saratov State Conservatoire named after L.V. Sobinov 410012, Russia, Saratov region, Saratov, Stolypin Ave., 1 darya.voinowa@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Russian piano art, which appeared suddenly on the European and world concert stages in the second half of the 19th century, was distinguished by its great originality. The galaxy of outstanding Russian pianists was headed by A. Rubinstein, whom his contemporaries considered a rival of the great "emperor of the piano" F.The sheet. Piano compositions by Russian composers were no less significant: the First Piano Concerto by P. Tchaikovsky, the exceptionally peculiar and original works by M. Balakirev ("Islamey") and M. Mussorgsky ("Pictures from the Exhibition") pianists from various countries were interested. And at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a whole constellation of pianists and composers, led by Sergei Rachmaninov, announced the emergence of the Russian piano school, which, along with Austro-German, Italian and French, became one of the best in the world for many decades. The peculiarity of both the compositional and performing Russian piano culture was due to its originality and significant difference from the formation and development stages of the European piano culture.

Unfortunately, in some editions of musical manuals published in the middle of the 20th century and intended for study by young pianists, a somewhat ideologized approach to determining the quality of music playing prevails in various strata of Russian society. Thus, music playing in an aristocratic society is usually defined as an empty pastime: "At that time, ideas of spiritual and social inferiority," V. Natanson believes, "were associated with young noblemen brought up in a foreign way," and "the main source of evil was associated with the noble ideology, which always relegated music to the position of "entertaining fun."" ^{[1, p. 4]}

In Russia, full dedication to music was considered reprehensible for a nobleman.A. Alekseev cites an excerpt from an article published in the Northern Bee in 1828, which explicitly states that art should be "fun, not a constant occupation, which we do not want the noble Russian nobility at all, with all our love for music" ^{[2, pp. 17-18]}. However, practicing music as a highly artistic art that ennobles a person's spiritual needs has been welcomed by the nobility since ancient times. Naturally, following the example of European courts, the Russian royal and later the imperial family introduced music lessons into their everyday lives. The content of the musical life of the imperial family and its surroundings, which was a role model for the entire Russian aristocratic environment, is defined by M. Dolgushina: "In the musical life of the courtyard, which had the opportunity to concentrate the best performing forces around itself, many tendencies characteristic of Russian noble culture as a whole manifested themselves" ^{[3, p. 36]}. Let's pay attention to the words about “concentration of the best performing forces". Indeed, such outstanding European musicians as I.N. Hummel, J. Field, D. Steibelt, M. Shimanovskaya, S. Talberg, F. Liszt performed at musical evenings in the salons of high-ranking persons.

Keyboard music, like classical music in general, came to Russia at a time when in Europe not only the Baroque era, but also classicism had already provided the highest standards in all musical genres – opera, symphony, chamber vocal and chamber instrumental, including piano music. The peculiarity of the formation of musical art in Europe was that, as A. Alekseev rightly noted, "the musician of the classical period stood out for his versatility and at the same time harmonious development" ^{[2, p. 6]}. Indeed, the European musician in the XVI–XVIII centuries was a composer and performer, as a rule, who owned more than one instrument, and at the same time had students to whom he passed on his art. Moreover, he took care of the dissemination of his work, prefixing the editions of his works with prefaces or publishing his methodological developments. Examples include such publications as "The Art of Playing the Harpsichord" by Fr. Couperin (1716), "Preface to the Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach" by J. S. Bach (1725); "The Experience of the true Art of playing the Clavier" by F.E. Bach (1 part – 1753, 2 part – 1762) D. Scarlatti preceded the first issue of his sonatas with a corresponding explanatory preface (1738).

Outstanding teachers of European performing arts of the XVIII century: V. F. Kalkbrenner, K. Czerny, I. Mosheles, I. B. Kramer promoted the work begun by their predecessors. Taking care of their image to attract new students, they educated young pianists in their own way and created methodical compositions and instructional pieces for them. The students of these brilliant musicians, in turn, continuing their activities in the same complex way, created the foundation of European piano schools.

The development of piano art in Russia took a completely different path.

Private education in Russia.The high-ranking imperial family and their entourage.

A. Alekseev rightly emphasizes that "a characteristic feature of the first period of Russian pianism is the predominance of amateur music making in it" ^{[2, p. 17]}. The fashion for music playing by the nobles themselves and their offspring, which came from the West, determined the appearance of music lovers in this select social stratum, who mastered singing or playing an instrument with the help of invited foreign musicians. Chamber and vocal music, with its close connection with highly artistic poetic material, and keyboard art, which requires expensive instruments and teachers, remained the prerogative of the royal family in Russia for quite a long time, and later the imperial family and their inner circle of the nobility. Singing fashionable French romances, light Italian canzonettas, German romances and songs as the most accessible performing art that does not require highly developed vocal technique, accompanied by simple accompaniments, determined the choice of the main instruments with which one could accompany one's own (or someone else's) singing: harp and clavier. Over time, with the desire to perform arrangements of fashionable opera or ballet fragments, as well as some solo works, the clavier was preferred. In addition, he composed an excellent ensemble with some instruments that are quite popular among aristocratic music lovers: flute, violin, cello.

Invited European musicians, such as Fr. Araya, B. Galuppi, V. Martin i Soler, J. Paisiello, and J. Sarti, were engaged in educating the musical taste of the Russian aristocracy. It is not surprising that the works of the greatest European masters began to sound in Russia quite early: opera works by composers of early classicism: J. Pergolesi, E. Megul, oratorio and symphonic works by J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, and later romantic art, starting with K.M. Weber and F. Mendelssohn. The main schools of composition that attracted the attention of the Russian court and its entourage were Italian, French and German, as, of course, the closest to the female half of the imperial family.

