From the History of Formation of Kharkiv School of Orchestral Conducting.
The article is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the class of opera and symphonic conducting at I. P. Kotliarevsky Kharkiv State University of Arts, as well as to the 100th anniversary of this university. In 20 and 21 century, the profession of conductor became one of the most prestigious professions in music. This is the reason behind the heightened interest towards it on the part of the specialists of this sphere and musicologists. Still, there are no systematized materials regarding the conductor education in Kharkiv during 1920-40s available to researchers. The aim of this article, which comprises its novelty, is to analyze the stages of formation of Kharkiv school of orchestral conducting and to fill in the gaps in data. In the autumn of 1927, at Kharkiv Institute of Music and Drama, the class of op-era and symphonic conducting taught by Iakov Abramovych Rosenshtein was estab-lished. He raised many conductors, the most famous being P. Balenko, M. Budiansky, I. Vymer, F. Dolgova, K. Doroshenko, D. Klebanov, B. Kozhevnykov, V. Nakhabin, V. Tolba, and others. In 1932-1935, the head conductor of the Ukrainian Philharmonic Hall was Herman Adler, the graduate of the German Academy of Music and Performance Arts in Prague, who was to become a worldwide arts celebrity. In 1932-1934, he also taught conducting at Kharkiv Institute of Music and Drama. Even though his stay in Kharkiv was short, his contribution to the development of the Ukrainian school of conducting and symphonic performance is hard to overestimate. In late 1920s and early 1930s, at Ukrainian State Capital City Opera, as N. V. Ly-senko Kharkiv State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet was called at that time, the performances were conducted by such masters as L. Steinberg, A. Bron, B. Vrana, E. Margulyan, A. Pazovsky, I. Palitsyn, M. Verikovsky, I. Weisenberg, A. Rudnitsky, P. Stavrovsky, F. Shtidri, and others. Students were obliged to attend their rehearsals and performances. After Rosenshtein and Adler moved to Kyiv in mid-1930s, the special class in con-ducting at Kharkiv State Conservatory was taught by professor I. Weisenberg and tutors K. Doroshenko and V. Tolba. From September 1943, it was taught by professor V. Ko-marenko and associate professor K. Doroshenko; in 1945, they were joined by V. Pi-radov. 1939 saw the establishment of the Opera studio at Kharkiv State Conservatory, which became an artistic laboratory for students of vocal performance and conducting. In 1939-1941, the studio collaborated with I. Weisenberg, I. Vymer, V. Tolba; in 1945-2017, with V. Piradov, M. Budiansky, I. Gusman, P. Slavinsky, P. Balenko, I. Steiman, A. Liudmylin, V. Nikolaev, V. Kutsenko, A. Kalabukhyn, and others. In the summer of 1947, the class of opera and symphonic conducting at Kharkiv State Conservatory was closed. In 1947-1968 and 1973-2008, orchestra conductors were studying at the department of folk instruments. In 1948-1957 and 1963-1968, it was headed by professor Konstantin Doroshenko. Having employed the experience of the best conductors, he created the most successful school of orchestra conducting in Kharkiv. His study programs were borrowed by similar departments across the whole Soviet Union. Among the students of K. Doroshenko were A. Vidulina, V. Grizodub, A. Kalabukhin, B. Mikheev, A. Nazarenko, V. Nikolaev, V. Pluzhnikov, V. Savinykh, and others. The most talented students became the assistants of the conductor at the Opera studio of Kharkiv State Conservatory, and afterwards – the conductors at the op-era, the musical comedy theater, and various types of orchestras, including symphonic orchestras. The first successful attempt to reestablish the class of opera and symphonic conduct-ing at Kharkiv Institute of Arts was made in 1968 by Ievgenii Duschenko, the head con-ductor of N. V. Lysenko Kharkiv Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. The students A. Markhlevsky, V. Mutin, Sh. Paltadzhan, M. Sechkin, N. Sukach, and N. Shpak attained the second degree. In 1973, the special class was again closed. In 2008, on the initia-tive of professor T. Verkina, the rector of I. P. Kotliarevsky Kharkiv State University of Arts, associate professors V. Pluzhnikov and Yu. Yanko reestablished the class in opera and symphonic conducting for the third time. In 2010-2013, it was taught by professor Sh. Paltadzhan and associate professor V. Kutsenko. From September 2016, the class is maintained by professor A. Kalabukhin. Among the 2008-2017 graduates are master L. Karachevtseva and bachelors G. Krupskaya, T. Kutsenko, S. Neverov, T. Nikogosyan, E. Radiyevskaya, I. Solovey, R. Uschapovsky, A. Chemerys, and Yu. Yakovenko. We can conclude that during the 90 years of its existence, the Kharkiv school of orchestral conducting has amassed a vast experience and has a significant potential for further development. It would be now very useful to further international cooperation with colleagues representing different national schools and various currents of musical and theatral arts.