Bratislava School of Musicology as a Centre of Slavic Way of Thinking in Scientific and Artistic Work

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to highlight the history of the formation and development of the Department of Musicology at Comenius University in Bratislava from its foundation in 1921 to the present day. The research methodology consists in the application of the historical method to study musicology as an academic discipline in relation to the historical context and to present a holistic picture of its development; biographical studies to outline the figures of the Slovak general cultural and special musicological school. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the characterisation of the Bratislava School of Musicology, which in the nineteenth century became the centre of musicology in Slovakia, developing traditional musicological problems and the methodology and practice of modern musical research. Conclusions. The article highlights the development of musicology as an academic discipline at Comenius University in Bratislava, its national and European musical traditions, which led to the emergence of the Slovak school of musicology, founded by Dobroslav Orel. The activities of the Czech D. Orel led to the emergence of a galaxy of Slovak musicologists and music historians who were brought up on the principles of the educational and scientific methodology of European academic education. This was the first generation of musicologists to receive a thorough professional education of the European model in their homeland. As a result of the active interaction of scholars of several generations, the traditions of a powerful scientific centre, Bratislava, strong in its combination of Europeanist breadth of education and pro-Slavic patriotic focus of its professional activities, were formed.

Key words: Department of Musicology at Comenius University in Bratislava, student, lecturer, musicology education, European academic education.