FROM THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST CHINESE CELLISTS’ TRAINING AT THE MOSCOW CONSERVATORY (based on archived materials)

UDC 787
DOI: 10.36871/hon.202401097

Authors

Wen Yaping,
Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts, Moscow, 121165, Russian Federation

Abstract

This article studies the personal files of Chinese cellists who got their professional education at the Moscow Conservatory in the mid-1950s – early 1960s. The main objectives of the article: to reveal the unknown pages of the first Chinese cellists’ training at this educational institution; to show the importance of the Russian music education system for their future musical career; to introduce into scientific circulation the data relating to the subject under study from archival sources. Archival materials testify that outstanding cello teachers M. Rostropovich and T. Kozolupova worked with Chinese youth studying at the Moscow Conservatory. Out of the twenty-eight students, there were four cellists studying at the same time — a rare occurrence, but indicating a special demand for this specialty among the Chinese to master a universal string instrument: solo, ensemble, orchestral. As an illustrative example, the article examines in detail the personal case of Situ Zhiwen. The results of the study lead to a number of conclusions, the main of which is to prove the need to continue the study of archival materials devoted to the training of Chinese music students in the conservatories of the Soviet Union in order to reconstruct their creative path, as well as the formation of music and performing schools in China.

Keywords

cellists, China, Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, archival fund, M. Rostropovich, T. Kozolupova, Situ Zhiwen