To the issues of methodology for studying the conductor’s individuality

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theoretical conceptualization of the phenomenon of the conduc- tor’s individuality within the system of contemporary choral art as a specific type of creative subjectivity that integrates artistic-interpretative, communicative, and pedagogical functions. It is clarified that the conductor’s individuality has an aesthetic and interpretative nature and is manifested in a distinctive performing style, in the choice of a timbral–sonic ideal, in the specificity of working with the choir, and in a developed system of creative solutions charac- teristic of a particular maestro. The structural components of the choir conductor’s individuality are revealed: worldview and value orientations, artistic–figurative thinking, psychophysical and leadership qualities, professional and technical skills (gesture, sound management, work with the score, rehearsal strategy), as well as a set of performing techniques that ensure the stable artistic quality of choral sound. Methodological approaches to studying conductor’s individuality are analysed – the biographical (the context of life and creativity), the analytical– interpretative (examination of performing versions), the phenomenological (understanding the conductor’s artistic impact on the ensemble and the listener), and the psychological (profiling the type of creativity and communication). Emphasis is placed on the contribution of Ukrain- ian choral conductors of different periods – Oleksandr Koshyts, Pavlo Muravskyi, Yevhen Savchuk, and others – to the formation of the national conducting school and the expansion of the repertoire of interpretative models. The scholarly novelty lies in the comprehensive sys- tematization of criteria for analyzing the creative personality of the choir conductor precisely within the field of choral performance, as well as in the proposed structure of methodological approaches, which can be applied to further interdisciplinary research, in particular in the psychology of creativity, music pedagogy, and archival studies (involving manuscript scores, correspondence, contemporaries’ memoirs, and audio and video recordings). The prospects for further research are outlined in the direction of identifying correlations between the indi- vidual style of the conductor and the transformational processes in the musical culture of the 20th – 21st centuries.