Page 232 - 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
Moderate modernism emerges as an ideologically neutral and aes-
theticized art that enables a compromise between the ideological de-
mands of the revolutionary government and the aesthetic interests of
the post-revolutionary techno-bureaucratic layers. 29

Cases of Musical Exchange and Cooperation
In the Yugoslav press, this context was described as an exchange of “our and
foreign artists” carried out in accordance with the agreement on cultural
cooperation between the USSR and Yugoslavia:
The Ministry of Culture of the USSR invited a delegation of Yugoslav
cultural workers and artists to visit the Soviet Union. In addition, an ex-
change of delegations of representatives of higher education institutions
and an exchange of students was envisaged.
30
This undertaking sought to reinforce Yugoslav–Soviet cultural ties, a
subject likewise highlighted in the press. The process encompassed a range
of proposed initiatives. Although many sources do not provide complete
clarity on the organizers, it is evident that these activities were typically
conducted through formal institutional channels.
Concretely, in 1956 plans included a performance of Stevan Hristić’s
ballet The Legend of Ohrid (Ohridska legenda, 1947) and guest appearances
by opera singers such as Miroslav Čangalović, while in return, the Soviet vi-
31
olinist and violist David Oistrakh was scheduled to visit Yugoslavia. Fur-
thermore, for 1958 a series of concerts was planned in cooperation between
the Yugoslav Concert Agency and the Soviet Concert Agency operating
under the Ministry of Culture (ГОСКОНЦЕРТ СССР – Государственное
концертное объединение СССР). Specifically, the program envisaged per-
formances by eight Yugoslav soloists and two ensembles, among them so-
loists of the Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Belgrade opera houses (Rudolf Francl,
Marijana Radev, Miroslav Čangalović, Biserka Cvejić), as well as conduc-
tors such as Samo Hubad (Ljubljana Philharmonic), Milan Horvat (Zagreb
Philharmonic), and Krešimir Baranović (Belgrade Philharmonic). As for
the guest ensembles, the Yugoslav People’s Army Choir was selected, along

29 Šuvaković, Pojmovnik suvremene umjetnosti, 744.
30 Anon., “U Sovjetskom Savezu gostovaće više naših umetnika i grupa,” Borba, 25
June, 1956, 4.
31 Ibid.

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