The great interest in chamber vocal music was due to the genre itself, which is very well positioned to express the sentimental feelings inherent in lyrical poetry, enhanced by pleasant and quite accessible music for performers. The vocal works performed at musical evenings in the imperial family, "painted in pastoral and idyllic tones with a characteristic love story, were designed to create a special atmosphere of peace and contemplation, a kind of melancholic detachment, love cultivated in the ladies' salon (XVIII century)" ^{[3, p. 47]}. The vocal part in the romances of that time was represented by melodies within small intervals, and the piano accompaniment was a "pure background", the harmonic accompaniment was often a bass chord formula, colored by small melodic lines ^[4]. Similar musical material from most of the romances of the era in question was intended for singing to one's own accompaniment. For example, J. Shtelin mentions the young Princess Kantemir, who "accompanied her singing from the sheet" ^{[5, p. 83]}. Even in the first third of the 19th century, singing to one's own unpretentious accompaniment was cultivated not only in high-class salons, but also among the wider nobility. It is known from biographical materials that M. Glinka and A. Varlamov performed their romances to their own accompaniment ^{[6, p. 75],[7, p. 57, 69]}.

The upbringing of Russian aristocratic performers, apparently, differed little from the priorities of European imperial houses, where chamber vocal music and chamber instrumental music occupied an almost equal place. Considering the "first circle" of amateurs – the imperial family and its immediate entourage, it should be noted that the main purpose of the invited European musicians' musical classes was to teach them how to perform the most famous and fashionable compositions of outstanding European composers on instruments. The invitation of such foreign composers as Fr. Araya, B. Galuppi, A. Boualdier, J. Paisiello, D. Cimarosa, and J. Sarti as court musicians not only initiated the education of the musical taste of the Russian high nobility, but perhaps they were the ones who introduced the Russian nobility to the keyboard compositions of their great predecessors and contemporaries. The main thing is that they composed quite highly artistic plays for court music making, while being quite accessible in terms of the technical training of aristocratic music lovers.

It should be said that the acquisition by amateur aristocrats of the technical freedom necessary to perform many fashionable piano pieces was hampered by the small amount of time left to them due to the abundance of secular duties. V. Natanson quotes an excerpt from a commemorative book for young girls published in Moscow in 1784: "... you can freely amuse yourself with music and others belonging to it, use it to amuse yourself and your friends; but do not waste the time for it that is determined on the most important exercises" ^{[1, p. 58]}. The "most important exercises" apparently meant not only getting a general education, which included knowledge of several languages, but also the obligatory "service" for a nobleman in a military or civilian rank.

Perhaps that is why, along with singing fashionable romances to their own accompaniment, ensemble music was popular among court music lovers. This is indicated by the presence in the Public Library of the "Twelve Symphonies" for Violin and bass, dedicated to Her Imperial Majesty Anna Ioannovna by L. Madonis in 1738 ^{[8, p. 96]}. L. Madonis, a pupil of A. Vivaldi, I think, was well aware of the technical capabilities of his august students and listeners and created works that gave pleasure and performers and listeners. Thus, the slow movements in the sonatas Suites No. 2 for violin and continuo in A minor and No. 4 in E minor are distinguished by the delicate and graceful melody of the violin part, which was undoubtedly performed by L. Madonis himself, since the fast movements contain quite tangible difficulties. The performance of simple keyboard accompaniments could bring pleasure to the performers as an introduction to charming, rather high artistic dignity music. D. Bortnyansky, who received a solid education, became one of the first Russian composers to write such ensemble music for court music performances. Thus, the "Concert Symphony" and the Quintet were written for pianoforte, harp, violin, viola da gamba and cello in 1787 "In honor of Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna" ^{[8, pp. 74-84]}.

Court composers-teachers of Fr. When composing works belonging to the already famous Italian harpsichord school, Araya, B. Galuppi, and J. Sarti had to take into account the factor of technical training of their high-born students. The artistic content of the piano miniatures, often written in dance rhythms, was extremely attractive for its melodism and approached the meaningful factor of lyrical chamber and vocal compositions, and hence "sincerity", "pleasantness" and grace were appreciated in the performing style. Like romances, piano pieces and ensembles were performed according to sheet music.

It can be concluded that performance was the ultimate goal of teaching music lovers from among the Russian upper nobility. The European musicians invited to the imperial court taught according to the methods known to them, but they were not interested in the process of transferring their pedagogical methods to students.

It is difficult to talk about the level of performing arts of high-born music lovers. In this regard, the remark of Ya is extremely interesting. Shtelina on the quality of harpsichord playing by the Italian musician B. Galuppi, who performed as a harpsichordist at musical evenings at the court and whose playing was different, according to Ya. Stelin, "with a special manner" and "zealous accuracy" ^{[5, p. 132]}. The "special manner" and "zealous neatness" are, apparently, the difference from homegrown harpsichordists, who were not distinguished by neatness in their performance. It has already been said that most music lovers from among the nobility did not have the time (and, apparently, a great desire) to achieve high-quality games.

