Page 228 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2019. Vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju - The Role of National Opera Houses in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 3
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vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju
In the epigraph Mandić quotes a sentence of Robert Schumann, and
the writing begins with a second short sentence of the same composer, “Al-
len neuen Erscheinungen ist Geist eigen”, drawn from Aus Meisters Raro’s,
Florestan’s und Eusebius’ Denk- und Dicht-Büchlein.19 The twenty-year old
Mandić affirms his Romantic credo on music as a special language, suita-
ble in translating the thought. At the same time, he refers to the Hegelian
concept of the spirit of the time, which is the result of a dialectical clash be-
tween two different forces (Phänomenologie des Geistes, 1807). He argues that
the evolution of music is the result of a process of a clash, which provokes
a purification, readable as a discovery of a new style. The peculiarity of a
work of art depends either on the Zeitgeist or on the spirit of the compos-
er. How do we explain in detail what happened in music history? As Man-
dić affirms, as sons of their time neither Haydn nor Wagner could write
in the Haydnian or Wagnerian manners. Although they are links with his
own time, inside the composer there are the seeds of a creative instinct, par
excellence, or κατ’ ἐξοχήν, as the author writes in ancient Greek. From this
viewpoint it is evident there is a conflict between two basic elements: on
the one hand the spirit of the time, translatable as the rules established as
a common style and expression of musical language, on the other hand the
intuition of the artist (“the spirit exists from the beginning; it works inside
the composer looking for patterns in the world outside him. However, it de-
velops patterns according to the composer’s personal insight and force”).
A second important sentence in Mandić’s article regards the career of
an artist, which could be separate on two levels:
During his youth, when his imagination is still weak, until he needs
more knowledge (nobody can learn by himself without models).
This will be the time of comparison between his spirit and the mu-
sic literature. After the conclusion of this period, the two factors
change their proportions. After the separation from the patterns,
he is ready to create something bigger, or at least he is able to de-
tach and bring out his individuality. […] To individualise the work
means getting a great opportunity. […] [In contrast] the untalented
composer will follow the mainstream of his time.
The compromise between rules and individuality established by Man-
dić is very close to the eclectic approach to the biographies of great com-
19 Gesammelte Schriften über Musik und Musiker von Robert Schumann (Leipzig: Ge-
org Wigand, 1854).
226
In the epigraph Mandić quotes a sentence of Robert Schumann, and
the writing begins with a second short sentence of the same composer, “Al-
len neuen Erscheinungen ist Geist eigen”, drawn from Aus Meisters Raro’s,
Florestan’s und Eusebius’ Denk- und Dicht-Büchlein.19 The twenty-year old
Mandić affirms his Romantic credo on music as a special language, suita-
ble in translating the thought. At the same time, he refers to the Hegelian
concept of the spirit of the time, which is the result of a dialectical clash be-
tween two different forces (Phänomenologie des Geistes, 1807). He argues that
the evolution of music is the result of a process of a clash, which provokes
a purification, readable as a discovery of a new style. The peculiarity of a
work of art depends either on the Zeitgeist or on the spirit of the compos-
er. How do we explain in detail what happened in music history? As Man-
dić affirms, as sons of their time neither Haydn nor Wagner could write
in the Haydnian or Wagnerian manners. Although they are links with his
own time, inside the composer there are the seeds of a creative instinct, par
excellence, or κατ’ ἐξοχήν, as the author writes in ancient Greek. From this
viewpoint it is evident there is a conflict between two basic elements: on
the one hand the spirit of the time, translatable as the rules established as
a common style and expression of musical language, on the other hand the
intuition of the artist (“the spirit exists from the beginning; it works inside
the composer looking for patterns in the world outside him. However, it de-
velops patterns according to the composer’s personal insight and force”).
A second important sentence in Mandić’s article regards the career of
an artist, which could be separate on two levels:
During his youth, when his imagination is still weak, until he needs
more knowledge (nobody can learn by himself without models).
This will be the time of comparison between his spirit and the mu-
sic literature. After the conclusion of this period, the two factors
change their proportions. After the separation from the patterns,
he is ready to create something bigger, or at least he is able to de-
tach and bring out his individuality. […] To individualise the work
means getting a great opportunity. […] [In contrast] the untalented
composer will follow the mainstream of his time.
The compromise between rules and individuality established by Man-
dić is very close to the eclectic approach to the biographies of great com-
19 Gesammelte Schriften über Musik und Musiker von Robert Schumann (Leipzig: Ge-
org Wigand, 1854).
226
