Viktorija Kolarovska - Gmirja
Vlastimir Nikolovski’s Contribution to the Formation of the Macedonian Composers’ School
Vlastimir Nikolovski’s Contribution to the Formation of the Macedonian Composers’ School
The opus of Vlastimir Nikolovski (1925 - 2001) plays a key role in Macedonian musical culture. His music - distinctly national, original, inventive - long ago “passed the exam” beyond the borders of Macedonia and former Yugoslavia, thus promoting the creative genius of the Macedonian people in many European and non-European countries in the world. Nikolovski’s entire life and work as a composer, public figure and pedagogue was devoted to the acknowledgement of Macedonia and its spiritual heritage.
Vlastimir Nikolovski’s
work played a crucial role in the development of the Macedonian Composers’
School and the establishing of professionalism in composition. The historical
circumstances - above all, the absence of an independent state in modern
days - account for the “tardiness” in the formation of national schools
in separate countries. Macedonia was such a country, encountering the problem
of creating its own school as late as the 20th century, a period when most
of the European countries national composition schools had already reached
their apex and lowest point, i.e had already evolved. However, one of the
historical paradoxes and “jests” of the 20th century is its variety and
parallel existence of diametrically opposed phenomena and processes. Thus,
the professional Macedonian Composers’ School is an exact outcome of the
20th century, whereas its features are part of the century’s general history.
With the compositions created during the 1930s - especially the choral
pieces - the so-called “first generation” of Macedonian composers (Prokopiev,
Skalovski, Gajdov, Firfov, Bogdanov-Kochko) set the foundations of the
National Composers’ School in Macedonia. Nevertheless, the following generation
of composers had the task of establishing professionalism in composition,
as well as setting techniques and manners of music development able to
produce pieces in the most relevant European music genres (symphony, opera,
oratorio, sonata, concerto, quartet, etc.). To say that Vlastimir Nikolovski,
both as a composer and pedagogue, is one of the key figures of these processes,
is no exaggeration. Naturally, this role depended on many factors - objective
and subjective, beginning from separate facts from his biography, to the
specific features - human and creative - of his personality.
Vlastimir
Nikolovski belongs to a generation whose youth and growth occured during
the Second World War. For Macedonia, this war represented the final stage
of the liberation movement - freedom and independence for the country.
The young Nikolovski was caught in the very heart of events; his hometown
Prilep was in the midst of the partisan movement, so he and his close friends
were associated with its activities. Nikolovski greeted his 20th birthday
in an atmosphere of optimism and general spiritual rise: the enduring dream
of the Macedonian people had finally come true - free and independent Macedonia.
The power and potential of the people was employed into building the country,
into creating a modern European state, into forming various institutions,
among them the extremely valuable cultural institutions. It seems that
these historical conditions - war, battle, victory and liberty - formed
the dominant constant of conscience which defined Nikolovski’s views and
rules of life, as well as his points of orientation and forward movement.
This direct, unmythical approach to reality, not always in “black and white”,
but far more complex - provoked his independence of thought and scepticism
towards official authorities.
To a large
extent, Nikolovski’s decision to become a musician was influenced by his
father, the teacher and musician Vasil Nikolov. In his steps, as a young
man Nikolovski worked with choirs, re-composed folk songs, composed his
own songs. Bearing in mind Macedonia’s priorities of creating educated
staff, hundreds of youths were sent to other countries - mainly the USSR
- for further schooling or specialisation. Vlastimir Nikolovski was among
those who went to study at the Leningrad Conservatory. It is in Leningrad
that Nikolovski felt the historical strains and the shifting of the categories
“black” and “white”. In 1948, after a year of study with the professor
Orest Evlachov, together with a large group of Yugoslavian students in
other academic institutions, he was called back from the USSR, owing to
the deteriorating relations between the two countries following the resolution
of the Informbureau - this process had been underway for several years.
