Page 117 - 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
mia, Moravia, and also in Czech Vienna. He often wrote about Slavic mu-
sic: again both in a broader and narrower sense, i.e. about the musical life of
the Slavs in Vienna. There is not enough space in this study to map his con-
cert performances, but there were dozens of them, and he was always ap-
preciated as an excellent piano accompanist. His journalistic activities will
be dealt with below.
Czech/Slavic Viennese minority
The music scene of the Viennese Czechs and Slavs – Lvovský became part
of it soon after his arrival in Vienna. His first role was that of a perform-
er and composer: as a pianist, he had played since the end of the 1890s at
events of the elite societies Slovanský zpěvácký spolek (Slavic Singers’ So-
ciety, 5 November 1890) and Slovanská beseda (31 December 1890, he be-
came a member in 1899), with his compositions also being performed. His
contacts with the Czech singers’ society Lumír date back to 1893 – again it
was about playing the piano and performing his compositions, especially
the annual spectacular “Czech Concert”. He also accepted offers from oth-
er societies (e.g. Sokol, the Association of Czech-Slavic Cyclists’ Societies of
Lower Austria in Vienna).
Let’s continue with Jan Heyer’s summary: “His [Lvovský’s] participa-
tion in the musical life of the minority was considerable. This is evidenced
by the frequent performances of his compositions at Czech events.”59 His
compositions were mainly performed at the events of the societies Láska
k bližnímu, Slavoj, Lumír60, Slovanská beseda and the Slavic Singers’ Soci-
ety. He was probably most involved in the Slovanská beseda society – see
the memory of the choirmaster and composer Jaromír Herle of his arrival
in Vienna in 1898:
I knew no one in Vienna except Mr Břetislav Lvovský, then a teacher of
music and editor of the ‘Wiener Musik und Theater Zeitung’. I there-
fore turned to him and he sent me to Slovanská beseda – I went there
the same evening [...].61
59 Heyer, “Česká hudební viennensia”, 349.
60 “Dopisy význačných osob,” in 70 let Lumíru ve Vídni (Vídeň: Pěvecký spolek Lumír,
1934), 130 (there is Lvovský’s letter to the Lumír society, dated 14 April 1907); Výroč-
ní zpráva zpěváckého spolku Lumír ve Vídni za správní rok 1893. XXVIII (Vídeň: Spo-
lek Lumír, 1894), 21 – there is information that Lvovský gave the society the scores of
choruses by various composers.
61 Jaromír Herle, Vzpomínky na Vídeň. Autograph from 1934. Ing. Vítězslav Herle’s ar-
chive in Prague.
117
mia, Moravia, and also in Czech Vienna. He often wrote about Slavic mu-
sic: again both in a broader and narrower sense, i.e. about the musical life of
the Slavs in Vienna. There is not enough space in this study to map his con-
cert performances, but there were dozens of them, and he was always ap-
preciated as an excellent piano accompanist. His journalistic activities will
be dealt with below.
Czech/Slavic Viennese minority
The music scene of the Viennese Czechs and Slavs – Lvovský became part
of it soon after his arrival in Vienna. His first role was that of a perform-
er and composer: as a pianist, he had played since the end of the 1890s at
events of the elite societies Slovanský zpěvácký spolek (Slavic Singers’ So-
ciety, 5 November 1890) and Slovanská beseda (31 December 1890, he be-
came a member in 1899), with his compositions also being performed. His
contacts with the Czech singers’ society Lumír date back to 1893 – again it
was about playing the piano and performing his compositions, especially
the annual spectacular “Czech Concert”. He also accepted offers from oth-
er societies (e.g. Sokol, the Association of Czech-Slavic Cyclists’ Societies of
Lower Austria in Vienna).
Let’s continue with Jan Heyer’s summary: “His [Lvovský’s] participa-
tion in the musical life of the minority was considerable. This is evidenced
by the frequent performances of his compositions at Czech events.”59 His
compositions were mainly performed at the events of the societies Láska
k bližnímu, Slavoj, Lumír60, Slovanská beseda and the Slavic Singers’ Soci-
ety. He was probably most involved in the Slovanská beseda society – see
the memory of the choirmaster and composer Jaromír Herle of his arrival
in Vienna in 1898:
I knew no one in Vienna except Mr Břetislav Lvovský, then a teacher of
music and editor of the ‘Wiener Musik und Theater Zeitung’. I there-
fore turned to him and he sent me to Slovanská beseda – I went there
the same evening [...].61
59 Heyer, “Česká hudební viennensia”, 349.
60 “Dopisy význačných osob,” in 70 let Lumíru ve Vídni (Vídeň: Pěvecký spolek Lumír,
1934), 130 (there is Lvovský’s letter to the Lumír society, dated 14 April 1907); Výroč-
ní zpráva zpěváckého spolku Lumír ve Vídni za správní rok 1893. XXVIII (Vídeň: Spo-
lek Lumír, 1894), 21 – there is information that Lvovský gave the society the scores of
choruses by various composers.
61 Jaromír Herle, Vzpomínky na Vídeň. Autograph from 1934. Ing. Vítězslav Herle’s ar-
chive in Prague.
117
