Page 181 - 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
P. 181
music in the k ar lovac pr ess in the nineteenth century
We would advise our city to start some other society, but our princi-
ple is: easy, but firm! When the sun suddenly peeks out from behind the
clouds, it suddenly hides.36
Regarding the activities of the city’s music school, whose history dates
back to 1804, discussions in the Karlovac press had been intense since 1887,
and then again around 1900. Problems discussed include the organization
of the school and the need for reorganization, the obligations and salaries
of teachers, and the justification of spending money from the city budget,
while on the other hand, the need for a music school, i.e. its important role
in education, is not neglected.
A member of that committee and a city representative at the same time
asserted in front of us with emphasis: We will not destroy the music
school! But, dear sir, the way she is, the way she is now, she will wipe
herself out. That wobbly and clumsy machine will fall apart. Nobody
can doubt that today, whether Karlovac also needs a music school. That
she is completely justified and necessary, but not like this, as she is today,
she is not needed like this, and besides, she must not live like this even
for a moment longer. Because it’s nothing, a real monster, nonsense.37
Important issues related to music education are also the question of the
value of local – Croatian music, the employment of educated local people,
but also the evaluation of the artistic profession in general. In 1891, the pre-
viously announced reform of the school was started and articles in the Sv-
jetlo newspaper on the one hand welcomed the positive developments relat-
ed to the music school, especially regarding the creation of new school rules
(which were then published in Svjetlo), but on the other hand still lamented
36 “Grad bez pjevačkoga družtva čini nam se mrtav, a Karlovac nezaslužuje, da ga tako
sudimo. Samo marljivo i složno! Savietovali bi naš grad i još koje drugo družtvo, ali
nam je princip: lagano, no čvrsto! Kad sunce naglo iza oblakah zaviri, naglo se i sak-
rije.” Ibid.
37 “Neki je član tog odbora i gradski zastupnik ujedno pred nami uztvrdio emfazom: Mi
nedamo zatrieti glasbenu školu! Ali, dragi gospodine, ovakova, kakova li je sada ona
će se sama zatrieti. Taj klimavi i nespretni će se stroj razpasti. Nitko nemože danas o
tom sumnjati, da li je i za Karlovac potrebna glasbena učiona. Da ona je posve oprav-
dana i potrebna, ali ne ovakova, kakova li je danas, takova nije potrebna, a uz to ona
nesmije tako ni časak dulje živjeti. Jer nije ništa, pravi monstrum, nonsens.” Gradina,
“Glasbena učiona,” Sloga 2, no. 3 (16 January 1887): 2. See also: Gradina, “Glasbena
učiona II,” Sloga 2, no. 4 (23 January 1887): 1–2; Gradina, “Glasbena učiona III,” Slo-
ga 2, no. 5 (30 January 1887): 1–2; Gradina, “Glasbena učiona IV,” Sloga 2, no. 6 (6 Fe-
bruary 1887): 1–2.
181
We would advise our city to start some other society, but our princi-
ple is: easy, but firm! When the sun suddenly peeks out from behind the
clouds, it suddenly hides.36
Regarding the activities of the city’s music school, whose history dates
back to 1804, discussions in the Karlovac press had been intense since 1887,
and then again around 1900. Problems discussed include the organization
of the school and the need for reorganization, the obligations and salaries
of teachers, and the justification of spending money from the city budget,
while on the other hand, the need for a music school, i.e. its important role
in education, is not neglected.
A member of that committee and a city representative at the same time
asserted in front of us with emphasis: We will not destroy the music
school! But, dear sir, the way she is, the way she is now, she will wipe
herself out. That wobbly and clumsy machine will fall apart. Nobody
can doubt that today, whether Karlovac also needs a music school. That
she is completely justified and necessary, but not like this, as she is today,
she is not needed like this, and besides, she must not live like this even
for a moment longer. Because it’s nothing, a real monster, nonsense.37
Important issues related to music education are also the question of the
value of local – Croatian music, the employment of educated local people,
but also the evaluation of the artistic profession in general. In 1891, the pre-
viously announced reform of the school was started and articles in the Sv-
jetlo newspaper on the one hand welcomed the positive developments relat-
ed to the music school, especially regarding the creation of new school rules
(which were then published in Svjetlo), but on the other hand still lamented
36 “Grad bez pjevačkoga družtva čini nam se mrtav, a Karlovac nezaslužuje, da ga tako
sudimo. Samo marljivo i složno! Savietovali bi naš grad i još koje drugo družtvo, ali
nam je princip: lagano, no čvrsto! Kad sunce naglo iza oblakah zaviri, naglo se i sak-
rije.” Ibid.
37 “Neki je član tog odbora i gradski zastupnik ujedno pred nami uztvrdio emfazom: Mi
nedamo zatrieti glasbenu školu! Ali, dragi gospodine, ovakova, kakova li je sada ona
će se sama zatrieti. Taj klimavi i nespretni će se stroj razpasti. Nitko nemože danas o
tom sumnjati, da li je i za Karlovac potrebna glasbena učiona. Da ona je posve oprav-
dana i potrebna, ali ne ovakova, kakova li je danas, takova nije potrebna, a uz to ona
nesmije tako ni časak dulje živjeti. Jer nije ništa, pravi monstrum, nonsens.” Gradina,
“Glasbena učiona,” Sloga 2, no. 3 (16 January 1887): 2. See also: Gradina, “Glasbena
učiona II,” Sloga 2, no. 4 (23 January 1887): 1–2; Gradina, “Glasbena učiona III,” Slo-
ga 2, no. 5 (30 January 1887): 1–2; Gradina, “Glasbena učiona IV,” Sloga 2, no. 6 (6 Fe-
bruary 1887): 1–2.
181
