Page 175 - 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. 175
oi: https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-7055-86-3.173-187
The Establishment of the Conservatory
of the Glasbena Matica in Ljubljana
in the Context of the Construction
of Central National Musical Institutions*
Jernej Weiss
Univerza v Ljubljani / Univerza v Mariboru
University of Ljubljana / University of Maribor
At the turn of the century and up until the beginning of the First World
War, the musical pulse of Ljubljana was beating stronger than ever. The
unique rivalry between its two competing musical institutions resulted in
new achievements, and the circumstances of that time allowed them both
to shine in their own way: the Glasbena Matica music society excelled prin-
cipally in the choral field, while the Philharmonische Gesellschaft (Phil-
harmonic Society), established in 1794, led the way in the performance of
chamber and symphonic music.1 However, the conflicts and increasingly
apparent divisions between the two key political perspectives in Slovenia,
the liberals and the clericalists, had already begun to interfere in the lives of
these two cultural institutions in the years leading up to the Great War and
were to have fateful consequences in 1913.
Various scandals on the clericalist side, which the liberals made very
good use of, appear to have prompted the conservatives to take their re-
venge on the “liberal institutions”, which needed the support of the pro-
vincial government, where the conservatives had a majority. As a result,
they withdrew their support from the Glasbena Matica, having already
done the same to the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Slovene theatre com-
pany at the Provincial Theatre. Despite emphasising that the management
* This article is a part of the research project nr. J6-8261, financed by the Slovenian Re-
search Agency from the state budget.
1 Darja Koter, Slovenska glasba 1848–1918 (Ljubljana: Študentska založba, 2012), 267.
173
The Establishment of the Conservatory
of the Glasbena Matica in Ljubljana
in the Context of the Construction
of Central National Musical Institutions*
Jernej Weiss
Univerza v Ljubljani / Univerza v Mariboru
University of Ljubljana / University of Maribor
At the turn of the century and up until the beginning of the First World
War, the musical pulse of Ljubljana was beating stronger than ever. The
unique rivalry between its two competing musical institutions resulted in
new achievements, and the circumstances of that time allowed them both
to shine in their own way: the Glasbena Matica music society excelled prin-
cipally in the choral field, while the Philharmonische Gesellschaft (Phil-
harmonic Society), established in 1794, led the way in the performance of
chamber and symphonic music.1 However, the conflicts and increasingly
apparent divisions between the two key political perspectives in Slovenia,
the liberals and the clericalists, had already begun to interfere in the lives of
these two cultural institutions in the years leading up to the Great War and
were to have fateful consequences in 1913.
Various scandals on the clericalist side, which the liberals made very
good use of, appear to have prompted the conservatives to take their re-
venge on the “liberal institutions”, which needed the support of the pro-
vincial government, where the conservatives had a majority. As a result,
they withdrew their support from the Glasbena Matica, having already
done the same to the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Slovene theatre com-
pany at the Provincial Theatre. Despite emphasising that the management
* This article is a part of the research project nr. J6-8261, financed by the Slovenian Re-
search Agency from the state budget.
1 Darja Koter, Slovenska glasba 1848–1918 (Ljubljana: Študentska založba, 2012), 267.
173
