Tradition and modernity in Uzbek classical vocal heritage: from oral transmission to institutional and digital environments

Abstract

The article analyses the transformation of the transmission mechanisms of Uzbek classical vocal heritage from the oral master-apprentice tradition to institutional music education and the contemporary digital environment. Three theoretical models of the relationship between tradition and modernity are distinguished - conservation, modernisation and living continuity - and the third is defended as the most adequate for the material under study. The author examines three successive transformations: the notation of orally transmitted repertoire in the twentieth century, the institutionalisation of regional performing schools within a unified educational system, and the entry of classical heritage into digital media. Each is shown to be simultaneously a mechanism of preservation and a source of loss. International safeguarding experience, including the Japanese ningen kokuho system, is examined comparatively. The article concludes that safeguarding policy should target the transmission mechanism rather than the repertoire alone.