TOWARDS SOCIOLOGY OF MUSIC: FROM THE SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE OF L.L. SABANEEV

• Main Author: V. G. Lukianov
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Publishing House of Lomonosov Moscow State University 2017-10-01
• Series: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta: Seriâ 18, Sociologiâ i Politologiâ
• Subjects: l.l. sabaneev; sociological approach to the study of music; sociology of music; production and consumption of music; the taste group; a typology of music listeners
• Online Access: https://vestnik.socio.msu.ru/jour/article/view/290

The author analyzes the ideas of L.L. Sabaneev (1881–1968) – Professor of Moscow University, a well-known Russian musicologist, music critic, pianist and composer who emigrated in 1926. His theoretical ideas remain almost unexplored. However, his works on the theory and history of music are still interesting: he substantiated the need of sociological approach to the study of music and the analysis of music in context of social life. Unlike his contemporaries, musicologists (A.V. Lunacharsky, B.V. Asafiev, R.I. Gruber, etc.), who, although set the task of the development of the sociological approach, but did not implement it at once, Sabaneyev published his works on the history of music in the mid 20-ies, he tried to reveal this problem on the new methodological basis. The article shows that, Sabaneev suggested to renew the methodology of domestic musicology in the 20-ies of the XX century. Sabaneev developed a special conceptual apparatus (“production” and “consumption” of music, “the environment or the consumer of the musical arts”, “musical (sound) consciousness”, “taste group”, “style” – individual, group, “school style”, “style of the epoch”, etc.), by means of which he was able to realize the task of development of the sociological approach in musicology. There presented a statement that the introduction by Sabaneev such terms as “impression of the spirit”, “a type of feeling”, “world vision”, “musical vision”, “audible world perception”, “world outlook” in many ways anticipates the modern idea of picture of the world (which includes three components – world outlook, world perception and worldview), which finds its embodiment in the work of art. Sabaneev’s effort to present a typology of music listeners, which turned out to be innovative in its time became valuable for the present stage of sociology of music development. Much later T.W. Adorno put the problem “theoretical establishment of certain types of music listening in today’s society”, but Sabaneev did not confine this task. He tried to consider the problem in historical perspective, developing the concept of formation and updating of “taste groups”. Trying to uncover the connection between music and “a common cultural life”, Sabaneev with his works has undoubtedly made an important contribution into the formation of the methodological foundations of the science about music. The author believes that this contribution to a large extent relates to the sociology of music: Sabaneev largely anticipated the future development of this scientific discipline, having developed a conceptual apparatus that allowed him to reveal “the sociological preconditions in which music is determined”.