Vlastimir Nikolovski’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” as a Pedagogical Model for Developing Interpretative Competencies

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.