Functional Differentiation of the Professions “Concertmaster” and “Accompanist”

Abstract

The article examines functional differences in professional activity of the concertmaster and the accompanist, in the following planes: the historical traditions, professional identity, and national and mental perception by the theorists and practitioners of musical performance as well as by music lovers. The author specifies main typological characteristics for the accompaniment as an instrumental support for the soloist, and the art of concertmaster as an art of ensemble playing, by the examples of instrumental and vocal genres. Structural analysis of the specific features of perception of the accompaniment and concertmastery in Russia and in foreign countries is performed. The “range of abilities” and the “range of responsibilities” of a concertmaster and an accompanist are analyzed in detail from the standpoint of music-making and from the teaching and managerial points of view. The author concludes that these problems are not studied enough, and, as a consequence, there is not any clear gradational scale for assessment of the activities of accompanists and concertmasters.