Page 184 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes | Composers’ Societies Past and Present
By the beginning of the 20 century, two contrasting political pe-
th
riods had also significantly shaped musical culture in Croatia. On one
hand, there was the era of the nationally oriented Ban Ivan Mažuranić
(1873–1880); on the other, the pro-Hungarian period under the Ban Károly
71
(Dragutin) Khuen-Héderváry (1883–1903), which were explained in the
first chapter. It is also important to highlight two major cultural tendencies
that influenced the shaping of musical life. These were,

the nationalisation of culture, and the growing understanding of cul-
ture as not an exclusive domain or privilege of the intellectual elite, but
rather as a sphere of activity accessible to all – not only as consumers but
72
also as co-creators.
As Iveljić also points out:
This concept is ambivalent. On the surface, it appears to signal a liberal-
isation and even democratisation of the cultural sphere; yet, in reality, it
represents a new national monopolisation of culture, which suppresses
existing multiculturalism (linguistic and otherwise) imposing a nation-
al imprint upon everything. 73
In conclusion, the following models of the relationship between music
and politics in Croatia, as they relate to the founding of various musical in-
stitutions and/or societies during the aforementioned period, may be sum-
marised thus: 74
1. Functional model: The oldest of the models. Primarily concerns
military music in the narrower sense, as well as signal music in
urban contexts. It is rooted in the utilitarian function of music as
a tool of military organisation and urban administration.
th
2. Educational model: Emerged at the end of the 18 century. Applies
to music schools attached to Normalschulen, independent music
schools, and, to some extent, to music institutes and their affiliated
schools. Music education is aligned with the proper socio-politi-
cal order and sound pedagogical practice. Operates across the lev-

71 See also: Vjera Katalinić, “Ban i/ili kralj? glazbene svečanosti u čast velikodostojni-
ka u Zagrebu u drugoj polovici 19. stoljeća [Ban and/or King? Musical Festivities in
Honour of High Dignitaries in Zagreb in the Second Half of the 19 Century],” Nar-
th
odna umjetnost 45, no. 2 (2008): 61–75.
72 Cf. Iveljić, “Kulturna politika,” 356.
73 Ibid.
74 These models often coexist and intertwine in practice, and many institutions and so-
cieties display characteristics of more than one model simultaneously.

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