Page 258 - 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
space for experimenting and thus reaching for the originality of an indi-
vidual style.
Nevertheless, a kind of evolutionary process in Škerl’s composition-
al thinking only took occurred in Sarajevo. Around the same period as
the Bosnian composer Vojin Komadina, Škerl began to adopt contempo-
rary compositional techniques, likely influenced by the inaugural Music
Biennale Zagreb in 1961 and his visits to the electronic studio of Radio
Cologne, which altogether opened new perspectives in musical composi-
tion and contributed to the burgeoning trend of musical experimentation.
Moving from blending the traditional stylistic concepts seen in Pet skladb
to mature Neoclassicism, he pushed beyond its boundaries onto the path
35
of serialism. However, due to Škerl’s limited teaching, the social environ-
ment that mostly valued those works whose musical language was better
able to communicate with audiences via traditional means, and the fact
that even a professional public was not in favour of the contemporary mu-
sic practices of the time, this path, started with Symphony No. 2 as kind
of experiment, and further developed in Bagatele and some other works
(such as Musica funebre, and Symphonies No. 7 and 8), did not help to
spread the idea of dodecaphony in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is prob-
ably why Škerl stayed faithful to the “middle path” of his Symphony No. 2,
which had a significant public impact and was awarded the Sixth of April
Sarajevo Award in 1965, which is the most important award that honours
deserving individuals for their contributions in the fields of science, busi-
36
ness, education, technology, health care, art, sports, and human rights.
Nevertheless, Škerl contributed significantly to the introduction of mod-
ern European trends in Bosnia and Herzegovina, breaking with tradition
and spreading his advanced ideas in Sarajevo, Slovenia and elsewhere in
the region.

Appendices

1. List of Škerl’s compositions created during his Sarajevo period (chronological): 37

35 As it has already been mentioned, the Bosnian composer Milan Jeličanin was the
only student graduated in Škerl’s class.
36 Anon., “Dodijeljene Šestoaprilske nagrade,” Večernje novine, April 3, 1965, in Press
Archive – Activities of the Academy of Music, III, Library of the Academy of Music in
Sarajevo.
37 According to: “Danijel Dane Škerl (1931–2002),” Društvo slovenskih skladateljev,
https://www.dss.si/shop.html?author_id=145.

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