Search

Aided by the previously publicly unknown documents from the personal estate of the violinist and violist Dragutin Arany (1899-1964), the co-founder of the Zagreb Philharmonic, and the newspaper articles from the first half of the 20th century, this paper examines the issues connected with the foundation of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and presents the main operational framework of the Philharmonic in the post-WWI and pre-WWII period. There is, as yet, no consensus on these matters in the field of Croatian musicology, i.e., in the Croatian music community. Documents from the personal estate of Dragutin Arany offer new insight into the early years of the Philharmonic and provide indisputable evidence that the Orchestra was founded in 1920. The minutes of the Zagreb Philharmonic, which commence on 3 October 1920, the day of the constituting session, provide us with numerous pieces of information on the successes and issues facing the Philharmonic between 1920 and 1927. Newspaper articles from the Orchestra's caringly compiled newspaper library offer insight into public reactions and reception from the very beginnings of the Philharmonic. Particular emphasis is placed on the circumstances leading to the orchestra's foundation in 1920 and the time period leading up to it (1916-1920) as well as to the coexistence and competitive relationship existing between the Croatian Philharmonic and the Theatre Orchestra Philharmonic over the course of 1919. The main elements influencing the work of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in the period between the World Wars are described as being the lack of independence of the Orchestra, mainly its strong dependency on the Croatian National Theatre and the perception of the Philharmonic as a foreign, non-Croatian element, along with an antisemitic (Zlatko Grgošević) and anti-masonic (Ivan Brkanović) discourse directed at the Zagreb Philharmonic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]