Page 165 - Glasbenopedagoški zbornik Akademije za glasbo v Ljubljani / The Journal of Music Education of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana: Mostovi med formalnim in neformalnim glasbenim izobraževanjem, leto 15, zvezek 31 / Year 15, Issue 31, 2019
P. 165
Vedrana Markoviæ, INFLUENCE OF SLOVENIAN CULTURE AND MUSIC PEDAGOGY...
followed by endless music playing. It is not hard to imagine how those meetings looked
like, in what kind of artistic atmosphere the conversations between people representing
the Slovenian cultural scene at that time took place. The influence that her acquaintance
with the above mentioned artists had on the development of Vida Matjan’s personality is
undoubtedly important. She often remembered those days later on, stating that those were
the most pleasant and the most substantial life atmospheres she had ever felt.
In addition to music, Vida Matjan cherished great love for fine arts. Owing to Saša Šantel,
an academic painter and violinist, whom she met in Ljubljana, from 1920 and 1930 Vida
was actively using the technique of painting on silk, wood, porcelain and clay. As a result
of such ability, she started to take orders by opera and fashion houses from Belgrade,
Ljubljana and Zagreb. For example, for the needs of Belgrade opera, she painted clothing
details for Carmen, Scheherazade and Hamlet while upon the requirement of Ljubljana
opera she painted for the opera Prince Igor and ballets Mak and Manon Lescaut.
December 1930 marked the movement of Matjan couple to Belgrade where they stayed
for 11 years. At music school Stankoviæ Vida Matjan enrolled higher degree course which
would correspond to the rank of Music Academy if it existed at the time, in the class of
professor Emil Hajek. She completed the course in 1935. At her graduation concert she
played Chopin’s Two Piano Concertos in E minor, which she performed with professor
Hajek. After graduation, she dedicated herself to instrumental pedagogy: she had a large
number of students whom she taught piano privately (Miloševiæ,1982).
At the same time, her husband paid a number of business visits to Kotor. Matjan couple
got to like the climate, people and ambience of Boka Bay very much. After bombing of
Belgrade in April 1941, when the house they lived in was partially destroyed, they decided
to move to Kotor.
During the hard years of the II World War all music activities were suspended so the
beginning of Vida Matjan’s music activity is linked to 1945 and took place in her Private
Music School Vida Matjan. With the consent of state authorities, the school was active
until April 1, 1947 when it was merged with just founded State Lower Music School in
Kotor.
Vida Matjan engaged in numerous activities. From 1946 already, she invested enormous
amounts of energy and enthusiasm into organization and running of choir Women
Antifascist Front of Kotor which had 32 members, Pioneer Choir of 105 members,
folklore and drama groups. Simultaneously, she meticulously engaged in field work and
interpretation of cultural heritage, especially folklore. Of particular importance in this area
is her publication Dances and Songs of Dobrota and Skaljari where she elaborated on folk
music tradition of Boka Bay. In addition to her extraordinary contribution in the area of
music pedagogy development in Montenegro as well as ethnomusicology, Vida Matjan is
also important as a composer: her opus comprises 1 children opera, 8 music fairytales, 33
instrumental compositions for piano and orchestra and 4 choral compositions
(Dabi inoviæ, 2018).
In 1949, Vida Matjan officially became a principal of Music School in Kotor, having
remained at the position for 20 years - until her retirement in 1969. She taught solfeggio
and piano to initial classes of lower music schools.
163
followed by endless music playing. It is not hard to imagine how those meetings looked
like, in what kind of artistic atmosphere the conversations between people representing
the Slovenian cultural scene at that time took place. The influence that her acquaintance
with the above mentioned artists had on the development of Vida Matjan’s personality is
undoubtedly important. She often remembered those days later on, stating that those were
the most pleasant and the most substantial life atmospheres she had ever felt.
In addition to music, Vida Matjan cherished great love for fine arts. Owing to Saša Šantel,
an academic painter and violinist, whom she met in Ljubljana, from 1920 and 1930 Vida
was actively using the technique of painting on silk, wood, porcelain and clay. As a result
of such ability, she started to take orders by opera and fashion houses from Belgrade,
Ljubljana and Zagreb. For example, for the needs of Belgrade opera, she painted clothing
details for Carmen, Scheherazade and Hamlet while upon the requirement of Ljubljana
opera she painted for the opera Prince Igor and ballets Mak and Manon Lescaut.
December 1930 marked the movement of Matjan couple to Belgrade where they stayed
for 11 years. At music school Stankoviæ Vida Matjan enrolled higher degree course which
would correspond to the rank of Music Academy if it existed at the time, in the class of
professor Emil Hajek. She completed the course in 1935. At her graduation concert she
played Chopin’s Two Piano Concertos in E minor, which she performed with professor
Hajek. After graduation, she dedicated herself to instrumental pedagogy: she had a large
number of students whom she taught piano privately (Miloševiæ,1982).
At the same time, her husband paid a number of business visits to Kotor. Matjan couple
got to like the climate, people and ambience of Boka Bay very much. After bombing of
Belgrade in April 1941, when the house they lived in was partially destroyed, they decided
to move to Kotor.
During the hard years of the II World War all music activities were suspended so the
beginning of Vida Matjan’s music activity is linked to 1945 and took place in her Private
Music School Vida Matjan. With the consent of state authorities, the school was active
until April 1, 1947 when it was merged with just founded State Lower Music School in
Kotor.
Vida Matjan engaged in numerous activities. From 1946 already, she invested enormous
amounts of energy and enthusiasm into organization and running of choir Women
Antifascist Front of Kotor which had 32 members, Pioneer Choir of 105 members,
folklore and drama groups. Simultaneously, she meticulously engaged in field work and
interpretation of cultural heritage, especially folklore. Of particular importance in this area
is her publication Dances and Songs of Dobrota and Skaljari where she elaborated on folk
music tradition of Boka Bay. In addition to her extraordinary contribution in the area of
music pedagogy development in Montenegro as well as ethnomusicology, Vida Matjan is
also important as a composer: her opus comprises 1 children opera, 8 music fairytales, 33
instrumental compositions for piano and orchestra and 4 choral compositions
(Dabi inoviæ, 2018).
In 1949, Vida Matjan officially became a principal of Music School in Kotor, having
remained at the position for 20 years - until her retirement in 1969. She taught solfeggio
and piano to initial classes of lower music schools.
163
