Page 273 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2017. Glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti - Musical Migrations: Crossroads of European Musical Diversity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 1
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the musical migration: czech musicians in sarajevo
ing folk tunes can be viewed as the beginning of ethnological and folk re-
search in Bosnia. Ludvig Kuba is the most important melographer of the
Austro-Hungarian period in Bosnia. During his four-month stay in Bosnia
1893, Kuba collected 1127 songs, thus making a pioneering step in the field of
Bosnian ethnomusicology.57 Ludvig Kuba was the most significant melog-
rapher; however, it is less known that other Czech musicians also collected
the Bosnian musical treasure, though to a far lesser extent than Kuba, such
as previous mentioned Matějovský and Kačerovský.
Conclusion
The occupation and annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Aus-
tro-Hungarian Empire was a vital political turn which led to changes with
far-reaching consequences. The one of them is a development of Bosnian
musical culture on the West-European music traditions. The main role in
this process was played by foreign musicians, the Czechs being the most
numerous among them.
Cultural activities by Czech immigrants were manifest at the amateur
and professional level. Cultural amateurism resulted from the need to so-
cialize, and the desire to preserve the Czech national identity. Besides their
permanent jobs in industry, trade or business, musicians-amateurs acted
as diligent cultural workers. Professional Czech musicians were coming to
Bosnia in order to get a job in professional cultural institutions. Their en-
gagement resulted from the lack of local professionals in the area of musi-
cal culture.
In Sarajevo, the administrative, political, economic and cultural center
of Bosnia and Herzegovina where institutionalization of musical life gave
its first results, Czech professional musicians were involved as conductors,
music pedagogues, instrumentalists, composers and organizers. Although,
only a few of them remained in Sarajevo till the end of their working life,
Czech musicians left a visible trace in developing the musical culture of
West-European type. In Austro-Hungarian period (1878–1918) they are
present as Kapellmeisters of the military bands stationed in Sarajevo. Since
these orchestras were the first professional music ensembles in Sarajevo,
their role is evident in the formation of the music audience and establish-
57 Cvjetko Rihtman, “O melografskom radu Ludvika Kube u Bosni i Hercegovini i o
pripremanju kritičkog izdanja njegove zbirke pjesama i napjeva iz Bosne i Hercego-
vine,” Ludvik KUBA: Pjesme i napjevi iz Bosne i Hercegovine, ed. Cvjetko Rihtman
(Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1984), 7.
271
ing folk tunes can be viewed as the beginning of ethnological and folk re-
search in Bosnia. Ludvig Kuba is the most important melographer of the
Austro-Hungarian period in Bosnia. During his four-month stay in Bosnia
1893, Kuba collected 1127 songs, thus making a pioneering step in the field of
Bosnian ethnomusicology.57 Ludvig Kuba was the most significant melog-
rapher; however, it is less known that other Czech musicians also collected
the Bosnian musical treasure, though to a far lesser extent than Kuba, such
as previous mentioned Matějovský and Kačerovský.
Conclusion
The occupation and annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Aus-
tro-Hungarian Empire was a vital political turn which led to changes with
far-reaching consequences. The one of them is a development of Bosnian
musical culture on the West-European music traditions. The main role in
this process was played by foreign musicians, the Czechs being the most
numerous among them.
Cultural activities by Czech immigrants were manifest at the amateur
and professional level. Cultural amateurism resulted from the need to so-
cialize, and the desire to preserve the Czech national identity. Besides their
permanent jobs in industry, trade or business, musicians-amateurs acted
as diligent cultural workers. Professional Czech musicians were coming to
Bosnia in order to get a job in professional cultural institutions. Their en-
gagement resulted from the lack of local professionals in the area of musi-
cal culture.
In Sarajevo, the administrative, political, economic and cultural center
of Bosnia and Herzegovina where institutionalization of musical life gave
its first results, Czech professional musicians were involved as conductors,
music pedagogues, instrumentalists, composers and organizers. Although,
only a few of them remained in Sarajevo till the end of their working life,
Czech musicians left a visible trace in developing the musical culture of
West-European type. In Austro-Hungarian period (1878–1918) they are
present as Kapellmeisters of the military bands stationed in Sarajevo. Since
these orchestras were the first professional music ensembles in Sarajevo,
their role is evident in the formation of the music audience and establish-
57 Cvjetko Rihtman, “O melografskom radu Ludvika Kube u Bosni i Hercegovini i o
pripremanju kritičkog izdanja njegove zbirke pjesama i napjeva iz Bosne i Hercego-
vine,” Ludvik KUBA: Pjesme i napjevi iz Bosne i Hercegovine, ed. Cvjetko Rihtman
(Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1984), 7.
271
