Page 105 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2023. Glasbena društva v dolgem 19. stoletju: med ljubiteljsko in profesionalno kulturo ▪︎ Music societies in the long 19th century: Between amateur and professional culture. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 6
P. 105
the significance of lithuanian societies for the development ...
Music societies were mainly formed in cities where cultural life was
really active. Before the late 19th century, their founders were exclusively
foreign nationals living in Lithuanian cities, as there were few Lithuani-
an musicians; moreover, after 1864, they were not allowed to speak their
mother tongue or establish their own organisations. Local Russians, to-
gether with those who arrived from other parts of the Empire, took advan-
tage of the fact: on their initiative, in 1873, a branch of the Imperial Rus-
sian Music Society (IRMS) started operating in Vilnius. Its members were
mainly tsarist officials and officers, who were not in favour of Lithuanian
people. That organization focused on the dissemination of music by Rus-
sian composers. For this purpose, a small symphony orchestra was formed
from music lovers and a couple of professionals, yet it could not boast a
professional level. The musicians who would came to Vilnius to perform
music on behalf of the IRMS would often bring artistically low-level con-
cert programmes that they would not have dared to perform in St. Peters-
burg or Moscow.
Not to be short of performers and educated audiences, the IRMS es-
tablished a music school in Vilnius, which operated in 1873 to 1884 and
in 1898 to 1915. Practicing amateur musicians, and later graduates of Rus-
sian conservatories, were invited to teach. The school really flourished after
1898, when Mikhail Treskin, graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory,
became its head. Thanks to him, hitherto non-existent classes of composi-
tion, music history, drama, choral singing, and chamber ensemble as well
as a library were opened, and the school was visited by composer Alexan-
der Glazunov. Almost at the same time, a new Music Society was estab-
lished in Vilnius, which operated from 1881 to 1885 under the leadership of
pianist and conductor O. Lose. It united local musicians, and probably not
of Russian nationality, as the Russians were concentrated in the IRMS divi-
sion. This is only an assumption; however, it is supported by musical works
in German performed by the members of the society: Haydn’s oratorio “The
Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross” and L. van Beethoven’s Fan-
tasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Symphony Orchestra op. 80. Of
course, Russians also spoke German, yet it was more common among oth-
er foreign nationals in Vilnius, such as Poles, Jews, and Germans who had
lived in Lithuania since olden times. Another music promotion centre in
Vilnius was the Music and Drama Circle, which operated from 1885 to 1911.
It held music and drama evenings as well as several dozens of concerts per
103
Music societies were mainly formed in cities where cultural life was
really active. Before the late 19th century, their founders were exclusively
foreign nationals living in Lithuanian cities, as there were few Lithuani-
an musicians; moreover, after 1864, they were not allowed to speak their
mother tongue or establish their own organisations. Local Russians, to-
gether with those who arrived from other parts of the Empire, took advan-
tage of the fact: on their initiative, in 1873, a branch of the Imperial Rus-
sian Music Society (IRMS) started operating in Vilnius. Its members were
mainly tsarist officials and officers, who were not in favour of Lithuanian
people. That organization focused on the dissemination of music by Rus-
sian composers. For this purpose, a small symphony orchestra was formed
from music lovers and a couple of professionals, yet it could not boast a
professional level. The musicians who would came to Vilnius to perform
music on behalf of the IRMS would often bring artistically low-level con-
cert programmes that they would not have dared to perform in St. Peters-
burg or Moscow.
Not to be short of performers and educated audiences, the IRMS es-
tablished a music school in Vilnius, which operated in 1873 to 1884 and
in 1898 to 1915. Practicing amateur musicians, and later graduates of Rus-
sian conservatories, were invited to teach. The school really flourished after
1898, when Mikhail Treskin, graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory,
became its head. Thanks to him, hitherto non-existent classes of composi-
tion, music history, drama, choral singing, and chamber ensemble as well
as a library were opened, and the school was visited by composer Alexan-
der Glazunov. Almost at the same time, a new Music Society was estab-
lished in Vilnius, which operated from 1881 to 1885 under the leadership of
pianist and conductor O. Lose. It united local musicians, and probably not
of Russian nationality, as the Russians were concentrated in the IRMS divi-
sion. This is only an assumption; however, it is supported by musical works
in German performed by the members of the society: Haydn’s oratorio “The
Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross” and L. van Beethoven’s Fan-
tasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Symphony Orchestra op. 80. Of
course, Russians also spoke German, yet it was more common among oth-
er foreign nationals in Vilnius, such as Poles, Jews, and Germans who had
lived in Lithuania since olden times. Another music promotion centre in
Vilnius was the Music and Drama Circle, which operated from 1885 to 1911.
It held music and drama evenings as well as several dozens of concerts per
103