The authors of the memoirs did not disclose either the quality of the performance or the repertoire performed by themselves or their relatives and acquaintances. For example, V. Muzalevsky quotes words from the Diary of Chamber Junker F. V. Berkholts, who states the following: "General Yaguzhinsky gave a small concert at a dinner with Privy Councilor Bassevich, because he plays a little on the harpsichord" ^{[8, p. 21]}. This fact only indicates that the harpsichord was already in fashion. The following excerpts from Ya's book are no more clear. Shtelina, as: "Young Golovin, who received a brilliant education, was an excellent musician, and his sisters sang, played the harp and harpsichord." Or: "Baroness Cherkasskaya and the young Princess Kantemir, who accompanied her singing well from the sheet, were passionate music lovers and excellent harpsichordists" [Cit. according to: 8, p. 22]. Ya. Shtelin writes that Princess Cantemir "played the most difficult concertos on the harpsichord" [Cit. according to: 8, p. 83]. It is not known, this is my opinion. The steward who heard the book. Cantemir, or those around him who, due to their upbringing and tact, have no right to criticize high-born amateurs. Ya. Shtelin frankly writes that Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, who loved to play the violin and participate in the "performance of symphonies and ritornels to Italian arias," even when he played out of tune, "the Italians who taught him used to exclaim: “bravo, Your Highness, bravo,” then, in the end, he himself believed (...) that he was playing beautifully..." [Cit. According to: 8, p. 93]. Y. Keldysh is right: "It is not always possible to fully trust those superlatives in which the academic courtier or the official press reports on the performance of dignitaries playing music. Their excessive praises could contain a degree of conscious exaggeration and flattery" ^{[9, p. 82]}. M. Glinka also warned about this, advising to avoid singing in the company of bad amateurs, since "there you will either be spoiled with excessive praise, which is always harmful, or they will make remarks that will make you uncomfortable..." ^{[7, p. 239]}.

M. Dolgushina, analyzing the chamber vocal culture of Russia, writes: "The important signs of an amateur were a serious attitude to his favorite business and the availability of high-quality musical education. The aristocrat, taking up the composition of music, considered it necessary to achieve a high result. "True amateurs" took lessons from famous teachers, studied authoritative musical and theoretical works" ^{[3, p. 210]}. As an example, all researchers cite practically only one really excellent instrumentalist, the cellist Count M. Y. Vielgorsky, but this is rather an exception to the rule. M. Dolgushin is right, considering that "for many amateurs, classes with famous musicians were more a matter of status than a matter of education" ^{[3, p. 23]}. Based on the above, it can be concluded that the main purpose of the musical education of the Russian high nobility, invited to the court by European musicians, was the education of artistic taste, playing notes (often from a sheet) of light accompaniments to vocal pieces, playing in an ensemble and performing simple solo pieces. It is quite difficult to judge the quality of instrumental playing based on factual material, but rather, this problem was not raised by piano teachers for high-class students.

The tasks of private teachers in home education.

At the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, following the example of the aristocracy, a passion for musical performance was observed among the broad nobility. The wealthiest families invited music teachers from Europe who had the appropriate education and permission for this activity. Apparently, the main goal of these teachers was not much different from the ultimate goal of educating the Russian aristocracy, mentioned above: the development of musical taste and teaching the first skills of playing the piano by notes. It should be particularly noted that Russian noblemen, raised in the Orthodox faith, have been accustomed to unaccompanied choral singing since childhood. Perhaps that is why, among the new enthusiasm for musical performance in this environment, the chamber vocal genre has come to the fore: singing to one's own accompaniment. It is not surprising that there are a lot of amateur composers composing vocal pieces based on fashionable sentimental poems with uncomplicated accompaniment, such as M. Yakovlev, like the family of "enlightened dilettantes" Titov, who served in the military and had high ranks. More gifted music lovers: A. Gurilev, A. Varlamov, A. Verstovsky, who received their first piano skills at home, subsequently had the opportunity to improve their performing arts with the best piano teachers: J. Field (A. Gurilev, A. Verstovsky), D. Steibelt (A. Verstovsky), but later focused on composing and they became famous as authors of numerous romances. Playing the piano, not only as an accompaniment to their singing, but also as a solo performance, revealed the desire of the most talented young people who received a good home upbringing to compose simple salon pieces. Two waltzes by the outstanding Russian diplomat and writer A. Griboyedov, as well as the Sonata for Violin and Piano and the piano trio by A. Alyabyev, have not been forgotten to this day.

Exceptionally gifted young music lovers, who later became the foundation of compositional creativity in Russia in the first half of the 19th century, M. Glinka, A. Dargomyzhsky, M. Balakirev, and M. Mussorgsky were educated at home by invited music teachers of various levels. However, later they sought (and found) an opportunity to improve their skills under the guidance of famous European musicians who settled in Russia ^{[6, p. 22, 60],[10, p. 117],[11, p.14-15],[12, p. 93]}.

The majority of amateurs among the nobility received musical education from private teachers. Teachers who gave lessons to amateurs had practically one task: to teach a student to play technically accessible music by notes. In addition to performing quite artistically and technically light romances to their own accompaniment, the nobles who considered themselves "good musicians" were those who mastered the piano so well that it allowed them to perform fashionable themes from famous operas in a four-hand arrangement. A. Gozenpud writes about the family of one of the founders of the St. Petersburg New Musical Society: "Alexander Alexandrovich Ral and his wife were passionate music lovers, "both played the piano well and in their youth often performed in four hands all their favorite pieces of the musical repertoire of the early ... century, especially operas" ^{[13, p. 10]}.

Some of the most fashionable private piano teachers in Russia were the first foreigners to connect their lives with their new homeland – J. Field, A. Gehrke, A. Hanselt and I. Gessler. Unfortunately, almost none of the students of these recognized teachers left any memories of the teaching methods of their teachers, although the number of private students of these teachers was huge.

