Page 268 - 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. 268
konservator iji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela
founders of national violin schools. Bohemian musicians not only made
their way into significant positions in large centers: they were also active as
music teachers or music promoters in smaller European villages and towns
and markedly influenced musical life there as well.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, due to the extensive emigra-
tion of the best local musicians, the closure of many monasteries, and the
weakening of the economic and social position of the nobility in the Czech
lands, there was a lack of high-quality orchestral performers. These musi-
cians were especially needed in the theater orchestras. With the establish-
ment of the Prague Conservatory in 1811, the local music market once more
became too small compared to the “overproduction” of excellent and well-
trained violinists and other musicians: they had difficulty finding suitable
and well-paid jobs in their homeland. Thus, attracted by prospects abroad,
most of the talented and promising Prague violinists emigrated through-
out Europe. From the beginning of the nineteenth century up to the 1920s,
the “Prague violinists” (alumni of the Prague Conservatory) were the most
important group of Bohemian violinists that trained new generations of
violinists throughout Europe for over one hundred years, contributing to
the spread of this strand of violin pedagogy, which was then further devel-
oped by local descendants and successors. 1
The earliest musicians from Bohemia appeared in Ljubljana in the
1720s. One of the first violinists from Bohemia to work in Ljubljana was
Franz Dussek (František Benedikt Dusík; 1765–1817),2 who was active as a
violinist and organist in the Bishop’s Chapel in the 1790s. When the first
music schools were founded in Ljubljana at the beginning of the nine-
teenth century they needed various musicians as teachers, and most of
these schools’ teachers came from Bohemia. They taught various musical
1 Maruša Zupančič, “At the Crossroads of European Violin Heritage: The Migration
of Prague Violinists throughout Europe from the Beginning of the Nineteenth Cen-
tury up to the 1880s,” Hudební věda 55, no. 1 (2018): 5–7.
2 Franz (František) Benedikt (Josef) Dussek (Dusík, Dussik, Dusseg, Dusech, Dus-
seck, Dussig, Duschek, Dusek, etc.) was born on March 22nd, 1765 in Časlav. He was
taught music by his father, at the Cistercian monastery in Žd’ár nad Sázavou and the
Emauzy Benedictine monastery in Prague. Later he went to Italy, where he performed
as violinist, cellist, and pianist in theatres in Mortara, Venice, and Milan. In 1790, he
joined the Bishop’s Chapel in Ljubljana, where he spent the next ten years as violinist,
organist, and music director. Shortly after the foundation of the Ljubljana Philhar-
monic Society [Philharmonische Gesellschaft] in 1794 he became a member and one
of its leading musical figures. He wrote numerous compositions, including violin
sonatas that have been preserved in musical archives throughout Europe. See Mat-
jaž Barbo, František Josef Benedikt Dusík (Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 2009), 119.
266
founders of national violin schools. Bohemian musicians not only made
their way into significant positions in large centers: they were also active as
music teachers or music promoters in smaller European villages and towns
and markedly influenced musical life there as well.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, due to the extensive emigra-
tion of the best local musicians, the closure of many monasteries, and the
weakening of the economic and social position of the nobility in the Czech
lands, there was a lack of high-quality orchestral performers. These musi-
cians were especially needed in the theater orchestras. With the establish-
ment of the Prague Conservatory in 1811, the local music market once more
became too small compared to the “overproduction” of excellent and well-
trained violinists and other musicians: they had difficulty finding suitable
and well-paid jobs in their homeland. Thus, attracted by prospects abroad,
most of the talented and promising Prague violinists emigrated through-
out Europe. From the beginning of the nineteenth century up to the 1920s,
the “Prague violinists” (alumni of the Prague Conservatory) were the most
important group of Bohemian violinists that trained new generations of
violinists throughout Europe for over one hundred years, contributing to
the spread of this strand of violin pedagogy, which was then further devel-
oped by local descendants and successors. 1
The earliest musicians from Bohemia appeared in Ljubljana in the
1720s. One of the first violinists from Bohemia to work in Ljubljana was
Franz Dussek (František Benedikt Dusík; 1765–1817),2 who was active as a
violinist and organist in the Bishop’s Chapel in the 1790s. When the first
music schools were founded in Ljubljana at the beginning of the nine-
teenth century they needed various musicians as teachers, and most of
these schools’ teachers came from Bohemia. They taught various musical
1 Maruša Zupančič, “At the Crossroads of European Violin Heritage: The Migration
of Prague Violinists throughout Europe from the Beginning of the Nineteenth Cen-
tury up to the 1880s,” Hudební věda 55, no. 1 (2018): 5–7.
2 Franz (František) Benedikt (Josef) Dussek (Dusík, Dussik, Dusseg, Dusech, Dus-
seck, Dussig, Duschek, Dusek, etc.) was born on March 22nd, 1765 in Časlav. He was
taught music by his father, at the Cistercian monastery in Žd’ár nad Sázavou and the
Emauzy Benedictine monastery in Prague. Later he went to Italy, where he performed
as violinist, cellist, and pianist in theatres in Mortara, Venice, and Milan. In 1790, he
joined the Bishop’s Chapel in Ljubljana, where he spent the next ten years as violinist,
organist, and music director. Shortly after the foundation of the Ljubljana Philhar-
monic Society [Philharmonische Gesellschaft] in 1794 he became a member and one
of its leading musical figures. He wrote numerous compositions, including violin
sonatas that have been preserved in musical archives throughout Europe. See Mat-
jaž Barbo, František Josef Benedikt Dusík (Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 2009), 119.
266
