THE ARTIST AND THE GOVERNMENT: AN ATTEMPT AT AN UNBIASED ASSESSMENT OF THE MUSICAL CULTURE OF SOVIET-ERA LVIV

Abstract

The article highlights the problem of a reasoned reassessment of the work of Lviv composers of the Soviet period, primarily of the first post-war decades. It is pointed out the difficulty of establishing obvious ideological markers of a number of works that were evaluated from the standpoint of socialist realism. Forms of compromise in the socioprofessional and creative activities of S. Lyudkevich, M. Kolessa, and A. Kos-Anatolskyi are considered, and their role in the preservation of national culture and the development of musical education is emphasized. The paradox of socialist realism as art with an impossible goal is considered. Forms of “artistic mimicry” are defined, thanks to which it was possible to overcome ideological limitations in creativity: giving a communist name or program to works with a different intention; replacing “dangerous” words with neutral ones or using ideologically correct texts with hints understandable to local listeners; the use of so-called “melodic allusions” associated with an ideologically “disloyal” work; the principle of concluding concert programs; creation of transcriptions and arrangements on themes from “unwanted works” as own arrangements of folk songs. It is proposed to approach the work of Lviv composers of the post-war period taking into account the historical and political conditions in which they had to create, and the ways in which they tried to protect themselves from the loss of spiritual identity.