A student of the outstanding teacher and virtuoso M. Clementi, who left his methodological material on the development of technique to the world piano school as one of the foundations, J. Field, who in his early youth was predicted to become a future brilliant virtuoso pianist, did not follow in his teacher's footsteps. The lyrical nature of J. Field was vividly manifested in the creation of a new instrumental genre – nocturne, the appearance of which was welcomed by F. Liszt, as well as a new manner of performing art. Liszt was fascinated by "the charm of this language – a language caressing, like an agitated gaze wet with tears, soothing, like the steady rocking of a canoe or hammock, the languid and calm movement of which evokes in us the illusion of a barely audible whisper," unusually "trembling, like an Aeolian harp, sounds, these half-sighs of the breeze, which, quietly complaining, they languish in suffering-filled bliss" ^{[14, pp. 414-415]}. Liszt noted Field's peculiar performing style, "immersed in the reveries of his compositions, in those moments when, without binding himself with notes and continuously wrapping his melodies with new arabesques and flower garlands, he devoted himself entirely to the inspiration of the moment" ^{[14, pp. 414-415]}.

Russian Russian audience and music lovers who want to emulate the famous foreign musician who flashed through European capitals like an elf could not have liked this elegant style better. With his refined sound playing, J. Field brought originality to the diverse palette of colors of touring pianists. But, apparently, realizing the certain limitations of both lyrical images and expressive means available in his technical repertoire and unwilling to develop and diversify them, J. Field settled in Russia and soon focused on the activities of a private piano teacher. Unfortunately, none of his many students left any memories of teaching methods. The only exception was, apparently, the most talented of all Field's students, A. Dubyuk. After hearing how young A. Dubuc, who participated in a concert by his teacher Lodi, played the Rice concerto by heart (!) with the accompaniment of the orchestra, J. Field perfected his pianistic skills for six years. Over the years, apparently preparing his talented pupil for professional pianistic activity, J. Field went through an extensive repertoire with A. Dubuc, including the first two movements of M. Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum, fifteen preludes and fugues by J. S. Bach, concerts by I. N. Hummel, F. Kalkbrenner, I. Moscheles, all seven concerts by himself J. Filda, plays and sonatas. The teacher and the student also played the sonatas of Mozart and Hummel in four hands ^{[2, p. 116]}. This repertoire allowed the young pianist to acquire such excellent instrument skills, but first of all it taught freedom and the correct (comfortable) position of the hands, and, being invited to the Moscow Conservatory by N. Rubinstein, it was this foundation of piano playing that A. Dubyuk passed on to his students. A. Dubyuk summarized his pedagogical experience in the theoretical manual "Piano technique games" (1866), recommended at the Moscow Conservatory as an important methodological material. Dubuc considered the main thing in J. Field's lessons to be the teacher's own demonstration: "It was important that he played and showed his stroke" ^{[2, p. 116]}.

The notes of E. Sheremeteva, who took about ten lessons from F. Chopin, give some idea of the principle of classes with private pupils. The first thing the author of the memoir letters noticed was that "when Marie, while disassembling a new thing, struck a false note, he groaned" ^{[15, p. 32]}. For Chopin's future pupil, this was surprising, since "there were no strangers in the room, but nothing special happened." That is, for E. Sheremeteva to take a false note is "nothing special", which can only prove the carelessness of the performing handwriting of amateur pianists. E. Sheremeteva noted the thoroughness with which Chopin explained each note and his "amazing benevolence" ^{[15, p. 32]}. The "benevolence" of a private teacher is perhaps one of the main features necessary to attract numerous students.

Chopin's teaching methods included his own performance of plays, not only given to the student, but also other works. "[In class] he plays a lot," writes E. Sheremeteva, "tonight he played a piece by Beethoven (in A flat major). He gave us real pleasure, his playing was full of sincerity, charm and kindness" ^{[15, p. 32]}. But, of course, he played his works most of all. It is difficult to say whether this was really a conscious pedagogical device to show the ideal that the student should strive for, or whether the teacher simply enjoyed being perceived by a small audience that was extremely supportive of him. One of the reasons why E. Sheremeteva decided to take quite expensive lessons from Chopin, she says in a letter: "I overcame fear for the happiness of hearing it 2 times a week. Besides, it will give me something, or at least I hope so" ^{[15, p. 38]}.

As for E. Sheremeteva's preparation for lessons, as can be judged from her letters, these were few moments between numerous social activities: trips to the theater, walks, visits to shops, milliners, etc. ^{[15, pp. 34-35, 40-42]}. The following lines from the letter give an idea of the place in the life of a secular lady occupied by lessons from a brilliant musician.: "Today, dear mother, I will have Chopin at 4 o'clock, and in the evening we will go to d'appogny. I will be wearing a satin dress with white and blue stripes, and white fresh flowers in my hair..." ^{[15, p. 40]}.

It seems that the classes of high-class ladies are taught by such private teachers as F. Chopin in France and J. Field in Russia rather emphasized their decidedly high amateur status, but it is difficult to say what they could actually learn from their teachers in a few lessons with preparation between social events. The main thing they created was a listening audience with good taste. It is enough to quote the words of E. Sheremeteva, describing her impressions of F.'s game. Chopin: "Finally, I heard a man whose playing embodied my dream, that is, it was perfect. He breathed the soul into the piano. His playing is so airy and so transparent, it's tenderness... and at the same time the sound is deep and full. Listening to him takes you to an infinite height; there is something divine in the way he expresses his thoughts at the instrument. Every sound of it carries a thought conveyed with amazing clarity.… He feels the full depth of the composition, everything is available to him. He is a genius who towers above all pianists, those who first overwhelm you and then amaze you. This one, no matter how much he plays, it won't be enough. Every sound penetrates directly into the heart" ^{[15, p. 33]}.

