Entre avant-garde et trans-avant-garde: sur quelques oeuvres de László Dubrovay des années 1980

Author(s): Márta Grabócz / Language(s): French Issue: 6/2006

The article presents a rare and exceptional moment in the history of Hungarian creation in the 1980s: when László Dubrovay, Hungarian composer, was able to reconcile tradition and innovation, avant-garde and transavant-garde, the modern and post-modern styles. At that time, he made use of this work carried out in the electroacoustic studios of Cologne, Berlin and Budapest between 1970–85, transposing these experiences onto instrumental writing (chamber music, solo pieces, etc.) According to current terminology , his music is both “spectral” and inspired by the noblest European traditions in terms of the structuring of the works. This analytical work attempts to demonstrate that new sound structures can be entirely compatible with certain styles and forms of music from the 18th -19th centuries. The works examined are: the Third Quartet, Solos No. 3 and No. 5, Octet, and the Symphonia.

Cut and Paste Pictures in Surrealism

Author(s): Jarmila Gabrielova / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2006

Proceeding from the idea of the readymade, Marko Ristić’s, Vane Bor’s and Dušan Matić’s collages regroup readymade pictorial and textual matrices according to the rules of free associative syntax. Everything that they collected cut out and pasted bears the hallmark of personal choice, i.e. objective chance, as the Surrealists would say. In the new structure of the collage, picture and text were of equal importance. However, we should not forget that both picture and text were only fragments, of different origin, so that they could not function as autonomous elements in their own right, nor could they establish logical interlinks. Cut and paste picture in Surrealism are primarily registered as visual wholes, in which the former principle of harmony has been substituted by the principle of discontinuity. In fact, they do not aspire to establish closed and unambiguous semantic structures either on a single paper or within a cycle, disregarding as they do conventional narrative and illustrative order in representing reality.

Transfiguracije srpskog romantizma – muzika u kontekstu studija kulture

Author(s): Ivana Medić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 6/2006

Review of: Transfiguracije srpskog romantizma – muzika u kontekstu studija kulture. Univerzitet umetnosti (edicija „4F TEORIJA“, Beograd 2005.

Унутарња биографија композитора. Скица за студију о утицајима у делима Љубице Марић

Author(s): Melita Milin / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 4/2004

Attempting to investigate works of music through frank examination possible influences is a delicate thing, sometimes maybe dangerous - as has 1 suggested by Jonathan Cross in his book, The Stravinsky Legacy. While originality of a composer may appear to be threatened with such types of critf for musicologists it is important to draw upon a deeper appreciation for ho composer searched for his/her own creative voice. The music of Ljubica Marie (1909-2003), one of the most important Seri composers of the 20th century, has been chosen to demonstrate how composers n different influences during different phases of their maturation and how they dei integrate them in order to create an individual utterance. Ljubica Marie first studied composition with Josip Slavenski at the Belgi Music School (1925-29), and continued her studies with Josef Suk at the Ma School of the Prague Conservatory (1929-32) where she obtained her diplo Finally, she took Alois Haba’s course in quarter-tone music at the same institu from 1936 to 1937. The works she composed during the 1930’s were character by a radical will to break ties with traditional, mainly romantic music, so she cl to be influenced by the free atonal, pre-dodecaphonic works of Arnold Schoenbei Following World War II, she introduced some changes of expression that v more in keeping with links from the past. Her music became tonally stabilised, thematic-motivic developments were rediscovered, resulting in an expression became milder. But the changes need not necessarily be linked exclusively to post-war climate of socialist realism. Rather, the previous style may have me with some type of impasse - the sort that confounds or ultimately transform! artist. For Ljubica Marie, however, it appears she was never truly satisfied with first post-war works (1945-1950). What is certain is that she composed nothing during the several years preceded her first masterpiece, the cantata The Songs of Space (1956). It is how, worth examining whether or not they were really “dry years”. It is certain that Ljubica Marić, they were fresh discoveries of Serbian traditional singing, both folk and church, poetic and artistic treasures of the Middle Ages - but she also revived earlier experiences (from the pre-war decade) that she had rejected at the time, mainly the music of Stravinsky, Bartók and Slavenski. Although those influences can be detected in the score of The Songs of Space, the work has a strong individual imprint, an identity of its own. In the works that followed, The Passacaglia for orchestra and in several compositions belonging to the cycle Musica octoicha (Octoicha 1, The Byzantine Concerto, Ostinato super thema octoicha, The Threshold of Dreams), original traits of Ljubica Marie’s poetics became even more pronounced. The last works that she produced (in the 1980’s and 1990’s) are all for instrumental soloists or chamber ensembles. They continue with, and refine, the main characteristics of the earlier ones. Ljubica Marie’s evolvement thus presents a search for originality of expression that was reached only after a process of selective assimilation and creative transformation of tradition had been fulfilled - but not until any "anxiety of influences" had been abandoned. It has been shown that Ljubica Marie, like other artists, needed to be ready to be influenced, in order to absorb such influences in a creative way.

