Piano music of Russian composers as a means of cultural adaptation of Chinese students

Abstract

The relevance of the topic of the article is determined by the intensification of Russian-Chinese educational cooperation and by the need to find pedagogical means that ensure not a formal but a meaningful inclusion of students from the People’s Republic of China in the Russian artistic and educational environment. In a music teacher training university, the cultural adaptation of an international student is connected not only with mastering the language of communication and the norms of academic behaviour, but also with mastering the value and meaning space of professional culture. The article reveals the potential of the piano music of Russian composers as a means of cultural adaptation of Chinese students. Particular attention is paid to the specific features of the Chinese educational and performing context, to the differences between the Russian and the Chinese piano traditions, and to the role of the teacher as a mediator between the artistic text and the cultural experience of the student. It is substantiated that the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, S.V. Rachmaninoff, A.N. Scriabin, S.S. Prokofiev, D.D. Shostakovich, D.B. Kabalevsky, S.M. Maykapar and other Russian composers can perform an adaptive function provided that there is a stage-by-stage selection of repertoire, a cultural and historical commentary, a comparison of Russian and Chinese intonation and imagery concepts, and the involvement of students in performing and reflective practices. The scientific novelty of the article lies in considering Russian piano music as a pedagogically organised cultural mediator that ensures the transition of a Chinese student from an external acquaintance with a different musical tradition to a meaningful participation in the Russian professional and musical space.