I. Gessler gave piano lessons in Moscow for a long time.The excellent pianist who won the competition of W.A. Mozart himself was, apparently, a fashionable teacher. Judging by his instructional literature, he taught everyone. For the youngest, "Fifty pieces for Beginners" and "Thirty–two pieces of progressive difficulty" were composed, for the older ones - sonatas for solo piano, sonatas for violin and piano, like J. S. Bach, three hundred and sixty preludes were written in all keys. As was customary, J. Gessler dedicated compositions to his chosen students: Prelude and Sonata Op. 6 for harpsichord and piano is dedicated to Ekaterina Chernysheva, sonatina for two harpsichords and piano to Sofia Benkendorf, three sonatas op. 23 to Margarita Rayevskaya, nee Davydova ^{[2, p. 103]}. The main advantage of this musician was the familiarization of Russian music lovers with classical European music, and first of all – to the Viennese classics.

Unfortunately, the education of a fairly large number of listeners in Russia who are able to perceive and evaluate the high achievements of European musical culture did not expand the emergence of their own high-quality performers. Private teachers, who set themselves minimal tasks: to teach their students the basic skills of playing the piano, performing piano miniatures based on sheet music, and playing in an ensemble (playing four hands), cared little about the quality of the performance.

The expansion of musical education among the nobility. General education educational institutions. Goals and methods.

The most competent and responsible foreign musicians who linked their creative lives with Russia were aware of the disadvantages of private education. The requirement to achieve the quality of the game, regularity in classes and achieve some kind of end result prompted them to turn to teaching in some educational institutions, whose leaders were inclined to see a particularly important educational role in music lessons.

One of the first was the German pianist Adolf Hanselt, who received a comprehensive musical education in Europe in piano from N. Hummel in Weimar, and in theory from Professor S. Zechter in Vienna. After his first concert in St. Petersburg in 1838, he was invited to the post of court pianist to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Having immediately stopped his concert activities, A. Hanselt focused on teaching. A. Alekseev believes that the fruits of pedagogical activity "were great": "Having been engaged in pedagogy for about half a century, being the artistic director of music classes in many educational institutions, he undoubtedly contributed to raising the average level of Russian pianistic culture" ^{[2, p. 37]}.

A. Alekseev is not entirely right when he claims that A. Hanselt came to Russia at a time "when musical professionalism was emerging in it," and "Hanselt devoted his efforts to the moribund culture of amateurs. He was, in fact, a very conscientious and knowledgeable official who excellently performed the duties of music inspector in state-owned educational institutions; and then Russia needed, first of all, figures of a large scale like Rubinstein, who could lay the foundation for a new professional culture" ^{[2, p. 38]}.

Having started his teaching career in 1838, the German pianist A. Hanselt really found the heyday of amateur music making in Russia and joined a cohort of foreign musicians who privately teach those who want to learn piano playing. But, realizing the huge difference between the quality of training of European pianists and Russian music lovers, he became the necessary link at a time when professional musical education in Russia could only dream of. It was only in 1852 that A. Rubinstein proposed the creation of a special musical educational institution in Russia, and this was realized ten years later – in 1862.

A. Hanselt, appointed by Empress Maria Feodorovna as a music inspector in the educational network of general education institutions (for girls), with typical German accuracy and, taking into account his own educational experience, began to bring music classes into a more regulated channel. This was facilitated by the fact that both the trustee of the Imperial College of Law, Prince P. G. Oldenburgsky, and his director, S. A. Poshman, were passionate music lovers and considered music to be a good educational factor. The enthusiasm of A. Hanselt, who was invited to the College, was so contagious that, according to V. Stasov, there was a "real fashion" for music classes at the law school. Let's not forget that the Imperial College of Law was one of the extremely privileged educational institutions for hereditary nobles (equated to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum), many of whom, entering the College, thanks to the typical home education of a Russian nobleman, already knew how to play the piano. The first thing that A. Hanselt took care of was the final act of the annual music lesson – an open concert. V. Stasov, without becoming a musician, did not understand the significance of this important event and writes with great irony about these annual concerts: "The concert was a big and important thing for the whole school, a hundred times more important than any other balls and gatherings", since "concerts were mainly arranged for such and such a Misha to play something on the piano, such and such a Petya on the violin, such and such a Vanya on the flute..." ^{[16, pp. 13-14]}. But as the final act of learning music during the year, going on stage performing classical works was extremely useful for both student performers and listeners.

From the text of V. Stasov's memoirs, one can extract the direction of musical education of youth: Mozart's overture from The Magic Flute, solo piano pieces by N. Hummel and A. Hanselt, and, of course, four-manual arrangements of various works, including Beethoven's Septet, were performed. As with private amateur education, the main goal was to foster a common culture and introduce classical music. Realizing the need to develop technique and polyphonic hearing for the future performance of serious classical works, A. Hanselt gave his students, along with Kramer's etudes, Preludes and Fugues from J. S. Bach's HTK, works by I. Hummel (Trio and Septet), as well as his own compositions ^{[16, p. 31]}. In comparison with the repertoire studied by private students of A. Gehrke (Thalberg's fantasies on themes from various operas, some works by F. Liszt, Sketches by I. Moscheles and F. Chopin), the repertoire of A. Hanselt's students seemed more old-fashioned and dry. However, as V. Stasov wrote with surprise, from Gerke "we all learned only good, clean, neat, expressive and decent technique, everything else, including the well–known poetic mood, elegance, colorfulness and artistic diversity - all this was demanded and tried to develop in us only by Hanselt" ^{[16, p. 33-34]}. A. Hanselt (like J. Field and F. Chopin) used his own demonstration as one of the pedagogical methods of educating taste: "He himself played a lot for us in each class," recalled V. Stasov ^{[16, p. 34]}.