Regardless of this, after the year spent in Leningrad, Nikolovski forever
remained bound to the great tradition of Russian culture and art, accepting
its key aesthetical and ethical convictions and directions. In addition,
Russian music and its great classics (Glinka, Musorgsky) and contemporaries
? Prokofiev, and especially Schostakovich - became dominant in Nikolovski’s
music tendencies. Nikolovski returned home after his graduation at the
Belgrade Music Academy under the instruction of Milenko Zhivkovikj - the
distinguished professor who helped educate Macedonian composition staff.
Much like the other members of this wonderful generation of “creators”,
Vlastimir Nikolovski employed all his knowledge and energy to serve his
country: as an editor in Radio Skopje, a professor at the Music High School,
the Academy of Pedagogy, the School of Music - i.e the Faculty of Music
in Skopje (Nikolovski was the first Dean of this single music academic
institution in Macedonia, as well as its longtime professor of composition),
director of the Opera and Ballet, organiser and president of the Macedonian
Composers’ Association. However, he was above all a composer who established
professionalism in composition in the Macedonian National School.
The multiple
layers of energy of life and creativity largely depend on Nikolovski’s
personal characteristics. A typical extrovert, a man always in the centre,
but also in the centre of events, Nikolovski was in constant communication,
constant dialogue with the outer world, “feeding on” this communication
and drawing energy from it. Nikolovski saw the world around him meticulously
and in many ways, able to observe, to perceive and to re-create in an impressionist
way. This sharpened view on the world was naturally a result of his generous,
multiple talents: besides the talent for composing, Vlastimir Nikolovski
had a special talent for writing, drawing and mime - he was not called
a “walking theatre” without a purpose (a precious recording exists of Nikolovski’s
satirical memoirs Examinations with Petre performed by the author).
Thus, his music encompasses these components: it is imagistic, “tangible”,
characteristic, full of surprising, unconventional solutions. Nikolovski’s
personal qualities, as well as his historical role in the formation of
the professional compositional school outlined the basic stylistic dominants
of his work.
As one of the first professional Macedonian composers,
Nikolovski, like the other composers with a similar historical role, stood
before the following tasks:
- formation of a “national” music language - a language
that would unite universal, “all-European” features and the essential characteristics
of the national music tradition;
- formation of a genre system characteristic for the European
music culture and mastering the key genres of European vocal and instrumental
music;
- formation (as a result of the above-mentioned tasks)
of a characteristic system of concept and content which unites musical
and non-musical contents stemming from the merging of words and music.
The national
music tradition is manifested mainly through folklore. Therefore,
one of the most prominent features of Nikolovski’s works
is his inclination towards Macedonian music folklore - a tendency known
as folklorism in the 20th century. One might say that folklore is
the main stylistic dominant in Nikolovski’s music, whereas he became the
leading promoter of the “national music style” in Macedonian professional
music.
Two main functions of folklore in Nikolovski’s work should be distinguished:
1. Establishing the national specifics
of music trough re-working, use of particular folk motifs mainly through
quotes, and the so-called “creating in the national spirit” (according
to Bartok), and thus, creating music in the general “national sense”, “national
quality”. This function appears in the work of any composer who establishes
or develops the national tradition in professional music. In Nikolovski’s
work, this function of folklore is particularly prominent. In his music
we see all three manners of working with folklore (re-working, quoting,
and “creating in the national spirit”). The third manner prevails through
the use of specific modes, rhythmic intonations, timbres and performance
techniques, as well as orientation towards specific folk genres. In this
sense, the most essential genres become tazhalka (mourning song)
and particularly the Teshkoto ? the key genre of Macedonian folklore which
illustrates the Macedonian people’s tragic past, their enduring pain, as
well as the strength of their spirit. Nikolovski’s symphonisation of the
Teshkoto and its incorporation in the symphonic and sonata cycle (Concerto
for Piano and Orchestra, Symphony no.2 “Barbara”, Folk Sonata, etc) is
one of his most important works. In the Teshkoto, the composer represents
the massive power and energy of the dance’s continuing development, a development
quite unique in folk practice. A specific compositional criterion and a
dramaturgical profile of the music form are connected with the Teshkoto.
