Page 267 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2020. Konservatoriji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela ▪︎ The conservatories: professionalisation and specialisation of musical activity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 4
P. 267
oi: https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-7055-86-3.265-295
Bohemian Violinists in Ljubljana:
Jan Šlais’s Contribution
to Ljubljana’s Violin School*
Maruša Zupančič
Znanstvenoraziskovalni center Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti
Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Jan Šlais (Jan/Ivan Šlais; 1893–1975) was one of the last Prague violinists
active in Slovenia during the twentieth century. Today he is considered a
founder of the Ljubljana violin school. He trained an important genera-
tion of Slovenian violinists and was the coda to a long tradition of violinists
from Bohemia that contributed to the development of violin playing in this
region for over one hundred fifty years.
Slovenia was only one of many parts of Europe to which Bohemian vi-
olinists immigrated. The phenomenon of Bohemian musicians’ extensive
migrations across Europe began taking place as early as the end of the sev-
enteenth century. Second in number only to Italians, Bohemian musicians
formed the largest group of foreign musicians at the courts of Germany and
other European countries in the seventeenth century. Later, between 1740
and 1810, almost half of the professional violinists originating from Bohe-
mia were active abroad; for this reason, Bohemia was called the “Conserv-
atory of Europe.” Until the end of the eighteenth century, violinists orig-
inating from Bohemia were mostly active at various court music chapels
in Mannheim, Berlin, Dresden, and elsewhere. In addition to the German
lands, many violinists made a name for themselves in other European cit-
ies, such as Venice, Milan, Padua, London, Vienna, Budapest, Dublin, St.
Petersburg, Warsaw, and Paris. Many of them are celebrated in music his-
tory as famous virtuosos and composers, important teachers, and even as
* This article is the result of the project (J6–9386) financed by the Slovenian Research
Agency (ARRS).
265
Bohemian Violinists in Ljubljana:
Jan Šlais’s Contribution
to Ljubljana’s Violin School*
Maruša Zupančič
Znanstvenoraziskovalni center Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti
Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Jan Šlais (Jan/Ivan Šlais; 1893–1975) was one of the last Prague violinists
active in Slovenia during the twentieth century. Today he is considered a
founder of the Ljubljana violin school. He trained an important genera-
tion of Slovenian violinists and was the coda to a long tradition of violinists
from Bohemia that contributed to the development of violin playing in this
region for over one hundred fifty years.
Slovenia was only one of many parts of Europe to which Bohemian vi-
olinists immigrated. The phenomenon of Bohemian musicians’ extensive
migrations across Europe began taking place as early as the end of the sev-
enteenth century. Second in number only to Italians, Bohemian musicians
formed the largest group of foreign musicians at the courts of Germany and
other European countries in the seventeenth century. Later, between 1740
and 1810, almost half of the professional violinists originating from Bohe-
mia were active abroad; for this reason, Bohemia was called the “Conserv-
atory of Europe.” Until the end of the eighteenth century, violinists orig-
inating from Bohemia were mostly active at various court music chapels
in Mannheim, Berlin, Dresden, and elsewhere. In addition to the German
lands, many violinists made a name for themselves in other European cit-
ies, such as Venice, Milan, Padua, London, Vienna, Budapest, Dublin, St.
Petersburg, Warsaw, and Paris. Many of them are celebrated in music his-
tory as famous virtuosos and composers, important teachers, and even as
* This article is the result of the project (J6–9386) financed by the Slovenian Research
Agency (ARRS).
265