Students who showed a particular passion for music were invited to concerts by visiting famous guest performers who performed at the music salons of Prince of Oldenburg and Director Poshman. Thus they heard S. Thalberg, J. Pasta, K. Lipinski, Ole Bull and other prominent European artists. Those who entered the College did not intend (and could not) become professional musicians, but A. Hanselt's teaching method was able to help some of them develop a musical sense so much that they subsequently devoted themselves entirely to music: A. Serov, P. Tchaikovsky, G. Laroche. Approximately the same music classes were held in other educational institutions in Russia, for example, at the Academy of Arts, where European musicians (G. Raupach, A. Sartori) educated listeners who were ready for a deep perception of classical music. Pupils of the music classes at Moscow University (1755) also studied under the guidance of foreign teachers and performed in concerts.

An attempt to compile a set of rules was made by A. Hanselt in a methodical work published in St. Petersburg in 1869, "Based on many years of experience, the rules for teaching piano playing compiled by Adolf Hanselt, a guide for teachers and students in government institutions entrusted to his supervision." The first thing a pianist who has received an excellent education himself pays attention to is the quality: "In our educational institutions, attention should be paid not so much to the panache and brilliance of the game, but to thorough study, because only thorough study achieves its brilliance, just as reading sheet music at first glance – a prima vista – is achieved by one's own diligence, often without the help of a teacher"^{[2, pp. 123-124]}. Other necessary knowledge included the study of polyphonic works; the rational scientific theory of piano playing; the constant study of instructional pieces (Czerny, Kalkbrenner, etc.) for the development of technique; the need to perform the text accurately, without changing it for the sake of relief; harm from an overestimated repertoire ^{[2, pp. 123-124]}. These rules, as well as smaller recommendations regarding fingering, playing with each hand, etc., certainly revealed significant shortcomings in the widespread home schooling of domestic amateurs and even certified music teachers. However, A. Hanselt's method did not solve the problem of training professional musicians in Russia.

Unfortunately, the path of home education, with the rarest exceptions (Villuan–Anton Rubinstein), became a dead end and did not lead to the education of professional performers, except for composers (Alyabyev, Dargomyzhsky, Glinka, Balakirev, Mussorgsky). But educational institutions, which undoubtedly played a major role in developing the musical taste of their students, could not train professional musicians.

Music classes in pedagogical educational institutions.

The widespread use of home-based education in Russia has raised the issue of educating its own certified music teachers for aspiring music lovers, and the need for domestic home-based music teachers has predetermined the emergence of pedagogical educational institutions. First of all, we are talking about female personnel. The most extensive information about this process of pre-professional piano education in Russia is contained in V. Natanson's monograph "The Past of Russian Pianism" ^[1]. Such music classes were opened in 1764 at the Smolny Institute ("Educational Society of Noble Maidens"), and in 1765 a "Special school for the education of young girls" ("Petty-bourgeois department") was organized at it; in 1764 at the Academy of Arts with an educational college; in the same year at the Moscow Educational the house. Later, these educational institutions were joined by the Land Gentry Cadet Corps (1766), the St. Petersburg Educational Home (1770) and the University Noble Boarding School (1779) ^{[1, p. 223]}.The main purpose of introducing future diplomats, officials, military men and their future wives to music was to spend cultural time at home, that is, to educate music lovers and listeners. The participation of pupils in open concerts helped them to acquire "proper and decent courage in behavior" ^{[1, p. 224]}, as well as for the sake of "drawing attention to good methods of instruction and upbringing" ^{[1, p. 224-225]}.The children of the bourgeoisie in these general educational institutions were trained for the position of "people capable of educating noble youth" and "able to replace highly paid foreign teachers" ^{[1, p. 225]}.

The "pedagogical classes" prepared future home teachers: they studied general education subjects, piano playing, dancing, and needlework. Piano playing was given a special influence: each student received three lessons per week for two hours each, in general, they practiced the instrument for at least three hours a day ^{[1, pp.224-265, 271]}. In addition, music theory was also taught, and the third subject was a chamber ensemble ("class of playing together"), which was probably a four–handed game. It is known that the older students studied ensemble literature with invited string instrumentalists (violinists, violists and cellists) ^{[1, p. 271]}.

Natanson provides rather contradictory information about the performing arts of the pupils: "In a report dated July 1821, it was reported that (three pupils) "played different pieces"" ^{[1, p. 267]}. Elsewhere, it is written about performing practice that "most of them performed various pieces at the annual exams; the most distinguished were allowed to take part in open concerts, which were held once a year" ^{[1, p. 272]}. But the greatest attention was paid to reading music, in which the pupils constantly practiced. Moreover, it was believed that "if a student can independently, without the help of a teacher, read any musical composition, then she can be released from the Orphanage after seven years of study" ^{[1, pp. 266-267]}.

As you can see, the main task of these educational institutions was the students' knowledge of sheet music and the ability to read from a sheet, that is, only familiarization with new musical material. However, mainly playing from scratch, you cannot learn either technique or sound quality. In other words, it was about fairly simple musical material and (perhaps) the ability to play with four hands, as it was fashionable to familiarize oneself with the operatic and symphonic works of famous composers at that time. But this did not give the quality of piano playing, because technically difficult and significant works in terms of artistic content require a completely different work.

