Interpretation of the Concepts of “Mass Culture” in Presentday Humanitarian Sciences
The article is devoted to the analysis of the concepts of “mass culture” in present-day humanitarian scholarship. The article highlights three groups of interpretations of this concept: the pessimistic, the apologetic and the problemoriented. The characteristic features of each of the presented groups are specifi ed. Mass culture presents a complex and multilayers phenomenon, which is relevant among large strata of the population. The main particularities of mass culture are in the blending together of numerous various cultural codes and traditions, mobility, directedness at wide strata of the population, a commercial character of production, a signifi cant amount of pluralism of directions, hedonism, availability, directedness at a visual type of perception, etc. The main particularities of the new contemporary concert conditions is a multitude of styles, active use of the method of deconstructing the academic classical repertoire and various forms of adaptation of the academic classical heritage to present-day performance practice. The art of music develops upon the impact of numerous factors pertaining to the sphere of culture, economics and many other domains of man’s social life. Special signifi cation on the development of present-day performance practice is rendered by mass culture. The complexity of solving the questions connected, fi rst of all, with the defi nition of the concept of “mass culture,” with the uncovering of its infl uence on the art of the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries stipulates the necessity of making a brief overview of research related to this issue.