Page 180 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2018. Nova glasba v “novi” Evropi med obema svetovnima vojnama ?? New Music in the “New” Europe Between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 2
P. 180
nova glasba v »novi« evropi med obema svetovnima vojnama
fully entertaining Sonatina for two clarinets of 1929, with its contrapuntal
textural variety of register differentiation, hides a range of discordant juxta-
positions that is amazingly forward-looking. Also using short movements,
but suggesting the possibility of longer paragraphs is the Suite of 1928,
scored for a distinctive group of eight instruments, four woodwind, three
brass and timpani. The first two movements have a more romantic feel, but
the Tempo di Valse, the stern march-like Grave and the Vivo fughetta fina-
le return to the lighter humour of the other pieces. Two more extended in-
strumental works also come from this time: the Koncert za violino in 7 in-
strumentov (‘Concerto for violin and seven instruments’) of 1927–28 and
the Suite for orchestra of 1929, both with suggestions of Hindemith and
Honegger. The Violin Concerto is cast in a single movement and scored for
two woodwind, two brass, timpani and two strings in addition to the solo
instrument. The way that Osterc planned the concerto’s structure gives a
clue to the single-movement forms that were soon to follow, while the or-
chestral Suite shows how the terse chamber-music miniatures could be ex-
tended. As a postscript to his time in Prague we note that the studies with
Alois Hába resulted in only a small number of works that used his teacher’s
quarter-tone system, ones that had little bearing on Osterc’s later develop-
ment or on his influence on others.7
New Operas 1928–29
This period was one in which Osterc was also active as a vocal composer.
There are a number of choruses which are less indicative of his more ad-
venturous ideas, but ones in which the composer was able to keep a contact
with his audiences and with Slovene traditional choral singing. More im-
portant for the development of newer techniques are solo songs and operas.
The most impressive solo vocal work must be Štiri Gradnikove pesmi (‘Four
Songs to words of Alojz Gradnik’) for alto and string quartet of 1929. Here
there is none of the light and almost sarcastic sound of the wind instru-
ments, but the brooding sounds of intense romanticism, the other side of
Osterc’s style. This movement between the romantic and the neo-classical is
7 The most important works are: Tri skladbe za četrttonski klavir, ca 1927, Štiri Heinejeve
pesmi za višji glas in godalni kvartet v četrttonskem sestavu, 1931 and Cvetoči bezeg,
cantata 1936. A discussion of the importance and the extent of the influence of Hába
on Osterc is discussed by Leon Stefanija in “Osterc in Hába,” Muzikološki zbornik 31
(1995): 33–41. See also the paper by Jernej Weiss, “Alois Hába and Slovene students of
composition at the State Conservatory in Prague,” included in this volume.
178
fully entertaining Sonatina for two clarinets of 1929, with its contrapuntal
textural variety of register differentiation, hides a range of discordant juxta-
positions that is amazingly forward-looking. Also using short movements,
but suggesting the possibility of longer paragraphs is the Suite of 1928,
scored for a distinctive group of eight instruments, four woodwind, three
brass and timpani. The first two movements have a more romantic feel, but
the Tempo di Valse, the stern march-like Grave and the Vivo fughetta fina-
le return to the lighter humour of the other pieces. Two more extended in-
strumental works also come from this time: the Koncert za violino in 7 in-
strumentov (‘Concerto for violin and seven instruments’) of 1927–28 and
the Suite for orchestra of 1929, both with suggestions of Hindemith and
Honegger. The Violin Concerto is cast in a single movement and scored for
two woodwind, two brass, timpani and two strings in addition to the solo
instrument. The way that Osterc planned the concerto’s structure gives a
clue to the single-movement forms that were soon to follow, while the or-
chestral Suite shows how the terse chamber-music miniatures could be ex-
tended. As a postscript to his time in Prague we note that the studies with
Alois Hába resulted in only a small number of works that used his teacher’s
quarter-tone system, ones that had little bearing on Osterc’s later develop-
ment or on his influence on others.7
New Operas 1928–29
This period was one in which Osterc was also active as a vocal composer.
There are a number of choruses which are less indicative of his more ad-
venturous ideas, but ones in which the composer was able to keep a contact
with his audiences and with Slovene traditional choral singing. More im-
portant for the development of newer techniques are solo songs and operas.
The most impressive solo vocal work must be Štiri Gradnikove pesmi (‘Four
Songs to words of Alojz Gradnik’) for alto and string quartet of 1929. Here
there is none of the light and almost sarcastic sound of the wind instru-
ments, but the brooding sounds of intense romanticism, the other side of
Osterc’s style. This movement between the romantic and the neo-classical is
7 The most important works are: Tri skladbe za četrttonski klavir, ca 1927, Štiri Heinejeve
pesmi za višji glas in godalni kvartet v četrttonskem sestavu, 1931 and Cvetoči bezeg,
cantata 1936. A discussion of the importance and the extent of the influence of Hába
on Osterc is discussed by Leon Stefanija in “Osterc in Hába,” Muzikološki zbornik 31
(1995): 33–41. See also the paper by Jernej Weiss, “Alois Hába and Slovene students of
composition at the State Conservatory in Prague,” included in this volume.
178