It is quite difficult to agree with Nathanson's conclusions regarding the "ugly forms of education imposed by the tsarist government in closed educational institutions," since the pupils of the Moscow Orphanage "were artificially isolated from the external environment and were content only with the musical impressions they received in a school setting" ^{[1, p. 281]}. All educational institutions, both with a musical bent and with a general education, training military or civilian civil servants, were of a closed type, where noble children of selected families were given not only excellent education, but also the necessary upbringing that was required for future state or military service. Of course, it was different from home education, where noble children were educated according to the wealth and taste of their parents. It seems that Natanson's criticism of the musical repertoire for "insufficient use of works of Russian music in the repertoire" ^{[1, p. 281]} is completely unfair. It should be honestly admitted that in the first twenty years he practically did not exist, and those few piano pieces composed by Russian amateur pianists could not be compared to the piano repertoire of the great European composers. To talk seriously about the piano national school of composition, based on the works of V. Trutovsky, D. Bortnyansky, L. Gurilev, D. Kashin and V. Karaulov, who, according to V. Natanson, "were actually the creators of national traditions in Russian piano art" ^{[1, p. 21]}, I think, is absolutely wrong. As well as considering that "the national piano style was first fully expressed only by Glinka" ^{[1, p. 20]}. The first instrumental composition, Allegro sonatas for viola and piano, was written by Glinka only in 1825, the second movement (Adagio) later, and the "Russian-style motif" for the final Rondo was not realized at all ^{[6, 25]}. Perhaps of the greatest interest is the piano work of A. Alyabyev: The Trio (1815), the Polonaise dedicated to J. Field, piano pieces in dance rhythms, the Trio (1834). These works show that the exceptionally talented amateur composer possessed an outstanding technique for that time among Russian pianists and a certain knowledge of the basics of sonata- symphonic form. However, it is clear that these compositions cannot be compared not only with the piano and ensemble works of J. Haydn, W. Mozart and L. van Beethoven, but also with the works of A. Alyabyev's contemporary F. Schubert already being performed at that time, with his waltzes and landlers, piano sonatas, and a host of ensemble compositions that still adorn the repertoire of many outstanding musicians.

Moreover, foreign teachers, invited to both private homes and public educational institutions, naturally educated their young students on European material they knew, and there were no Russian teachers at that time. The thesis about the "clogging of curricula with salon plays by minor Western European authors", which, according to V. Natanson, "was a brake on the development of students' artistic tastes" ^{[1, p. 281]} is also generally untenable, since almost all small forms were "salon", including J. Field's nocturnes and F. Chopin, pieces in dance and variation forms, since it was music salons in the XVIII century and at the beginning of the XIX century that were the place where classical piano music was mainly played, and there was simply no household piano music, while concert stages of that time were intended for completely different genres of music, where solo piano pieces did not They came in.

It can be concluded that no form of musical education existing in Russia in the 18th and first half of the 19th century could prepare either high-quality solo pianists or teachers with basic knowledge for the education of professional pianists. In Russia, it has become necessary to create an educational institution of a completely different type, following the example of special music educational institutions already available in some European countries.

Amateurs and professionals. The need for a professional music education institution.

The problem of amateur music making was posed and solved in musicology in different ways. G. Riemann justifies the community of professionals and amateurs before the beginning of the 19th century, the era of the rapid flourishing of public concert life, by the fact that then "professional musicians and amateurs were not the opposite of each other, but friends; they walked hand in hand and together took part in small house concerts (without an audience)" ^{[17, p. 1511]}. Indeed, touring musicians took part in private house concerts for a special fee, but amateurs rarely performed in open charity concerts, and we are talking about extensive concert activities and the training of such performers. M. Dolgushina cites the opinion of Yu.K. Arnold, who also believed that "... up to the 60s, the most the color of the Russian musical world consisted exclusively of “amateurs”... we all belonged not to professional, but to “free ” musicians [Cit. according to: 3, p. 19]. J. Arnold is certainly right: the society he entered really consisted entirely of amateurs. However, it was in Russia that the gap separating professional guest performers from amateurs, even among the most gifted, became especially clear.

First of all, the difference between amateurs and professionals is not so much in the profession as a way of earning money. Nobles, especially the upper class, did not need additional earnings. Amateurs may or may not have achieved high-quality performing arts; they could choose a repertoire accessible to their technical level, limiting themselves to fairly light and pleasant pieces; they could play only in front of a select audience and when they were in the mood, while usually listening to laudatory reviews. Emphasizing "soulfulness" as the best quality of piano playing, the reviewer contemptuously asserts that "anyone who has devoted 10-15 years of six hours a day to music exercises can produce "musical tricks"..." [Cit. according to: 18, p. 72]. Such a thought could only be expressed by an amateur who did not understand the difference in either the repertoire, the quality of the game, or the purpose of a serious work of art.

A professional musician had to attract a completely new audience for himself, performing at the appointed time at a high quality level and always depending on critics who noticed the slightest mistakes of the concertgoer. Professional pianists performed any repertoire: old masters and new ones; compositions of considerable size, deep artistic content, and a variety of emotional content, as well as elegant salon trinkets, as well as variations on fashionable and favorite themes in a wide variety of textured colors, including numerous sparkling passages from scales, octaves, double notes, and other virtuoso effects. In domestic reviews and studies, one can quite often find a fundamentally incorrect juxtaposition: a virtuoso is necessarily emptiness, and sincerity is characteristic of genuine musicians.This is a completely incorrect statement of the question.

Working on the serious, highly artistic piano repertoire of outstanding European composers and pieces beloved by the public required virtuosity, achieved through hours of study and theoretical knowledge. This is exactly what R. Schuman writes about, analyzing the future of one of the many prodigies: "Those who are capable of unusual things from a young age will work hard to achieve even more unusual things with age. Some of the technical capabilities inherent in the hand should even be brought to virtuosity as soon as possible" ^{[19, pp. 114-115]}. The professional musician R. Schumann understood perfectly well that it is impossible to perform genuine masterpieces of piano music without virtuoso perfection: works by Haydn, Mozart, and especially new ones: Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn. Without developing technical virtuosity, one can only perform slow pieces, "sincerely", "elegantly" and "pleasantly", which is exactly what distinguished the art of the beloved Russian pianists J. Field, M. Shimanovskaya and the young A. Gerke. Russia had to realize this difference between amateur pianists and professional pianists and identify the need for an appropriate institution to train musical professionals.

