Stefan Szuman’s psychology of music

Bibliogr. s. 75. Strona wydawcy: https://www.wuj.pl

The aim of this paper is to present professor Stefan Szuman’s unconventional approach to the psychology of music. His interests and publications in this field were closely connected with his post-war engagement in the national movement for the rebuilding of musical culture and in the process of forming the basis for the general aesthetic education of Polish society deprived of their cultural inheritance and intellectual elite by the war and years of German and Russian occupation. It was for these reasons that professor Szuman was predominantly concerned with studying and analyzing the process of music perception and musical experiences. He attempted to familiarize the untrained listeners with the personalities of such great virtuosos as F. Chopin, W.A. Mozart, J.S. Bach, G.F. Handel and explain the values found in their masterpieces. While conducting his analyses, he did not use any abstract tests or data but the music, letters, speeches and drawings produced by the great masters. He stressed the importance of emotions in the process of music creation and reception, yet he also viewed the process as a form of intellectual and cognitive activity demanding deep concentration and focus not only from the composers and performers, but also from the listeners. According to Szuman’s theory of musical talent, what distinguishes great musicians from all others is the extent of their devotion to music, which constitutes the focal point of their lives. Music drives their thoughts and feelings, it is at the heart of their activities and interests. Szuman’s publications on the psychology of music are still popular among the researchers as they correspond with the modern approach to this field.