that more time be devoted to music instruction in school (which should
never be regarded as an ‘optional’ subject), that preference be given to
active music making over passive enjoyment, to offset the dangers of
mechanization and to safeguard music as a truly creative activity.
The assembly proceeded to elect-by acclamation-the five vice-presi-
dents of the conference: Bernard Shore (United Kingdom), Pierre Revel
(France), Fausto Torrefranca (Italy), Ramon Tapales (Philippines), M. A.
Hossein (Iran) ; also the chairmen of working commissions : Mr. Doming0
Santa-Cruz (Chile), Mr. Egon Kraus (Germany) and Mr. Charles Dennis
(United States of America).
The Present State of Music in the Different Continents’ was a topic of
the third plenary session. Speaking on Europe, Mr. Eberhard Preussner
traced the development of music education through the Middle Ages,
Renaissance and Baroque to modern times, upholding Rousseau’s ideal of
‘organized freedom’. Mr. Arnold Walter reported on the American con-
tinent, stressing the remarkable progress made during the last three decades
(particularly in school music, teacher training and teachers’ organizations),
emphasizing the sociological implications of the development.
Speaking on India, Mr. V. Raghavan gave a detailed account of music
education in his country, touching on many points: musical tradition and
how to safeguard it; on Indian musicology, publishing and recording;
methods of private and school instruction which of necessity are very
different from their Western counterparts; and the Indian contribution to
music as a whole. Mr. Tomojiro Ikenouchi referred to his expost on music
education in Japanese schools where an acute shortage of sufficiently trained
teachers seems to retard an otherwise promising development.
‘New Trends in Music Education’ was the theme of the fourth plenary
session. According to Leo Kestenberg (his paper was read by Mr. R. Laufer)
‘instruction’ has given way to modern ‘education’ which must keep or
redress the balance between truly artistic creation and mere technical pro-
ficiency. Such ‘education’ will succeed only if it is universal in character,
ethical in outlook, and embedded in the life of the community-its univer-
sality, its communal spirit and ethical character being articles of faith.
For Miss Vanett Lawler, the most conspicuous developments in the field
of music education in the United States of America since 1900 were the
emergence of the professional music teachers’ organizations and the re-
cognition of music education as a profession. The decentralized system of
public education in the United States of America is balanced by trends
towards uniformity which exist only thanks to the untiring efforts of the
aforementioned professional organizations. New trends have evolved from
these two basic developments which have clearly been the means whereby
the music educators of the United States of America arrived at unity of
purpose and of action.
Sir Steuart Wilson presented Miss Maud Karpeles’ paper on ‘The Role
of Folk Music in Education’-a paper based on the report of the fifth
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