Page 278 - 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. 278
konservator iji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela
time that Ševčík’s violin method became the official method of the Prague
Conservatory. Numerous foreign violinists came to study at Ševčík’s vio-
lin master class in Prague, and also at Ševčík’s private schools in Prachat-
ice and Písek. Because of their logical and systematic approach, his method
books became very popular in Europe and the United States, and Slove-
nia was no exception. At the beginning of the twentieth century, most mu-
sic schools in Slovenian territory had begun using Ševčík’s violin teach-
ing method books. In a few places this had already begun at the end of the
nineteenth century.30 One of the early adopters was Hans Gerstner, who
was Ševčík’s schoolmate at the conservatory and a longtime friend.31 When
it was time for Gerstner to send off his best pupil Leo Funtek to a higher
level of violin education, he wanted Ševčík to be Funtek’s next violin pro-
fessor.32 His violin method remained so popular that the Slovenian violin
methods that first appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century kept
Ševčík’s Violinschule für Anfänger, op. 6, written in the “semitone” system,
as their main foundation well into the 1960s.33
Already during his studies with Štěpán Suchý and later with Ševčík
himself, Šlais was trained in Ševčík’s violin teaching system right from the
start, and he would later pass this on to his Slovenian students. Suchý was a
great pedagogue, and he trained numerous violinists, including Jan Rezek
and Richard Zika. Both of them were briefly active in Ljubljana. Working
side-by-side at the conservatory with his previous teacher Ševčík, Suchý ex-
pected that his students would acquire skills by practicing laborious exer-
30 Maruša Zupančič, Razvoj violinske pedagogike in šolstva na Slovenskem od začetka
19. stoletja do začetka druge svetovne vojne (Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozof-
ske fakultete, 2013), 66–68.
31 Haupt [...] der Schüler des Conservatorium in Prag, fol. 135–138.
32 Although Gerstner had already made arrangements with Ševčík to take Funtek in
his violin class in Prague, Funtek went to study to Leipzig because of better financial
conditions for his parents. Funtek then studied in Leipzig with another of Gerstner’s
classmates, Hans Sitt. See Weiss, Hans Gerstner: Življenje za glasbo, 149.
33 Slovenian violin systems that were inspired by Ševčík’s work typically simplified
it. Moreover, Czech national material was replaced with Slovenian materials and
the music was made more practical by adding short melodies that included Ševčík’s
semitone system. The first Slovenian violin method, titled Vijolinska šola ali pouk v
igranju na gosli [Violin School or Lessons in Playing the Fiddle], was written in Cel-
je in 1910 by Fran Korun Koželjski (1868–1935). By the 1960s more Slovenian violin
schools had followed. Among all the Slovenian authors, only Fran Stanič took his
own path. He did not imitate, but rather criticized, the violin method giants from
the time of Carl Flesch (1873–1944) and Otakar Ševčík (1852–1934). See Zupančič,
Razvoj violinske pedagogike in šolstva na Slovenskem od začetka 19. stoletja do začet-
ka druge svetovne vojne, 64, 66–73.
276
time that Ševčík’s violin method became the official method of the Prague
Conservatory. Numerous foreign violinists came to study at Ševčík’s vio-
lin master class in Prague, and also at Ševčík’s private schools in Prachat-
ice and Písek. Because of their logical and systematic approach, his method
books became very popular in Europe and the United States, and Slove-
nia was no exception. At the beginning of the twentieth century, most mu-
sic schools in Slovenian territory had begun using Ševčík’s violin teach-
ing method books. In a few places this had already begun at the end of the
nineteenth century.30 One of the early adopters was Hans Gerstner, who
was Ševčík’s schoolmate at the conservatory and a longtime friend.31 When
it was time for Gerstner to send off his best pupil Leo Funtek to a higher
level of violin education, he wanted Ševčík to be Funtek’s next violin pro-
fessor.32 His violin method remained so popular that the Slovenian violin
methods that first appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century kept
Ševčík’s Violinschule für Anfänger, op. 6, written in the “semitone” system,
as their main foundation well into the 1960s.33
Already during his studies with Štěpán Suchý and later with Ševčík
himself, Šlais was trained in Ševčík’s violin teaching system right from the
start, and he would later pass this on to his Slovenian students. Suchý was a
great pedagogue, and he trained numerous violinists, including Jan Rezek
and Richard Zika. Both of them were briefly active in Ljubljana. Working
side-by-side at the conservatory with his previous teacher Ševčík, Suchý ex-
pected that his students would acquire skills by practicing laborious exer-
30 Maruša Zupančič, Razvoj violinske pedagogike in šolstva na Slovenskem od začetka
19. stoletja do začetka druge svetovne vojne (Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozof-
ske fakultete, 2013), 66–68.
31 Haupt [...] der Schüler des Conservatorium in Prag, fol. 135–138.
32 Although Gerstner had already made arrangements with Ševčík to take Funtek in
his violin class in Prague, Funtek went to study to Leipzig because of better financial
conditions for his parents. Funtek then studied in Leipzig with another of Gerstner’s
classmates, Hans Sitt. See Weiss, Hans Gerstner: Življenje za glasbo, 149.
33 Slovenian violin systems that were inspired by Ševčík’s work typically simplified
it. Moreover, Czech national material was replaced with Slovenian materials and
the music was made more practical by adding short melodies that included Ševčík’s
semitone system. The first Slovenian violin method, titled Vijolinska šola ali pouk v
igranju na gosli [Violin School or Lessons in Playing the Fiddle], was written in Cel-
je in 1910 by Fran Korun Koželjski (1868–1935). By the 1960s more Slovenian violin
schools had followed. Among all the Slovenian authors, only Fran Stanič took his
own path. He did not imitate, but rather criticized, the violin method giants from
the time of Carl Flesch (1873–1944) and Otakar Ševčík (1852–1934). See Zupančič,
Razvoj violinske pedagogike in šolstva na Slovenskem od začetka 19. stoletja do začet-
ka druge svetovne vojne, 64, 66–73.
276