Nikolovski used these criteria further, in works that do not bear the title
of this genre (Symphony no.3 “Rustica”, first movement).
2. The second function of folklore
is characteristic of Macedonian professional music, or is maybe most visible
in Nikolovski’s music. It is seen in the essential features of Macedonian
folklore which bring it closer to the European music avant-garde practice
of the time. This practice includes: micro-intervals connected to the developed
folk melismas; the complex metric and rhythmic irregularity directly connected
to the specific Macedonian (and Balkan) irregular measures; the principle
of “open form” seen in the characteristic dramaturgical movement
of the Teshkoto with its crescendo ascent towards culmination, and stopping
(but not ending) at the highest “point of tension”. The sensitive ear of
the composer subtly grasps these particularities, wherewith Nikolovski
becomes remarkably national, original, and on the other hand, present,
contemporary, without losing touch with his “ancient” land. Perhaps the
most striking example is the composition Sonoro for clarinet, viola, piano
and percussion - one of the “most radical” in terms of the methods used,
but at the same time most clearly connected to folk themes (of course,
re-created in a grotesque, detached form).
Naturally, national music tradition is not based solely
on folklore. Another important component of Nikolovski’s intonational music
opus is the old Macedonian church tradition revived owing to the attempts
of the Macedonian Orthodox chant musicologists. Thus, the “church Slavonic”
stream of Nikolovski’s music developed, evident in the second movement
of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, in other, smaller, mainly choral
compositions, but above all in the two monumental oratorios To Cyril and
To Clement. These works see the virtuoso adjustment of the different manners
of the vocal tradition related to the church tradition (psalm singing,
raspev). The monumentality, the greatness, the merge of the epic and the
drama gives these works the sound of a national epic with a high moral.
Another important
intonational source defining Nikolovski’s musical “speech” is Macedonian
speech itself, in different variations (dialect, city, official, etc.).
History of music notes that the composers who saw speech as an important
source of music intonation often contributed to radical changes in the
renewal and “avant-gardisation” of the musical language (the best example
is Musorgsky). Thus, in many of Nilovski’s works, the music recreation
of speech serves the same purpose. One such drastic example of the approach
to speech and its music interpretation is the choral piece Engagement 2,
where the vocal line of the soloists and the choir is a type of sprechgesang
- “speech singing” with undetermined pitch, but defined intonational “rises”
and “falls”. Nikolovski interprets other languages musically: Old Church
Slavonic, Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian, Polish...
The prevalence
of folklore in Nikolovski’s individual style did not hinder the permeation
of other styles in his music, above all neoclassicism, one of the “megastyles”
of the 20th century. Neoclassicism’s main trait - re-creation of the stylistic
model ? appears most vividly in the string orchestra suite Old Dances.
However, “pure” neoclassicism, with special stress on the stylisation of
the professional music language of the past, is not particularly customary
for Nikolovski. Even when it seems as if the idea for a piece “provokes”
stylisation, Nikolovski succeeds in evading it. The three sonatas Dedication
for Scarlatti are a good example of this process. In this work, Scarlatti’s
style is seen in the meticulous pianist techniques and the form resembling
the old sonata form. Nevertheless, the theme of the piece begins in “a
la Scarlatti” mode, but seems to “slide” towards the folk rhythms and intonations.
The genre system within Nikolovski’s works is rich and
elaborate. His opus includes almost all genres of professional European
music: from symphonies to the Youth Album for piano. Nikolovski’s genres
share the same “fate” with all 20th century music genres. They can be presented
in a form closer to a traditional genre (Symphony no.3 “Rustica”, Concerto
for Piano and Orchestra, the oratorios, etc.), or in an altered form of
the genres, sometimes producing a mix of genres. This process is particularly
evident in the symphonic genre - a genre essential for European music tradition.
