Tallinna Riikliku Konservatooriumi 1948. aasta teaduslik sessioon nõukogude ideoloogia kontekstis

Abstract

In December 1948 the first academic session of the Tallinn State Conservatoire took place. The organisation of this event was directly related to the resolution of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union “On Muradeli’s Opera The Great Friendship”, which was issued on 10 February 1948 and marked a significant increase in ideological pressure on the musical life of the USSR. In accordance with the demands of the Party, the session concentrated on (re)evaluating Estonia’s musical heritage according to the principles of Marxist-Leninist aesthetics and on seeking the relationship between Estonian and Russian culture. This article examines the papers of the session from the perspective of the expression of Soviet ideology. One of the strategies of the Soviet regime for implementing its worldview was the re-evaluation of the past by rewriting history. From the point of view of Estonian music history, the Conservatoire’s session papers were one of the first documented pieces of evidence of such a reassessment. The purpose of the article is therefore to analyse what elements of Soviet ideology are present in the texts and how and by which means the authors associated them with Estonian music history.