Samuel Beckett and Music. An Absurd Essay about the Idea of Musicality and Musical Form in Samuel Beckett’s Short Pieces - Influences and Possibilities

Author(s): Nadežda Mosusova / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2004

The premise of musicality of Beckett’s short dramas contains more questions than answers. Is the musicality of text present only in the work of Samuel Beckett? Do only the (musical) stage remarks in Beckett’s dramas suggest the idea of musicality? Can the absurdity of his output be expressed with music and through music? Some short musical compositions, especially by Alexandre Scriabine, can be in some way compared with Beckett’s “dramaticules”, but only in form not in the meaning and musical language. The question of hidden influences remains to be developed.

Roman Ingarden’s Theory of Intentional Musical Work

Author(s): Jan Steszewski / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2004

Roman Ingarden (1893–1970) is a representative of the phenomenological trend in philosophy. He pursued his ontologic interests in his fundamental treatise Das literarische Kunstwerk that was the starting point for his studies of other areas of art including music. For Ingarden, direct musical experience is a starting point for philosophical reflection, which should be free from any theoretical prejudice. He considers the essence of the musical work in such dimensions as ontological, the work’s structure, its perception and axiology (aesthetics). Ingarden formulates a thesis about a single layer of the musical work, an aspect which distinguishes music from other works of art. A musical work is for him a purely intentional object, whose origins spring from creative acts of composers and whose ontological basis rests directly in the score.

Daiva Račiunaite-Vyčiniene: Sutartines - Lithuanian Polyphonic Songs

Author(s): Jelena Jovanović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 4/2004

Review of: Daiva Račiunaite-Vyčiniene: Sutartines- Lithuanian Polyphonic Songs, Vaga Publishers, Vilnius 2000.

Историјат трогласних гајди у светлу миграција

Author(s): Danka Lajić-Mihajlović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3/2003

Three-part bagpipes could be designated as multinational musical instruments, since they are and were found in Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Ukraine and Romania. In order to determine the movement of their circulation in the past, it is important to investigate the influences that the different cultures had on one another. The central area of the vast territory where they were used coincides with the territory of Hungary when it was part of the Austrian Empire. From that fact it can be deduced that the presence of bagpipes as a common cultural element was the result of the influence of the Hungarian conquest. Another interpretation is based on data concerning Serbian migrations. The area where three-part bagpipes are spread significantly coincides with that of Serbian cultural influences. This finding is supported by linguistic research. The instrument related to bag-pipes, the double clarinet ("diple"), a traditional instrument of the Serbs, and the singing "on the bass" (a vocal counterpart of the harmonical structure of three-part bagpipes), mark the musical features that are characteristic only of Serbs and Croats, and are not found among other peoples that use three-part bagpipes. It is a delicate matter to differentiate the roles of those two peoples because of their common origins and centuries of close proximity on the territory that has recently gained the status of the republic of Croatia. However, on the basis of known data it seems that the key-role was played by Serbs. Such research is important for investigating typologies and stylistic stratigraphies of Serbian traditional music.