A. Gehrke was an important figure in the transition period. The son of Polish-German professional violinist August Gerke, Anton Gerke received a musical education at home, after which he studied with J. Field in Moscow. However, the private lessons of the most famous Russian piano teacher did not satisfy either the young pianist or the head of the family, August Gerke, who was so famous in Europe that he (and not Anton Gerke at all, as all researchers of the work of the German pianist who became Russian mistakenly attribute this fact, starting with the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia) R. Schumann dedicated some flattering words in his newspaper. For almost ten years (1820-1830), A. Gehrke improved his education with outstanding European piano teachers belonging to the Austro-German piano school: F. Kalkbrenner, students of L. van Beethoven (I. Moscheles and F. Rice). Equipped not only with the technology itself, but also with the entire musical basis, A. Gehrke perfectly understood the difference between the tasks and results of private education and integrated education accepted in Europe. It is not surprising that, along with A. Hanselt and T. Leshetitsky, he was one of the first to teach in general education institutions, systematizing the musical classes of pupils of the Law School, and later was invited by A. Rubinstein to work at the conservatory.

Among the outstanding Russian cultural figures, A. Rubinstein was the first to realize the need for a fundamental change in the approach to educating musicians. Having become a professional musician himself at an early age, and having observed and studied music education in Europe for many years, he began promoting the idea of creating a professional music educational institution much earlier than anyone else. In his article "On Music in Russia" (1860), the main claims against amateurs as a brake on the development of musical art in Russia are summarized. This list also includes the high cost of lessons from teachers invited from abroad, which is why only children of high-born parents studied, and Rubinstein was convinced that professional musicians should come from the middle strata of society, which would bring society as a whole to high culture ^{[20, pp. 46-53]}. In the article, Rubinstein sharply rebuked amateurs who "engage in music only for their own pleasure, (...) avoid anything that may displease them, and study music only as much as it can satisfy their goals" ^{[20, p. 47]}. These words confirm the observations we made in the first sections of the article. The definitely "hothouse" conditions of their performances do not help amateurs either: an extremely narrow circle of listeners, as a rule, admire any performance, including careless ones.

The great Russian musician and public figure notes a very important detail: highly artistic works that remain beyond the interest of amateurs, called by Rubinstein "the serious, deep, ideal side of art" are inaccessible to them, and they choose only "light, superficial" ones ^{[20, p. 47]}. It should be noted that when Rubinstein wrote about this, the serious compositions that at the very beginning were compositions studied by court music lovers were now joined by sonatas, concertos and ensembles not only from the classical period (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), but also Schubert and Chopin, Weber and Mendelssohn, Liszt and Schumann. And without serious training, without hours of work not only on technique, but also on diving into the depths of an artistic idea, and finally, without ambition, forcing a musician to set and achieve high results, it was impossible to become a professional.

The article provoked a sharply negative response from V. Stasov and among domestic musicians who had not received a professional musical education. Indeed, the talented Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Kui, Rimsky-Korsakov, having emerged from the ranks of amateurs, became outstanding composers. Composers, but not pianists, who founded the Russian piano school. The creation of a musical educational institution involved the education not of a few gifted young men, but of a fairly significant number of musicians who profess common and explicit principles and goals of musical professional education. A. Rubinstein replied to his opponents: "We will be told that great geniuses rarely came out of the conservatory; we agree with this, but who can deny that great geniuses come out of the conservatory good musicians, and that's exactly what's needed in our vast homeland. Russian Russian Conservatory music teachers, Russian musicians for the orchestra, Russian singers and female singers who will work the way a man works who sees in his art a means of livelihood, the right to public respect, a means to become famous, a means to completely surrender to his divine a vocation, as anyone who respects himself and his art should work" ^{[20, p. 53]}.

A. Rubinstein carefully selected teachers who would combine knowledge of the basics of the Austro-German school, which gave the world a large number of excellent professionals, both concert pianists and teachers. One of the most striking figures of the creators of the galaxy of outstanding teachers was T. Leshetitsky ^[21].

The uniqueness of T. Leshetitsky's personality was that he successfully mastered the basic fundamental principles of the famous piano school, which dates back more than a decade, under the guidance of K. Cherni. From Czerny, he learned how to systematize the technical foundations as a base that every professional pianist who wants to perform artistically complex technical works such as Beethoven's sonatas and concertos should receive. Perhaps, a certain role in the systematization of his methods, in turn, was played by the fact that as a young man, T. Leshetitsky was educated at a University in Vienna, where studies followed certain established rules that produce professionals in their field. Perhaps it was there that Leshetitsky realized the importance of discipline in homework and the need for final reports on the material he had studied. Being an extraordinary person, T. Leshetitsky managed to adapt the skills acquired in classes with K. Czerny and at the University of Vienna to a new educational institution and develop them in such a way that his methods, in turn, became necessary components for the work of a professional musical educational institution. With varying degrees of giftedness, the same basic principles were developed for all students. These included:

1. In order to perform at report checks and open conservatory concerts, all students were required to learn the works by a certain deadline, which contributed to the development of academic discipline both in the classroom and in the independent work of students.;

2. the performance of highly artistic and technically complex works has determined the requirement to memorize the musical text;

3. in order to develop criteria for the student's performance and critical thinking, the exams and open concerts were conducted under the commission;

4. The quality of the performance came to the fore in evaluating the game: conveying the depth of the author's idea and technical excellence.

5. For deep comprehension of serious highly artistic works and future conscious and responsible pedagogical activity, fundamental comprehensive education was introduced, the expansion of the musical base, through the inclusion of theoretical disciplines.

Russian Russian music figures did not pass by the conservatory, because only educational institutions were able to provide a multifaceted education of the individual, which included comprehensive education, discipline, ambition, and educational activities aimed at the benefit of the people and Russian culture.