However, the 20th century faced a crisis in terms of the rising demand
for new streams and ideas (a subject of theoretical debate). Nikolovski’s
works note opposed concepts of the symphonic genre. Thus, his second symphony
Barbara is a prominent example of an oratorio-symphony (the elaborate choral
sections, the notable role of the poetic text), whereas the fourth symphony
Teatrale is a type of chamber symphony for wind quintet and narrator with
elements of “instrumental theatre”. In fact, these two variations of the
symphonic cycle bring out the two essential features of the Nikolovski’s
creative method: the role of the word in music, and the theatrical elements
as a way of thinking, creating and developing music characters.
The word as
an inseparable component of the general musical, i.e musical-poetic concept.
We already mentioned the composer’s literary talent: in some pieces, such
as To Cyril, he is the author of the text. Therefore, we may conclude that
Nikolovski’s creative personality was of a synthetic type (much like Musorgsky,
Orff, Wagner). It is no coincidence that his most prominent monumental
works containing philosophical and ethical ideas are in the realm of the
synthetic genres, with the word supporting the meaning (to the above-mentioned
oratorios we shall add The Sirdar and the symphony Barbara). His poetic
inspiration stems from the ancient hagiographies, to Grigor Prlichev and
contemporary Macedonian poetry - Blazhe Koneski, Ante Popovski, Gjorgji
Stalev, and of course, Ilija Popovski, whose humour followed Nikolovski
all throughout his creative life.
The theatrical
elements add to a special quality of music: the manner of portraying, personification
and features of the characters are especially evident in pieces not written
for the stage; these works are always followed by the comment “how well
they would suit the stage”. It is interesting that Nikolovski, with his
obvious dramatic and narrative talent, never wrote a single opera (the
idea of writing the satirical Demagogueiad remained unrealised). Nevertheless,
the theatrical elements are present in many of his pieces. Perhaps this
quality is most visible in his choral works - “music scenes” where the
author seems to be “behind the curtain”, and his words seem to not exist.
However, some of his instrumental works also bear this quality - for example,
the above-mentioned Sonoro and the finale of the Piano Concerto, employ
the methods of “instrumental theatre”. The theatric elements become evident
in the timbre solutions and the specific methods of producing sounds, the
shaded differentiations of the choral groups - “personages”, or, on the
other hand, in the stage behaviour of the instrumentalists, the abrupt
contrasts and the complex process of acquiring form, often with unexpected
reversals. The theatrical elements mainly depend on humour ? one of the
most significant qualities of Nikolovski’s view on the world, and one of
the main “characters” in his works (in some choral compositions, laugher
is literally re-created as an important source of intonation and content).
One may say that humour imposes theatrical qualities, imposes the logics
of play, thus emphasising the “scherzo” rule as one of the leading in Nikolovski’s
music.
In Nikolovski’s
music, humour has several gradations - starting from a light joke, to a
sharp satire, a grotesque (his cycles Satyr, Antiliturgy). But above all,
it is humour coming from a man of the people, who may laugh at the authorities
and always remain untouched, individual. On the other hand, Nikolovski’s
music world includes tragic characters (the moving Lenka, Three Macedonian
Folk Songs, The Sirdar) and tense, dramatic, lofty, subtly lyrical characters.
All of these spheres involve a complex pattern of adequate musical means
of expression (such as the above-mentioned “scherzo” style of the comical).
Thus, Nikolovski’s music reflects the specific and complete natural character
of Macedonian men.
Nikolovski’s
understanding of the special significance of art and the special mission
of the artist in society is seen in the versatile nature of his work and
the obvious striving towards all-embracing musical-poetic concepts. For
him and the other artists of that generation, the conscious promotion of
the national principle was a patriotic act, an act of national self-affirmation
in unique historical conditions - the negation of the Macedonian nation,
language and state by some Balkan countries. Thus, Vlastimir Nikolovski
belongs to the wide circle of musicians-composers who do not completely
accept the idea of art for art’s sake, but strive towards the realisation
of great universal ideas, often by use of non-music means (word, plot,
etc.), and aim to achieve a “social dimension” of music. Naturally, they
remain musicians, enriching and reviving music language and music expression
by their constant search for adequate means.
Bibliography:
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In: Sovetskaya muzyka No. 1. Moskva, pp. 117-121
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