Search

A 13th-century notated breviary of Esztergom (Strigonium, Ostrogon) has recently been discovered in the Metropolitan Library of the Archbishopric of Zagreb. The codex was found in 258 fragments which had been glued to the covers of 129 books printed between the 15th and 17th centuries. The fragmented manuscript is the missing second volume (i.e. sanctorale) of the Breviarium notatum Strgioniense (BNS), now kept in the Strahov Library of the Premonstratensians in Prague (Strahovská knihovna under the shelf mark DE I 7. The paper reports the details of the reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the biography of the as yet rather unknown first female Croatian violin virtuosa Ludmilla Weiser. She was born in Zagreb in 1847 in the family of respected Zagreb luthier Ivan Weiser. At the age of five she had already been taught violin by the most prominent violin teacher in Zagreb, Antun Schwarz. Afterwards, she studied violin at the Music School of today's Croatian Musical Institute in Zagreb from 1856-1861. Because of her outstanding talent she was given financial support to study at the Vienna Conservatorium in 1862 where she was, according to my research, the first women ever to study violin there. In Vienna she was accepted at Joseph Hellmesberger senior's class, who remained her teacher until her graduation in 1865. After completing her formal education she began playing in numerous European countries as a solo violinist or was accompanied by many well-known musicians of her time. Her professional career finished in 1869 when she married Estonian architect Reinhold Guleke. After marriage she was completely dedicated to family life, constantly moving with her husband and two sons. Perhaps, because of her relatively short but successful career or because she left Croatia relatively young, she had been almost completely forgotten in musical history, although her role in paving the way for other young women violinists, who began to emerge consistently in second half of the 19th century in Europe's most important musical institutions was unquestionably significant. The paper brings a list of more than forty confirmed performances in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania along with first comprehensive bibliography of Ludmilla Weiser. Finally, the paper includes different original documents and photographs generously shared by Ludmilla Weiser's family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall has been the centre of music and cultural life in Zagreb and Croatia for more than 45 years. It was the first concert venue in the country after the building of the Croatian Music Institute, which opened in 1876. Alongside the existing editions and relevant papers about the Lisinski Hall, this article presents a historical overview of the concert venues in Zagreb in comparison with the development of musical life in former Yugoslavia and other countries. Building on the existing literature, periodical articles and especially archival sources, the article also chronologically traces the process of the building's construction, from the initial concept and the selection of the location through the Conceptual Design Competition for the Croatia heritage foundation in 1957, to the choosing of the hall's name and the two-day gala opening on December 29 and 30, 1973. Finally, a contemporary perspective on the Lisinski Hall is presented and its significance for the musical and cultural life in Zagreb and Croatia addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic aim of the paper is both to offer - through critical »reading« of the popular music cultural product in Zagreb between the two world wars - a review of the diversified usable characteristics of particular musical products that circulated on the then-market of symbolic assets, as well as to single out - in the context of accessible testimonies and data on the social and cultural status of music and its participants during that period - the possible functional dispositions which that product, specifically anchored in time and place, used to have. Creating a theoretical basis by drawing on various, primarily cultural and critical comprehensions of popular music, as well as from other broader context components of the functioning of culture, the paper offers a »polygonal« approach to the popular music phenomenon against the background of textual reading off of its articulations and meanings through (not necessarily) musicologically mediated media and analytical procedures. From comprehension of the very phenomenon of the popular and the popularity of music in the period under consideration, through the interpretation of popular music's functional nesting in the sociocultural context, the paper offers indications of certain basic implications of that way of studying music. The work also touches upon an attempt at the conceptual encompassing of music, not only as note and sound structures mediated by media, but also as a broader cultural product that is exposed to diverse usages and different aims, purposes and functions; of which the popular-fictional feature is certainly a significant one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic aim of the paper is both to offer — through critical »reading« of the popular music cultural product in Zagreb between the two world wars — a review of the diversified usable characteristics of particular musical products that circulated on the then-market of symbolic assets, as well as to single out — in the context of accessible testimonies and data on the social and cultural status of music and its participants during that period — the possible functional dispositions which that product, specifically anchored in time and place, used to have. Creating a theoretical basis by drawing on various, primarily cultural and critical comprehensions of popular music, as well as from other broader context components of the functioning of culture, the paper offers a »polygonal« approach to the popular music phenomenon against the background of textual reading off of its articulations and meanings through (not necessarily) musicologically mediated media and analytical procedures. From comprehension of the very phenomenon of the popular and the popularity of music in the period under