MAŽOSIOS LIETUVOS MUZIKOS KULTŪROS DEMOKRATĖJIMO PRIELAIDOS
PRECONDITIONS FOR THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF MUSICAL CULTURE IN LITHUANIA MINOR

Summary/Abstract: The essay provides a short overview of the major steps in the democratization of music in Lithuania Minor and the circumstances that conditioned them. Much attention is devoted to the pre-history of the 19th-century Lithuanian national musical rebirth and the general cultural context of secular music. Special attention is given to the Experts and Amateurs movement of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, as it is viewed as the central impulse for the democratization of musical life in Lithuania Minor. The activities of music lovers representing various social groups in Karaliauèius, Tilþë, Klaipëda and elsewhere served as the basis for public concerts and for the establishment of permanent theatres. Such an environment gave way to the predominance of Neoclassicism, popularization of the scientific study of music, emergence of music criticism, emancipation of the musician’s profession, secularization of religious music, popularity of instrumental music, and interest in the national music. Supported by additional factors (such as a long-lived concentration of culture in urban areas, notably rich traditions of religious and secular occasional music, and the influence of world-famous musical stars), the Experts and Amateurs movement brought the musical culture of Lithuania Minor to an early democratization and facilitated the successful spread of Lithuanian national musical movement.

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