Page 111 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2024. Glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes ▪︎ Music Criticism – Yesterday and Today. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 7
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e. b. lvovský or who was the harshest viennese cr itic of antonín dvoř ák’s music
mention him as B. Lvovský.38 It is quite certain that he did not adopt the
pseudonym Emil Břetislav Lvovský (or Břetislav Lvovský) until after he left
Prague for Lviv.
There was a significant Czech minority in Lviv, one of the most impor-
tant societies being Česká beseda (founded in 1867). The almanac of this so-
ciety says, among other things, that “the language of communication was
the Pan-Slavic tongue – German.”39 The sources about this society do not
mention Lvovský as a member or guest.40 In his memoirs, L. K. Žižka states
that Lvovský was a promoter of Czech music in Česká beseda – this does
not necessarily mean his membership, but perhaps only external cooper-
ation. As already mentioned, his tenure as double bass teacher at the Lviv
Conservatory is known from literature and variously dated.
Lvovský also maintained contact with his homeland, for example in
1889 in the form of a contribution to the Prague monument to Jan Hus.41 It
can be assumed that Lvovský may have played the role of manager. That is,
someone who arranged concerts of Czech musicians in Lviv. He also visit-
ed Prague – his visits were reported on by the press:
– Easter 1886 Prague.42
– March 1887 Prague – The third performance of Dvořák’s orato-
rio Saint Ludmila (probably meant at the National Theatre on 6
March 1887).
– February 1888 Prague – With his wife he attended a concert by
P. I. Tchaikovsky.43
– June 1890 Prague: A visit to the National Theatre was recorded by
the magazine Dalibor: “[Lvovský] visited Prague on the 11th of this
month, and having visited Smetana’s ‘The Devil’s Wall’, he spoke
most highly of it, placing it above everything Smetana had com-
38 Anon., “Hudební odbor,” Národní politika 7, no. 23 (23 January 1889): 3.
39 Ludvík Feigl, Sto let českého života ve Lvově. Díl druhý. Od roku 1867–1895. Založení
‘České besedy’ ve Lvově a život v ní (Lvov: Česká beseda, 1925), 230, 273.
40 Evžen Topinka, Archiv spolku Česká beseda ve Lvově (1867–1936). K 140. výročí zalo-
žení spolku Česká beseda ve Lvově (Lvov: Centrum Evropy, 2007).
41 Anon., “Na Husův pomník (XIII. výkaz),” Národní listy 29, no. 344 (13 December
1889): 6.
42 Anon., “Drobné zprávy. Osobní,” Dalibor 8, no. 17 (28 May 1886): 168.
43 Anon., “Osobní,” Dalibor 10, no. 9 (25 February 1888): 70; Vladimír Štěpánek,
Pražské návštěvy P. I. Čajkovského [P. I. Tschaikowski and his visits in Prague] (Pra-
ha: Orbis, 1952), 38.
111
mention him as B. Lvovský.38 It is quite certain that he did not adopt the
pseudonym Emil Břetislav Lvovský (or Břetislav Lvovský) until after he left
Prague for Lviv.
There was a significant Czech minority in Lviv, one of the most impor-
tant societies being Česká beseda (founded in 1867). The almanac of this so-
ciety says, among other things, that “the language of communication was
the Pan-Slavic tongue – German.”39 The sources about this society do not
mention Lvovský as a member or guest.40 In his memoirs, L. K. Žižka states
that Lvovský was a promoter of Czech music in Česká beseda – this does
not necessarily mean his membership, but perhaps only external cooper-
ation. As already mentioned, his tenure as double bass teacher at the Lviv
Conservatory is known from literature and variously dated.
Lvovský also maintained contact with his homeland, for example in
1889 in the form of a contribution to the Prague monument to Jan Hus.41 It
can be assumed that Lvovský may have played the role of manager. That is,
someone who arranged concerts of Czech musicians in Lviv. He also visit-
ed Prague – his visits were reported on by the press:
– Easter 1886 Prague.42
– March 1887 Prague – The third performance of Dvořák’s orato-
rio Saint Ludmila (probably meant at the National Theatre on 6
March 1887).
– February 1888 Prague – With his wife he attended a concert by
P. I. Tchaikovsky.43
– June 1890 Prague: A visit to the National Theatre was recorded by
the magazine Dalibor: “[Lvovský] visited Prague on the 11th of this
month, and having visited Smetana’s ‘The Devil’s Wall’, he spoke
most highly of it, placing it above everything Smetana had com-
38 Anon., “Hudební odbor,” Národní politika 7, no. 23 (23 January 1889): 3.
39 Ludvík Feigl, Sto let českého života ve Lvově. Díl druhý. Od roku 1867–1895. Založení
‘České besedy’ ve Lvově a život v ní (Lvov: Česká beseda, 1925), 230, 273.
40 Evžen Topinka, Archiv spolku Česká beseda ve Lvově (1867–1936). K 140. výročí zalo-
žení spolku Česká beseda ve Lvově (Lvov: Centrum Evropy, 2007).
41 Anon., “Na Husův pomník (XIII. výkaz),” Národní listy 29, no. 344 (13 December
1889): 6.
42 Anon., “Drobné zprávy. Osobní,” Dalibor 8, no. 17 (28 May 1886): 168.
43 Anon., “Osobní,” Dalibor 10, no. 9 (25 February 1888): 70; Vladimír Štěpánek,
Pražské návštěvy P. I. Čajkovského [P. I. Tschaikowski and his visits in Prague] (Pra-
ha: Orbis, 1952), 38.
111
