“PIANO PLAY SCHOOL” BY OLEKSANDR YAKOVCHUK

Abstract

Oleksandr Yakovchuk is a well-known Ukrainian composer, author of operas, ballets, symphonies, and a number of program works for various ensembles. Piano music for children occupies an important place in the artistʼs work. Piano albums “Wild Beasts of Canada”, “Piano Miniatures”, “Twelve Polyphonic Pieces”, Piano Duets for Four Hands” are a valuable pedagogical repertoire. A special place in the creative work of Oleksandr Yakovchuk for children is occupied by his “Piano Play School”, the purpose of which is to educate a young musician on modern material. All the creative findings of this “Piano Play School” are the result of practical pedagogical work of O. Yakovchuk in Yugoslavia and Canada, as well as his acquaintance with the peculiarities of the music education in Hungary, Austria, Germany and the United States. The aim of the work is to determine the features and specifics of O. Yakovchukʼs “Piano Play School” in terms to the main pedagogical and performance tasks of the piano class. The research methodology consists in its reliance on established historical, methodological, theoretical and technological positions of Ukrainian piano pedagogy (N. Guralnykʼs works, etc.) in their correlation with recognized world methods in the field of piano pedagogy and performance by Sh. Suzuki, B. Berlin, O. Nikolaev, as well as his own rich pedagogical experience of the author. The scientific novelty of the work is due to the fact that it considers a completely new methodological and pedagogical publication, new not only in its time of appearance (2019), but new and innovative in its educational ideas, in its educational concept, which is revealed in this work. This “Piano Play School” opening opportunities for Ukrainian piano pedagogy to get rid of Soviet methodology and Soviet pedagogical repertoire relicts. To replace it must to coming the modern world heritage and the modern Ukrainian material. The conclusions are to confirm the conceptual originality and methodological persuasiveness of the authorʼs proposed approach to learning the piano play in a modern school. His propositions are a combination of three important components – focus on the Ukrainian repertoire, a bright global context and originality of the proposed way of young pianist development.