Traditions of the Russian School of Composition in the education of a modern musician: a methodological aspect

Abstract

In the modern system of music education, there is a contradiction between the need to preserve the national cultural heritage and the trends toward simplifying curricula under the influence of globalization and commercialization. This study is devoted to the analysis of methodological aspects of integrating the traditions of the Russian compositional school into the process of educating contemporary performing musicians. The purpose of the work is to identify the effectiveness of adapting the principles laid down in the works of M.I. Glinka, P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and others to improve the quality of students' professional training. Particular attention is paid to fundamental disciplines such as polyphony, harmony, and analysis of musical forms, which contribute to the development of analytical thinking and holistic artistic interpretation. The methodological basis of the study is a comprehensive pedagogical experiment conducted at two leading music universities in Russia from September 2023 to June 2025. The participants included 88 students of performance faculties, divided into control (n=44) and experimental (n=44) groups. In the experimental group, the curriculum was modified by increasing the number of hours devoted to theoretical disciplines (polyphony - up to 18,75%, harmony up to 16,45%, analysis of forms up to 15,80%) with their integration into practical performance. Data were collected through examination auditions, tests, questionnaires, and interviews with teachers. Statistical processing was performed using SPSS Statistics 26,0, including Student's t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis. The results showed a significant increase in performance indicators in the experimental group: the average score for depth of interpretation increased by 12.9 points, and for understanding of form by 17.85 points compared to the control group (0.001). A decrease in standard deviation indicates greater homogeneity of results. Correlation analysis revealed a strong relationship between time spent on form analysis and quality of performance (r=0.812 0.001). Students highly rated the usefulness and complexity of the new program elements (average scores 4,6-4,95). Discussion of the results confirms that the traditions of the Russian school are not archaic, but effective for modern education, contributing to the formation of musician-thinkers. Ignoring them leads to a decline in the professional level. The conclusions emphasize the need to reform curricula to integrate these principles, which will ensure the competitiveness of the national music school. Prospects include the development of recommendations for various specialties.