О мелодијском типу песме Чубро Mapo и његовој географској распрострањености

Author(s): Jelena Jovanović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3/2003

The paper considers a melodic type which has been recognized in three regions in Serbia: as a melodic pattern for two spring songs in the region of Crnorecje (Eastern Serbia); in a strižbajska, a službarska and in several wedding songs in the region of Preševo and Bujanovac (Southern Serbia); and in the old town of Prizren (Metohija region) where the same melodic type has been recorded as the first part of numerous wedding songs. These groups of variants are similar in the course of the melody, in their ritual function, monophony and ceremonial character. They differ on the level of form, meter, ornamentation and, partly, of metric organization (number of syllables) of the verse. The similarity of these melodies might be explained by the metanastic streams from the southern areas to the north. Migrations were permanent throughout the time of Turkish occupation (from the 15th century onwards). One of the oldest streams, which also led to the region of Crnorecje, had been formed in the regions of Kosovo and Metohija. The inhabitants from this region migrated both to the North - to different parts of North and East Serbia - and to the East - to the region of Preševo and Bujanovac. Also, the region of Preševo, together with two smaller river valleys (South Morava and Moravica), is considered to be a middle region between the two big river valleys of Morava and Vardar, significant as directions of migrations towards the North.It may be concluded that this melodic type was brought to the North by migrations as an important and still vital element of the old Southern Serbian ritual tradition. On the other hand, there is another group of variants within this melodic type, diffused in other parts of Serbia, with the function of entertainment and in the physiognomy of the songs na bas - of newer rural Serbian vocal style. The trace of these variants should be investigated in the future.

Italian Musicians in Greece During the Nineteenth Century

Author(s): Aikaterini Romanou / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2003

In Greece, the monophonic chant of the Orthodox church and its neumatic notation have been transmitted as a popular tradition up to the first decades of the 20th century. The transformation of Greek musical tradition to a Western type of urban culture and the introduction of harmony, staff notation and western instruments and performance practices in the country, began in the 19th century. Italian musicians played a central role in that process. A large number of them lived and worked on the Ionian Islands. Those Italian musicians have left a considerable number of transcriptions and original compositions. Quite a different cultural background existed in Athens. Education was in most cases connected to the church + the institution that during the four centuries of Turkish occupation kept Greeks united and nationally conscious. The neumatic notation was used for all music sung by the people, music of both western and eastern origin. The assimilation of staff notation and harmony was accelerated in the last quarter of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century in Athens a violent cultural clash was provoked by the reformers of music education, all of them belonging to German culture. The clash ended with the displacement of the Italian and Greek musicians from the Ionian Islands working at the time in Athens, and the defamation of their fundamental work in music education.

A Critical Review of the Most Important Sources on Dimitris Mitropoulos (1896+1960)

Author(s): Anastasia Siopsi / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2003

As most important books on Dimitris Mitropoulos should be mentioned those by Apostolos Kostios, William R. Trotter and Takis Kalogeropoulos. Two other editions are also valuable: the correspondence Mitropoulos – Katy Katsoyanis, and the selected texts of the artist. Mitropoulos had difficult relations with his Greek colleagues, especially after his emigration to the United States of America in 1939. At the time when the most important Greek composers strove to create a national school of music, he made it clear that he did not like the idea of national music. He developed a neutral or even indifferent attitude towards musical activities in Greece and rarely included Greek compositions in his repertoire.

Fizionomii identitare culturale universale. Importanța Columnei din Forul lui Traian (Roma) pentru cultura universală și a României

Author(s): Leonard Velcescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2023

In this conference, aspects of the scenes of the Column of Trajan's Forum are discussed, the multiple historical, artistic and iconographic information offering the documentary “film” carved in Carrara marble, made during the reign of Trajan (98-117 AD). Also, fundamental aspects regarding the representations of the compositions of the Column in European art are highlighted. Due to the exceptional artistic quality, composition and portraiture, from the heyday of Trajan’s reign, Roman sculptural art was studied and drawn by the greatest artists of the Renaissance and Baroque, but also by those who were part of the artistic currents that have followed. Among these important artists, Michelangelo Buonarroti admired the compositions of the Column. Of inestimable historical and cultural value, the Column is one of the cultural identity symbols of Romania. Being also a European cultural symbol, it essentially contributes to the European identity unity, for a better understanding and collaboration between the diversity of cultures, to the increase of Romania’s prestige and image in the world. Having the decisive role of uniting us, of broadening our horizons, no matter what differentiates us, culture means knowledge, understanding and, equally, identity for all.

