Page 182 - 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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glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes | music criticism – yesterday and today
about its glorious past.38 However, already in the fall of 1892 we learn that
despite positive developments, no change took place. This is where the im-
portance of journalism, which is able to loudly highlight the problem and
encourage its solution, again comes to light:
We waited for a long time, and here in two weeks it’s the new school
year, so everything will remain the same again [...]. It has been more
than a year since the new music committee was elected; it’s almost a
year to the day since the president of the same school and the director
of the music school published the rules for the school in our newspaper
[...]. Well, those rules rest then, and we probably published them, so they
think, to fill our columns. [...] We have waited until now, but from now
on we won’t. [...] So far, we have mentioned some things here and there,
but now we will protest until we see success. But these kinds of musical
difficulties cannot be endured any longer.39
Unfortunately, there was no success for some time,40 at least until the
employment of a new young teacher and organist Dragutin Honsa (1872–
1957) in 1896, who remained in that position until 1901.41 Reviews and crit-
icisms of the music school’s public exams despite the very often positive
evaluations of the performed works, were also an opportunity to remind
the public about the unresolved organizational situation. What’s more, in
1894, the unsigned author of the text “Public examination of the city’s mu-
sic school” asked:
Will the city of Karlovac really not want to get out of its musical mor-
tuary? Where are so many musically educated people, of whom Kar-
38 Anon., “Iz Karlovca. Naša glazbena škola,” Svjetlo 6, no. 33 (16 August 1891): 5;
Anon., “Glasbena škola,” Svjetlo 6, no. 41 (11 October 1891): 1–2. The rules of the
Music school are published in: Svjetlo 6, no. 44 (1 November 1891): 3; Svjetlo 6, no.
45 (8 November 1891): 3; Svjetlo 6, no. 46 (15 November 1891): 3; Svjetlo 6, no. 47 (22
November 1891): 2; Svjetlo 6, no. 48 (29 November 1891): 2.
39 “Čekali smo dosta dugo, a evo za dva ćedna[!] i opet nove školske godine, pa će nam i
opet sve ostati pri starom […]. Ima već više godinu dana, što je izabran novi glasbeni
odbor; ima godinu skoro dan, što je predsjednik istog i ravnatelj glasbene škole u na-
šem listu priobćio javno pravila za školu […]. Nu ta pravila počivaju onda, a mi smo
ih valjda priobćili, tako misle, da popunimo naše stupce. […] Dosada smo čekali, ali
odsada više nećemo. […] Dosada smo tuj i tamo po koju spomenuli, ali sada ćemo do-
tle ‘rogoboriti’, dok nebudemo vidjeli uspjeha. Ali ovakovih glasbenih neprilika nije
moguće dalje podnieti.” Anon., “Glasbene neprilike,” Svjetlo 7, no. 36 (4 September
1892): 2.
40 Anon., “Glasbena škola i partes adnexae,” Svjetlo 8, no. 47 (19 November 1893): 2.
41 Marijana Pintar, “Honsa, Dragutin,” Hrvatski biografski leksikon, internet edition,
2002, https://hbl.lzmk.hr/clanak.aspx?id=7772.
182
about its glorious past.38 However, already in the fall of 1892 we learn that
despite positive developments, no change took place. This is where the im-
portance of journalism, which is able to loudly highlight the problem and
encourage its solution, again comes to light:
We waited for a long time, and here in two weeks it’s the new school
year, so everything will remain the same again [...]. It has been more
than a year since the new music committee was elected; it’s almost a
year to the day since the president of the same school and the director
of the music school published the rules for the school in our newspaper
[...]. Well, those rules rest then, and we probably published them, so they
think, to fill our columns. [...] We have waited until now, but from now
on we won’t. [...] So far, we have mentioned some things here and there,
but now we will protest until we see success. But these kinds of musical
difficulties cannot be endured any longer.39
Unfortunately, there was no success for some time,40 at least until the
employment of a new young teacher and organist Dragutin Honsa (1872–
1957) in 1896, who remained in that position until 1901.41 Reviews and crit-
icisms of the music school’s public exams despite the very often positive
evaluations of the performed works, were also an opportunity to remind
the public about the unresolved organizational situation. What’s more, in
1894, the unsigned author of the text “Public examination of the city’s mu-
sic school” asked:
Will the city of Karlovac really not want to get out of its musical mor-
tuary? Where are so many musically educated people, of whom Kar-
38 Anon., “Iz Karlovca. Naša glazbena škola,” Svjetlo 6, no. 33 (16 August 1891): 5;
Anon., “Glasbena škola,” Svjetlo 6, no. 41 (11 October 1891): 1–2. The rules of the
Music school are published in: Svjetlo 6, no. 44 (1 November 1891): 3; Svjetlo 6, no.
45 (8 November 1891): 3; Svjetlo 6, no. 46 (15 November 1891): 3; Svjetlo 6, no. 47 (22
November 1891): 2; Svjetlo 6, no. 48 (29 November 1891): 2.
39 “Čekali smo dosta dugo, a evo za dva ćedna[!] i opet nove školske godine, pa će nam i
opet sve ostati pri starom […]. Ima već više godinu dana, što je izabran novi glasbeni
odbor; ima godinu skoro dan, što je predsjednik istog i ravnatelj glasbene škole u na-
šem listu priobćio javno pravila za školu […]. Nu ta pravila počivaju onda, a mi smo
ih valjda priobćili, tako misle, da popunimo naše stupce. […] Dosada smo čekali, ali
odsada više nećemo. […] Dosada smo tuj i tamo po koju spomenuli, ali sada ćemo do-
tle ‘rogoboriti’, dok nebudemo vidjeli uspjeha. Ali ovakovih glasbenih neprilika nije
moguće dalje podnieti.” Anon., “Glasbene neprilike,” Svjetlo 7, no. 36 (4 September
1892): 2.
40 Anon., “Glasbena škola i partes adnexae,” Svjetlo 8, no. 47 (19 November 1893): 2.
41 Marijana Pintar, “Honsa, Dragutin,” Hrvatski biografski leksikon, internet edition,
2002, https://hbl.lzmk.hr/clanak.aspx?id=7772.
182
