The thesis of the article is that Nikola Udina/Niccolò Algarott i (Krk/Veglia, 1791 – Vienna, 1838) built up his collection of books, sheet music and musical instruments (the focus here will be on ...sheet music) with the intention of achieving broader benefits with the collection. The argument draws upon various documents that will be presented here, as well as some presumptions and speculations on what provided him with the impulse for such a large and demanding initiative. Further, some characteristics of the music collection can reveal both the intention behind the project and his way of realizing it. The huge donation/bequest of almost 3,500 music items (along with a few thousand books) to his native town of Krk enabled the foundation of the Biblioteca Algarott i, opened in a specially adapted building. That provided an immense benefit to a small town with less than 1,000 inhabitants. However, only two generations of locals used it during the second half of the nineteenth century, and due to a lack of funds it closed in 1894.
U tekstu se analizira prisutnost glazbe, prvenstveno opereta, dalmatinskog skladatelja Franza von Suppéa (1819-1895) na pozornici zagrebačkog kazališta prije osnutka stalnog opernog ansambla 1870. ...godine. Njegova su djela pripadala – uz Offenbachove i Zajčeve uspješnice – rado prihvaćanim djelima u pripremnoj fazi desetljeća koje je prethodilo osnutku opere, iako su pronađeni podatci i o njihovim ranijim izvedbama u okvirima njemačkih i talijanskih gostujućih kazališnih družina. Operete na hrvatskom jeziku počele su se izvoditi 1863. godine, u čemu su sudjelovali uglavnom glumci koji su znali pjevati te tek pokoji profesionalni pjevač i mali orkestralni sastav koji je imao zadatak izvoditi scensku glazbu uz dramske predstave. Od Suppéovih djela na repertoaru su se tada našle četiri operete: Veseli djaci, Pjesnik i seljak, 10 djevojakah, ni za jednu muža te Liepa Galateja, koje su uglavnom bile dobro prihvaćene i punile su kazalište. Osim opereta, tada su se izvodile i razne druge vesele glazbeno-scenske vrste koje nisu postavljale prevelike glazbene zahtjeve. Ipak, operetu su kritičari često proglašavali »nužnim zlom«, tek pomoćnim sredstvom za punjenje kazališne blagajne. Međutim, dobro izvedena opereta također je zahtijevala dobre i profesionalne izvođače, što je – osobito u početcima djelovanja zagrebačkog kazališta – predstavljalo velik problem. Promatrajući mogućnosti izvedbe Suppéovih opera te njihovu recepciju na primjeru zagrebačkog nacionalnog kazališta, možemo donijeti niz zaključaka vezanih uz sudbinu Suppéovih djela, ali i načelnih problema zagrebačkog glazbenokazališnog života onoga doba.
The fate of Ilma de Murska, Irma Terputec-Terée, Emma Wiziak de Nicolesco and Milka Ternina, who were launched out from Croatia into the most prominent world stages, reflects the image of musical ...culture in this part of the Habsburg monarchy, presents the specific and individual characteristics of their life paths, and indicate some specificities of their time and milieu, ranging from general political and cultural issues, social and financial status, attitudes towards their private lives and personal relations up to entirely musical inclinations.
This article highlights the letter that Pietro Metastasio, poet laureate to the imperial court of Vienna and librettist, wrote to the Ragusan scientist Ruđer Bošković, in which the name of the ...composer Luka Sorkočević is mentioned. In fact, it is the earliest traceable data on Sorkočević’s arrival in Vienna, dispatched by the government of the Dubrovnik Republic upon a diplomatic mission to the court of Joseph II, shortly after the death of Empress Maria Theresa. The letter provides details on Luka’s accommodation, but also on his manners and qualities. It affords new insights into his sojourn in Vienna, notably in the light of the hitherto known entries of his Vienna diary.
One of the stops on Liszt’s »small European tour« was the concert in Zagreb, which Franz Liszt gave on 27 July 1846. His sojourn was remembered mostly after the interpretation of the Croatian ...musicologist Franjo Ksaver Kuhač (1834−1911) in his article Reminiscences of Dr Franz Liszt, published in 1908, where he insisted on a strong political implication of the Croatian situation at that time. Here some corrections have been presented concerning Liszt’s sojourn and the programme of the concert. However, Croatian musicians and members of the nobility used to travel throughout Europe, so their paths crossed with Liszt’s routes. Other encounters of Franz Liszt with Croatian musicians occurred in Aachen, with the pianist, composer and conductor Carl von Turányi (1805-1873) from Osijek in 1857, and in Rome with the 14-year-old violin virtuoso Franjo Krežma (1862-1881) from Osijek in 1876. One of his pupils was, allegedly, Kuhač himself. Liszt was also acquainted with Croatian aristocratic families Sermage, Vranyczany and Buratti in Zagreb and Rome, and the contacts of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer (1815-1905; also from Osijek) were more intense, not linked only to Liszt, but also to Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein.