Lovro von Matacic
Encyclopedia
Lovro von Matačić was a Croatian conductor and composer.
to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always surrounded by music and art: his father had a career as an opera singer, and his mother as an actress. After his parents’ divorce, the family moved to Vienna where Lovro joined the Vienna Boys Choir of the Royal Court Chapel at the age of eight. The Choir’s repertoire must have influenced his later affinities, but most of all through the music of Anton Bruckner
. In the Piarists’ Gymnasium in Vienna he received training in piano, organ and music theory. His music education continued under distinguished teachers at the Vienna Conservatory
which he never attended formally nor obtained any degrees. He proved his talent in practice when in 1916 he started volunteering as an accompanist at the Cologne Opera
. When the war broke out, however, he volunteered for the army and also became an active revolutionary: in 1918 he joined the circle of left-oriented intellectuals in Vienna who recognized his artistic talent. He already had several works ready; he recited the poem Vigilia to his colleagues, and he was sixteen when the Tonkünstlerorchester of the Vienna Musikverein conducted by Bernhard Paumgartner premiered his Fantasy for the Orchestra. Not many of Matačić’s compositions have been completely preserved, although he did include some of them in his programs after becoming a distinguished conductor – such as the Confrontation Symphony or the Konjuh planina Cantata. After the war, he made a living mostly by playing in cafés, writing reviews, and by short-term conducting engagements in Osijek
, Zagreb
and Novi Sad
where he served the required military service as a military musician. Even then, his performances were marked with opera pieces and a vocal repertoire, but he did not find a permanent position until 1922 when he was employed by the Ljubljana Opera. In the meantime, he married a Czech singer Karla Dubska who introduced him to the golden portion of Czech music. His first success in Ljubljana was the performance of Leoš Janáček’s
opera Jenůfa, which would subsequently become one of the most often performed operas of Matačić’s repertoire.
After Ljubljana, his engagements and successes lined up: with the Belgrade Opera and the Obilić Academic Choir, his first appearance in front of the Zagreb Philharmonics in Zagreb (1927) and the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra at the Konzerthaus (1928), the Letonic State Opera in Riga
, and the more permanent move to Zagreb in 1932 where he spread his activities to opera, symphony, and choir repertoire. His strivings of the time, however, reached a peak in 1936 when he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic and became the orchestra’s regular guest. In 1938 he left the position of the permanent conductor at the Croatian National Theatre
in Zagreb to become the director of the Belgrade Opera and the chief conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic. But his path lead further to Europe, too. During World War II, he spent most of the time in Zagreb as an army officer, but also continued conducting: he appeared in Zagreb with all major local orchestras, as well as in Vienna and Berlin. He was the Inspector of Croatian Army’s music ensembles and was in charge of the entire corpus of military music in Croatia. His last concert before he was arrested was two weeks prior to the capitulation of Germany – on April 23, 1945 he appeared with the State Radio Orchestra. Maestro never wanted to comment in detail on his status during and after the war. In more than a year spent in prison, he was once again given a chance to work in music – he led the prison orchestra and choir. After his second wife Elizabeta Lilly Levenson, whom he married in 1933, managed to obtain a pardon for him, he was relocated to Skopje
in 1948. Until 1954, when he managed to get an approval from Josip Broz Tito
to be issued a passport, his activities in the former country were limited (to Rijeka and Ljubljana), but soon his career gained full international momentum. The recoding of Richard Strauss’s
Arabelle in London for the Columbia label marked a new beginning in the conductor’s life. He replaced Herbert von Karajan
for that recording and afterwards signed a five-year contract with the record company. The following year he replaced Karl Bohm
at the Bavarian State Opera
in Munich for a triumphal performance of Strauss’s Ariadne on Naxos. Appearances in Berlin, Stuttgart
, Augsburg
, Salzburg, Graz
and elsewhere followed, where he conducted concert programs, operas, and often even directed the productions. He was invited to the Dresden State Chapel, State Opera of East Berlin, and to tours around Europe, including Ljubljana, Split, and Dubrovnik
. After leaving Dresden
in 1958, he strengthened his ties to Vienna, debuted at Bayreuth where he also started a long-term collaboration with opera director and Richard Wagner’s grandson – Wieland Wagner
. He finally travelled to the United States, where he performed at the Chicago Opera. Matačić has won over the Italian audience, too (in 1961 at the Rome Opera he performed Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung). In 1961 in Frankfurt
he became the chief conductor of the local opera and the prestigious series of Museum Concerts. As always, he continued working in multiple fields: he recorded for RAI in Turin, and simultaneously managed the Dubrovnik Summer Festival
. He was named Honorary Life-Time Conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra
in Japan, conducted orchestras such as Philharmonie, the Czech, Berlin, and Munich philharmonic orchestras. He appeared at the Bavarian State Opera
, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the State and Volksopera of Vienna. At the Musikverein he regularly conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
, sat on the jury for Karajan’s conducting competition and in 1974 became the chief conductor of the National Opera Orchestra of Monte Carlo – and these are only some of his after-war successes. The list goes on with his appointment as the chief conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970 with which he realized a number of ambitious plans, including support for young conductors through a special series – Presenting Young Conductors.
He died in Zagreb
in 1985.
The musicians he collaborated with include Arthur Rubinstein
, Christian Ferras
and Rudolf Buchbinder
, Marijana Radev, Ruža Pospiš Baldani, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
, Christa Ludwig
, Renata Tebaldi
, Birgit Nilsson
, Leontyne Price
, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
... He recorded for labels such as Columbia and Supraphon
, covering a vast repertoire. Although Anton Bruckner was at the top of the list for his symphony and concert repertorie and Richard Wagner, along with his favorite Orpheus by Ch. W. Gluck and Janáček’s Jenůfa at the top of his opera repertorie, Lovro von Matačić’s interest covered a huge span from Palestrina
, Monteverdi and Henry Purcell
, through Handel
, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven to Mussorgsky
, Mahler, Janáček, Smetana
, R. Strauss, Wagner, Verdi and others. He was especially dedicated to performing Croatian authors. His first appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1936 already included a suite from Krešimir Baranović’s
ballet Gingerbread Heart and Jakov Gotovac’s
Symphonic Kolo. The programs of his subsequent international and Croatian performances also included the works of Josip Hatze
, Blagoje Bersa
, Božidar Širola, Božidar Kunc, Boris Papandopulo
, Antun Dobronić
, Josip Štolcer-Slavenski
, Bruno Bjelinski
...
“One day, when they draw a line, it will not matter what I did for international composers, but how I contributed to Croatian music,” maestro once said. His numerous efforts in that respect should definitely include his last will and testimony by which he established the Lovro & Lilly Matačić Foundation.
, Bruckner Ring of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
, Janáček and Smetana Medals of the Czechoslovak Government, Cross of the 1st Order for Arts and Sciences of the President of the Republic of Austria, Hans von Bühlow Medal of the Berlin Philharmonic as well as many other awards.
and Jakub Hrůša
.
The "Lovro Matačić Lifetime Achievement Award" is awarded biannually by the Croatian Association of Musical Artists.
Biography
Lovro von Matačić was born in SušakSušak
Sušak is a part of the city of Rijeka in Croatia, where it composes the eastern part of the city.In 1924, Rijeka belonged to the independent Free State of Fiume, which had been created four years earlier under the Treaty of Rapallo, but in the Treaty of Rome the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and...
to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always surrounded by music and art: his father had a career as an opera singer, and his mother as an actress. After his parents’ divorce, the family moved to Vienna where Lovro joined the Vienna Boys Choir of the Royal Court Chapel at the age of eight. The Choir’s repertoire must have influenced his later affinities, but most of all through the music of Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
. In the Piarists’ Gymnasium in Vienna he received training in piano, organ and music theory. His music education continued under distinguished teachers at the Vienna Conservatory
Vienna Conservatory
The Vienna Conservatory may refer to:*Konservatorium Wien, established in 1938 as Musikschule der Stadt Wien *University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, which incorporates the older Vienna Conservatory dating back to 1817, established by the Gesellschaft der MusikfreundeOther music education...
which he never attended formally nor obtained any degrees. He proved his talent in practice when in 1916 he started volunteering as an accompanist at the Cologne Opera
Cologne Opera
The Cologne Opera refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company.-History of the company:...
. When the war broke out, however, he volunteered for the army and also became an active revolutionary: in 1918 he joined the circle of left-oriented intellectuals in Vienna who recognized his artistic talent. He already had several works ready; he recited the poem Vigilia to his colleagues, and he was sixteen when the Tonkünstlerorchester of the Vienna Musikverein conducted by Bernhard Paumgartner premiered his Fantasy for the Orchestra. Not many of Matačić’s compositions have been completely preserved, although he did include some of them in his programs after becoming a distinguished conductor – such as the Confrontation Symphony or the Konjuh planina Cantata. After the war, he made a living mostly by playing in cafés, writing reviews, and by short-term conducting engagements in Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
, Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
where he served the required military service as a military musician. Even then, his performances were marked with opera pieces and a vocal repertoire, but he did not find a permanent position until 1922 when he was employed by the Ljubljana Opera. In the meantime, he married a Czech singer Karla Dubska who introduced him to the golden portion of Czech music. His first success in Ljubljana was the performance of Leoš Janáček’s
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
opera Jenůfa, which would subsequently become one of the most often performed operas of Matačić’s repertoire.
After Ljubljana, his engagements and successes lined up: with the Belgrade Opera and the Obilić Academic Choir, his first appearance in front of the Zagreb Philharmonics in Zagreb (1927) and the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra at the Konzerthaus (1928), the Letonic State Opera in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, and the more permanent move to Zagreb in 1932 where he spread his activities to opera, symphony, and choir repertoire. His strivings of the time, however, reached a peak in 1936 when he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic and became the orchestra’s regular guest. In 1938 he left the position of the permanent conductor at the Croatian National Theatre
Croatian National Theatre
The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb , commonly referred to as HNK Zagreb, is a theatre located in Zagreb, owned and operated by the Ministry of Culture. The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre built in 1836 housed in the present-day Old City Hall...
in Zagreb to become the director of the Belgrade Opera and the chief conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic. But his path lead further to Europe, too. During World War II, he spent most of the time in Zagreb as an army officer, but also continued conducting: he appeared in Zagreb with all major local orchestras, as well as in Vienna and Berlin. He was the Inspector of Croatian Army’s music ensembles and was in charge of the entire corpus of military music in Croatia. His last concert before he was arrested was two weeks prior to the capitulation of Germany – on April 23, 1945 he appeared with the State Radio Orchestra. Maestro never wanted to comment in detail on his status during and after the war. In more than a year spent in prison, he was once again given a chance to work in music – he led the prison orchestra and choir. After his second wife Elizabeta Lilly Levenson, whom he married in 1933, managed to obtain a pardon for him, he was relocated to Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
in 1948. Until 1954, when he managed to get an approval from Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
to be issued a passport, his activities in the former country were limited (to Rijeka and Ljubljana), but soon his career gained full international momentum. The recoding of Richard Strauss’s
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
Arabelle in London for the Columbia label marked a new beginning in the conductor’s life. He replaced Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
for that recording and afterwards signed a five-year contract with the record company. The following year he replaced Karl Bohm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
at the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
in Munich for a triumphal performance of Strauss’s Ariadne on Naxos. Appearances in Berlin, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, Salzburg, Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
and elsewhere followed, where he conducted concert programs, operas, and often even directed the productions. He was invited to the Dresden State Chapel, State Opera of East Berlin, and to tours around Europe, including Ljubljana, Split, and Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
. After leaving Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in 1958, he strengthened his ties to Vienna, debuted at Bayreuth where he also started a long-term collaboration with opera director and Richard Wagner’s grandson – Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
. He finally travelled to the United States, where he performed at the Chicago Opera. Matačić has won over the Italian audience, too (in 1961 at the Rome Opera he performed Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung). In 1961 in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
he became the chief conductor of the local opera and the prestigious series of Museum Concerts. As always, he continued working in multiple fields: he recorded for RAI in Turin, and simultaneously managed the Dubrovnik Summer Festival
Dubrovnik Summer Festival
The Dubrovnik Summer Festival In a unique ambient of open and closed scenes of Renaissance-Baroque city of Dubrovnik a rich programme of classical music, theatre, opera and dance is presented.-External links:*...
. He was named Honorary Life-Time Conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra
NHK Symphony Orchestra
The in Tokyo, Japan began as the New Symphony Orchestra on October 5, 1926 and was the country's first professional symphony orchestra. Later, it changed its name to Japan Symphony Orchestra and in 1951, after receiving financial support from NHK, it took its current name...
in Japan, conducted orchestras such as Philharmonie, the Czech, Berlin, and Munich philharmonic orchestras. He appeared at the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the State and Volksopera of Vienna. At the Musikverein he regularly conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
, sat on the jury for Karajan’s conducting competition and in 1974 became the chief conductor of the National Opera Orchestra of Monte Carlo – and these are only some of his after-war successes. The list goes on with his appointment as the chief conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970 with which he realized a number of ambitious plans, including support for young conductors through a special series – Presenting Young Conductors.
He died in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
in 1985.
The musicians he collaborated with include Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
, Christian Ferras
Christian Ferras
Christian Ferras was a French violinist.Ferras was born at Le Touquet in 1933. He began studying the violin with his father, who was a pupil of Marcel Chailley. He entered the Conservatoire de Nice as a student of Charles Bistesi in 1941, and in 1943 obtained the First Prize. In 1944 he went to...
and Rudolf Buchbinder
Rudolf Buchbinder
Rudolf Buchbinder is an Austrian classical pianist.-Biography:Buchbinder studied with Bruno Seidlhofer at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1965 he made a tour of North and South America. In 1966 he won a special prize awarded at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition...
, Marijana Radev, Ruža Pospiš Baldani, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
, Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature...
, Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
, Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson
right|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
, Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant",...
, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
... He recorded for labels such as Columbia and Supraphon
Supraphon
Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
, covering a vast repertoire. Although Anton Bruckner was at the top of the list for his symphony and concert repertorie and Richard Wagner, along with his favorite Orpheus by Ch. W. Gluck and Janáček’s Jenůfa at the top of his opera repertorie, Lovro von Matačić’s interest covered a huge span from Palestrina
Palestrina
Palestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 18,000, in Lazio, c. 35 km east of Rome...
, Monteverdi and Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
, through Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven to Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer...
, Mahler, Janáček, Smetana
Smetana
Smetana is a Slavic loanword in English for a dairy product that is produced by souring heavy cream. Smetana is from Central and Eastern Europe, sometimes perceived to be specifically of Russian origin. It is a soured cream product like crème fraîche , but nowadays mainly sold with 15% to 30%...
, R. Strauss, Wagner, Verdi and others. He was especially dedicated to performing Croatian authors. His first appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1936 already included a suite from Krešimir Baranović’s
Krešimir Baranovic
Krešimir Baranović was a Yugoslav composer and conductor. He was conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Belgrade Opera, Orchestra of the Radio Belgrade and professor at the Belgrade Music Academy.-References:*Maksimović, M...
ballet Gingerbread Heart and Jakov Gotovac’s
Jakov Gotovac
Jakov Gotovac was a Croatian composer and conductor of classical music. He is the author of the most famous Croatian opera, the comic Ero s onoga svijeta , which first played in Zagreb in 1935....
Symphonic Kolo. The programs of his subsequent international and Croatian performances also included the works of Josip Hatze
Josip Hatze
Joseph Hatze was one of the first and most prominent Croatian composers in the Mediterranean style in the first half of last century....
, Blagoje Bersa
Blagoje Bersa
Blagoje Bersa was a Croatian musical composer of substantial influence....
, Božidar Širola, Božidar Kunc, Boris Papandopulo
Boris Papandopulo
Boris Papandopulo , Croatian composer and conductor. He was the son of Greek nobleman Konstantin Papandopulo and Croatian opera singer Maja Strozzi-Pečić....
, Antun Dobronić
Antun Dobronic
Antun Dobronić was a Croatian composer and pupil of Vítězslav Novák. He studied at the Prague Conservatory from 1910 to 1912. From 1922 to 1940, he served as professor at the Zagreb Academy of Music. His works show a strong streak of Croatian nationalism, which also is manifest in his writings on...
, Josip Štolcer-Slavenski
Josip Štolcer-Slavenski
Josip Štolcer-Slavenski was a Yugoslav composer and professor at the Music Academy in Belgrade.-Early life:...
, Bruno Bjelinski
Bruno Bjelinski
Bruno Bjelinski was a Croatian composer.Bjelinski was born into a Jewish family. He doctored in law at the University of Zagreb and later studied music at the Zagreb Academy of Music under Blagoje Bersa and Franjo Dugan. Bjelinski started composing in 30's with two sonatas for violin and piano...
...
“One day, when they draw a line, it will not matter what I did for international composers, but how I contributed to Croatian music,” maestro once said. His numerous efforts in that respect should definitely include his last will and testimony by which he established the Lovro & Lilly Matačić Foundation.
Awards and acknowledgements
For his anthological interpretations (especially of works by Bruckner and Wagner and of major works of the Slavic repertoire) he was awarded the Bruckner Medal of the International Bruckner SocietyInternational Bruckner Society
The International Bruckner Society was an organization which began its existence in 1927 in Leipzig and was officially founded in 1929 in Vienna. Its main purpose since then has been to publish editions of the music of Anton Bruckner...
, Bruckner Ring of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
, Janáček and Smetana Medals of the Czechoslovak Government, Cross of the 1st Order for Arts and Sciences of the President of the Republic of Austria, Hans von Bühlow Medal of the Berlin Philharmonic as well as many other awards.
Legacy
The International Lovro von Matačić Competition is held every four years in Zagreb. Notable past prize winners include Eugene TziganeEugene Tzigane
Eugene Tzigane is an American conductor who is currently Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie of Herford, Germany....
and Jakub Hrůša
Jakub Hruša
Jakub Hrůša , is a Czech conductor, the son of the architect Petr Hrůša.Hrůša studied piano and trombone, and developed an interest in conducting, during his gymnasium years in Brno. Later he studied conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where his teachers included Jiří...
.
The "Lovro Matačić Lifetime Achievement Award" is awarded biannually by the Croatian Association of Musical Artists.
See also
- Lovro and Lilly Matačić FoundationLovro and Lilly Matačić FoundationThe Lovro and Lilly Matačić Foundation was founded in 1987 according to the will of both, with an aim to improve the skill of exceptionally gifted young conductors, in Croatia and abroad.-About the Foundation:...
- International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von MatačićInternational Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von MatačićThe International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić is being organized by the Lovro and Lilly Matačić Foundation every 4 years in Zagreb and is eligible to conductors under the age of 35.-About the Competition:...
External links
- www.fondmatacic.hr
- František Sláma (musician)František Sláma (musician)František Sláma was a significant Czech chamber music performer. He was the first Czech cellist who focused on Early music.-Biography:...
Archive. More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s: Conductors