LUDMILLA WEISER -- PRVA PROFESIONALNA HRVATSKA VIOLINISTICA I VIOLINSKA VIRTUOSKINJA. BIO-BIBLIOGRAFSKA STUDIJA PRIGODOM 170 GODINA OD NJEZINA ROĐENJA.

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]