VLASTIMIR NIKOLOVSKI’S “CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA” AS A PEDAGOGICAL MODEL FOR DEVELOPING INTERPRETATIVE COMPETENCIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46763/Abstract
Higher music education aims to develop performers who connect technical preparedness with analytical thinking, sound imagination and independent interpretative judgement. In piano teaching, this aim becomes especially important when students work on compositions that combine traditional notation with contemporary sound and performance procedures. This paper examines Vlastimir Nikolovski’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” as a pedagogical model for developing interpretative competencies in piano students. The study is based on a qualitative case study, descriptive-analytical observation and methodological-interpretative reflection, supported by content analysis of selected score segments that require conscious performance decisions. The concerto was selected because of its pianistic, formal, folkloric, spiritual and performative complexity. Particular attention is given to the pedagogical value of the concerto’s specific performance demands: the vocal part in the second movement, clusters, palm and fist strikes, glissandi with a degree of performative freedom, knocking under the keyboard, vocal exclamations in the strings and orchestral effects requiring coordination between soloist, conductor and ensemble. The paper argues that Nikolovski’s concerto can serve as complex pedagogical material in higher music education when approached as a field for performance inquiry, sound imagination, cultural understanding and interpretative maturity. The contribution of the study does not derive from empirical measurement of students’ competencies, but from the original methodological interpretation of an artistic work and from the identification of its pedagogical potential within piano teaching.
References
Apel, W. (1972). Harvard dictionary of music (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press.
Bartók, B. (1997). O vlijanii krest'janskoj muzyki na muzyku nashego vremeni [On the influence of peasant music on the music of our time]. Moscow.
Bunger, R. (1973). The well-prepared piano. Colorado College Music Press.
Caplin, W. E. (1998). Classical form: A theory of formal functions for the instrumental music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Oxford University Press.
Cinematheque of North Macedonia. (n.d.). Nikolovski Vlastimir. https://kinoteka.mk/lichnosti/николовски-властимир/
Colwell, R., & Hewitt, M. P. (2015). The teaching of instrumental music (5th ed.). Routledge.
Cook, N. (2013). Beyond the score: Music as performance. Oxford University Press.
Faculty of Music Arts, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. (2025, December 23). Odrzan simpozium “100 godini Vlastimir Nikolovski – tvorеshtvo, legat i vlijanie”. https://www.fmu.ukim.edu.mk/news/114
Gerasimovska-Dimitrovska, O. (2019). Aspekti na vlijanie na melodijata vrz reproduktivniot proces sprovedeno niz deloto Koncert za pijano i orkestar od akademik Vlastimir Nikolovski [Aspects of the influence of melody on the reproductive process through the work Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Academician Vlastimir Nikolovski] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Faculty of Music Arts, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.
Godlovitch, S. (1998). Musical performance: A philosophical study. Routledge.
Golabovski, S. (1999). Istorijata na makedonskata muzika [The history of Macedonian music]. Prosvetno delo.
Holmgren, C. (2022). Empowering piano students of Western classical music: Challenging teaching and learning of musical interpretation in higher education. Music Education Research, 24(5), 574–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2022.2101632
Ishii, R. (2005). The development of extended piano techniques in twentieth-century American music (Doctoral dissertation). Florida State University.
Jørgensen, H. (2004). Strategies for individual practice. In A. Williamon (Ed.), Musical excellence: Strategies and techniques to enhance performance (pp. 85–104). Oxford University Press.
Karkoschka, E. (1972). Notation in new music: A critical guide to interpretation and realization. Praeger.
Keefe, S. P. (Ed.). (2005). The Cambridge companion to the concerto. Cambridge University Press.
Kolovski, M. (1996). Koreni i cutovi: Folklorot vo tvorestvoto na Vlastimir Nikolovski [Roots and blossoms: Folklore in the works of Vlastimir Nikolovski]. Skopje.
Kolarovska-Gmirja, V. (2000). Shostakovich and Nikolovski: Directions for comparative analysis. Muzika, 6, 53–58.
Lehmann, A. C., Sloboda, J. A., & Woody, R. H. (2007). Psychology for musicians: Understanding and acquiring the skills. Oxford University Press.
Levy, K. (1980). Byzantine chant. In S. Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove dictionary of music and musicians. Macmillan.
McPherson, G. E., & Gabrielsson, A. (2002). From sound to sign. In R. Parncutt & G. E. McPherson (Eds.), The science and psychology of music performance: Creative strategies for teaching and learning (pp. 99–116). Oxford University Press.
Minors, H. J., Östersjö, S., Dalagna, G., & Correia, J. S. (Eds.). (2024). Teaching music performance in higher education: Exploring the potential of artistic research. Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0398
Nikolovski, V. (1978). Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [Unpublished score].
Rink, J. (Ed.). (2002). Musical performance: A guide to understanding. Cambridge University Press.
Sandberg-Jurström, R. (2022). Creating space for reflection: Meaning-making feedback in instrumental/vocal lessons. Frontiers in Education, 7, 842337. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.842337
Stone, K. (1980). Music notation in the twentieth century: A practical guidebook. W. W. Norton.
Vaes, L. (2009). Extended piano techniques in theory, history and performance practice (Doctoral dissertation). Leiden University.
Wellesz, E. (1961). A history of Byzantine music and hymnography (2nd ed.). Clarendon Press.
Williamon, A. (Ed.). (2004). Musical excellence: Strategies and techniques to enhance performance. Oxford University Press.
Zhabeva-Papazova, J. (2009, November 28–29). Review of the performance of Vlastimir Nikolovski’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Dnevnik, 38.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Воспитание / Vospitanie - Journal of Educational Sciences, Theory and Practice
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