consideration, through the interpretation of popular music's functional nesting in the sociocultural context, the paper offers indications of certain basic implications of that way of studying music. The work also touches upon an attempt at the conceptual encompassing of music, not only as note and sound structures mediated by media, but also as a broader cultural product that is exposed to diverse usages and different aims, purposes and functions; of which the popular-fictional feature is certainly a significant one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of musical instruments from the holdings of the Museum of Arts and Crafts is the only complete collection of this type in the museums of Zagreb, and also the most important such collection in Croatia. Within that collection is a modest but diverse group of keyboard instruments: a clavichord, three square pianos, a portable travel piano, fortepiano, positive, physharmonica, harmonium, an upright piano, two pianonos, and five pianos. Because of the lack of space, some instruments are located in the furniture depot. The instruments date from the second half of the 18th century until the turn from the 19th to the 20th century. Most of them originate from Austria, largely Vienna, thus confirming its musical influence on Zagreb. The paper gives a description of these instruments and attempts to find their place in the historical and social context since their owners mostly belonged to the citizenry, some of them having earned a prominent place in the cultural and artistic life of Zagreb and Croatia. Economically well-situated, they regularly cherished home music-making and, thanks to their music education, were able to play themselves. Some of the exhibited instruments are in poor condition. They would reach their full value and beauty only if they were restored and well tuned, so their repair is necessary. At least one part of the instruments, especially those that are well preserved, should be made playable because that is their primary and undeniable function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work of Tihomil Vidošić (Boljun, Istria, 1 July 1902 - Zagreb, 24 January 1973) can be completely understood only by viewing all aspects of his activity: he was a composer, conductor, educator, and arranger. An autodidact at first, he took lessons from Ivan Matetić-Ronjgov (1880-1960) and started composition and conductor studies at the Music Academy in Zagreb in 1923, although he did not finally complete his courses until 1961. In the meantime, he finished organ studies (1929) and took a job as a military bandmaster, which brought him to Tuzla (Bosnia-Hercegovina) in 1930 and then to Mostar three years later. He was mobilised in 1941 and came back to Zagreb, where he was director of the military Music School (1942-1945). After the war, he worked as a teacher of harmony, solfeggio and as conductor at the new school of music (Gradska glazbena škola, later Glazbena škola Pavla Markovca in Zagreb) until his death in 1973. Throughout all that time, he composed and developed his compositional style, very often dedicating his works to the ensembles he was conducting and, later, to his pupils, who gladly played his music that suited them technically and stylistically. A major part of his legacy was found in 2004, almost by accident. The author of this text sorted and catalogued the material (the basis of her graduation thesis) as a precondition for later studies of Vidošić's work. Alojzije Seder, who bought the legacy, donated it to the Croatian Institute of Music (Hrvatski glazbeni zavod) in Zagreb, where it was archived under Inventory Number 38. The legacy consists of: books (mostly on music), printed music material, hand-written music material and various types of documents (letters, annotations, lists [of works], and 4 versions of the composer's autobiographies). The books and documents were catalogued using a standard word processor program (Microsoft Word) while RISM standards (ISIS software) were used for all the music material. The most interesting and most valuable parts of the legacy are Vidošić's manuscripts that are unique examples - such as the long sought after score of Vidošić's most popular work, the comic opera Stari mladić / An Old Lad - but this is definitely not the complete legacy that was in the possession of either Vidošić or his widow Štefica. It was partly destroyed (mostly by damp) and partly sold before it came into the possession of Alojzije Seder. That is why it is difficult to draw a relevant conclusion (about the composer's treatment of his own work, for example). One can find Vidošić's original scores, arrangements (including many folk songs and dance arrangements), and transcriptions of other composers' works. Amongst Vidošić's original compositions, some are well-preserved and in complete form, but there are many piano scores (without instrumentation/orchestration) and sketches bearing the annotation «finished». The aim of this paper has been to systematize the material found in the legacy of Tihomil Vidošić and to show at least a part of his interests, which might encourage further studies and performance of the works of this almost forgotten Croatian composer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to data from secondary sources, Mozart's operas Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflöte were staged with considerable success in Zagreb during the 1830s, but the only Zagreb newspaper Agramer politische Zeitung devoted very little space to musical-scenic works performances at that time. It was not until the 1870s that most of Zagreb newspapers gave announcements and reviews on performances of Mozart's operas; Don Giovanni was staged in 1875 and in 1898 and Die Zaubeflöte in 1899. So these two Mozart's operas were the only ones that had been systematically staged in Zagreb in all three theatres (in so-called Amad. Theater, Stanković Theatre and in today's theatre building) in the German and/or the Croatian language during the 19th century. The characteristics of performances and casts are given in this paper and, on the basis of the newspaper reviews, changes in the journalists' and the audience's reactions in the reception of those works are monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]