Page 215 - 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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lucijan marija škerjanc: critic of the jutro newspaper from 1927 to 1942
Kosovel, the sister of the great Slovene poet Srečko Kosovel, which includ-
ed the following comment:
Beethoven’s works demand the greatest immersion. On this occasion
Beethoven was represented by his rather popular and insignificant Ron-
do in G major and an Écossaise; two soft and delicate little pieces that
also seemed to me to be somewhat unimaginatively and perfunctori-
ly performed, with the result that despite the absolutely impeccable
technical skill (which the pianist manifests to an impressively high de-
gree), little remained of the poetic charm that is all the more neces-
sary when performing what – if I may say so – are actually rather banal
compositions.9
Škerjanc frequently spoke scathingly of works by the great composers
and labelled them inferior or unsuitable for the modern age. An example of
this is his review of a concert by the then extremely famous Ševčík Quartet,
which had performed all over Europe and garnered excellent reviews. Fol-
lowing a concert by the Quartet in 1927, which was not its first appearance
in Ljubljana, Škerjanc wrote:
The evening was dedicated to Beethoven. Notwithstanding the rever-
ence I feel towards this musical genius, I cannot help feeling that he be-
longs more to the past century than to this. The content of his string
quartets and other compositions is very unmodern and expressed with
means that no longer say what they did a hundred years ago and thus
can no longer generate the same enthusiasm. A series of special Bee-
thoven concerts is planned for this year [the centenary of Beethoven’s
death], despite the fact that there is no essential connection between us
and Beethoven, and perhaps some modern music in between would do
us more good. [...] the concert concludes with Beethoven’s last and most
mature chamber work, the String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op.
131. This last work is thoroughly modern in places and is still quite in-
teresting today.10
A month later came the main commemoration of the centenary of
Beethoven’s death: a performance of his 9th Symphony by the leading Lju-
9 L. M. Š., “Koncert pianistke Karmele Kosovelove v Ljubljani,” Jutro 8, no. 8 (11 Janu-
ary 1927): 4, http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-U8N6UATH. It should be
noted that he somewhat banally characterised Beethoven’s Écossaise as a dance piece
of folk origin. Škerjanc frequently spoke scathingly of works by the great composers
and labelled them inferior.
10 L. M. Š., “Koncert Ševčikovega kvarteta v Ljubljani,” Jutro 8, no. 40 (16 February
1927): 3, http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-4D1R4XFW.
215
Kosovel, the sister of the great Slovene poet Srečko Kosovel, which includ-
ed the following comment:
Beethoven’s works demand the greatest immersion. On this occasion
Beethoven was represented by his rather popular and insignificant Ron-
do in G major and an Écossaise; two soft and delicate little pieces that
also seemed to me to be somewhat unimaginatively and perfunctori-
ly performed, with the result that despite the absolutely impeccable
technical skill (which the pianist manifests to an impressively high de-
gree), little remained of the poetic charm that is all the more neces-
sary when performing what – if I may say so – are actually rather banal
compositions.9
Škerjanc frequently spoke scathingly of works by the great composers
and labelled them inferior or unsuitable for the modern age. An example of
this is his review of a concert by the then extremely famous Ševčík Quartet,
which had performed all over Europe and garnered excellent reviews. Fol-
lowing a concert by the Quartet in 1927, which was not its first appearance
in Ljubljana, Škerjanc wrote:
The evening was dedicated to Beethoven. Notwithstanding the rever-
ence I feel towards this musical genius, I cannot help feeling that he be-
longs more to the past century than to this. The content of his string
quartets and other compositions is very unmodern and expressed with
means that no longer say what they did a hundred years ago and thus
can no longer generate the same enthusiasm. A series of special Bee-
thoven concerts is planned for this year [the centenary of Beethoven’s
death], despite the fact that there is no essential connection between us
and Beethoven, and perhaps some modern music in between would do
us more good. [...] the concert concludes with Beethoven’s last and most
mature chamber work, the String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op.
131. This last work is thoroughly modern in places and is still quite in-
teresting today.10
A month later came the main commemoration of the centenary of
Beethoven’s death: a performance of his 9th Symphony by the leading Lju-
9 L. M. Š., “Koncert pianistke Karmele Kosovelove v Ljubljani,” Jutro 8, no. 8 (11 Janu-
ary 1927): 4, http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-U8N6UATH. It should be
noted that he somewhat banally characterised Beethoven’s Écossaise as a dance piece
of folk origin. Škerjanc frequently spoke scathingly of works by the great composers
and labelled them inferior.
10 L. M. Š., “Koncert Ševčikovega kvarteta v Ljubljani,” Jutro 8, no. 40 (16 February
1927): 3, http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-4D1R4XFW.
215