Principesa pianistã - Elena Bibescu

Author(s): Aida Marc / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 3/2023

One of the great ladies of the purely Romanian female aristocracy was the princess and pianist Elena Bibescu. She is very little known and present in our Romanian consciousness, although in her times she was the cultural ambassador of Romanian people in Europe; she lived during the period when art experienced one of its strongest flourishes and accomplishments: the famous “La Belle Epoque” period! Elena Bibescu played the role of her life as a European cultural ambassador, an "activity" carried out in her artistic salon where people from high society gathered, a salon in which friends were connected and philosophical, literary and musical ideas were shared. Elena Bibescu was also a remarkable pianist with a talent whose echo reached from Paris, London, Bucharest, Berlin and Vienna to the United States of America, where she accomplished successful concerts mentioned in the press of the time. Along with the role of pioneer of the career of George Enescu the one who became our great national composer, the name of Princess Bibescu is also related to a new concept in Bucharest, at the high, European level to which she brought the concert. Thus, at the recital she played under the patronage of royalty at the National Theater, in the presence of the royal couple, the Bősendorfer piano house in Vienna sent the first piano of that brand to be used on the Romanian stage. Princess Bibescu, through her innate generosity when asked, did not spare any effort to support those in need, but who also put a good word for young, talented musicians and eager to assert themselves; through acculturation she brought a new breeze in the Romanian musical culture.

Esther Levinger: Constructivism in Central Europe

Author(s): Julia Secklehner / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Review of: Esther Levinger: Constructivism in Central Europe. Painting, Typography, Photomontage. Brill. Amsterdam – Boston 2022. XI, 370 S., Ill. ISBN 978-90-04-50555-1. (€ 162,18.)

Archaeometry Study and Conservation and Restoration of Roman Bronze Vessels from Regional History Museum of Burgas

Author(s): Violeta Karailieva / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

This article discusses five bronze vessels from the funds of the Regional History Museum in Burgas dated to the 1st–3rd centuries AD. The aim of the analyses was the determination of the alloy used for manufacturing and the type of the corrosion products. The results were applied to some technological aspects regarding the manufacturing and the corrosion processes that occur in the vessels afterwards. The data gathered was later used to assign a proper conservation treatment and helpful to the restoration interventions. Unfortunately, the vessels were accidental finds therefore the interpretation of the results and the comparative analyses are not complete.

Изложба Българска археология 2023: Произведения на античното изкуство

Author(s): Marina Koleva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

Conference Review: International Symposium The Gold Treasure of Ebreichsdorf. Prehistoric Gold Finds in the 2nd and 1st Millennium BC in Europe, August 18–20, 2023, Vienna

Author(s): Ruslan Stoychev / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Quasi-przysłupowy kościół w Brodach Poznańskich w świetle XVII- i XVIII- -wiecznych źródeł pisanych. Przyczynek do badań dawnych praktyk ciesielskich

Author(s): Aleksander Jankowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2024

The 17th-century wooden church in Brody Poznańskie, erected on a cruciform plan in a qua- si-post-supported construction system, holds a special place in the Polish and Europeanstock of wooden church architecture. The article analyses the distinctive features of the ar- chitecture of the building and confronts them with archival materials relating to it, revealing the circumstances and details of the process of establishing the “factory” for the church, the model adopted for it, and its original architectural appearance. The synthesising conclusions highlight the exceptional importance of this church in the study of old carpentry practices.

Реч и музика епске песме – од синкретизма до певане поезије

Author(s): Danka Lajić-Mihajlović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 15/2013

This study concerns the relationship between verbal and musical components of Serbian epic songs with rhythm seen as a morphological dominant. My aim is to enrich the musicological inquiry of this issue and provide a contribution that complements existing folkloristic and philological research outcomes. In terms of methodology, the study promotes the necessity of recording the performers’ recited versions of songs for the purposes of investigating the relationships between verbal and musical communication, as well as an interdisciplinary approach to these issues. Two paradigmatic examples are examined, each performed by the guslar representative of his respective period of guslar practice: Tanasije Vućić (1883–1937) and Boško Vujačić (b. 1947). The observed periods span less than one century, yielding an insignifi cant passage of time in terms of epic historicism, but nonetheless indicate signifi cant differences between these two guslars’ sung and narrated rhythms. Compared to Vujačić, Vućić’s singing demonstrates a considerably smaller range of the absolute duration of the sung syllables (and therefore of an entire verse), and subsequently a much stricter syllabicity. Furthermore, Vućić’s singing refl ects the ideal type of “isochronous pulse in duple meter” in a rather high degree, while Vujačić more consistently refers to narration, whereas the trochaic tendency is noticeable only at the initial part of the verse. The connections between these focused individual styles are discussed through the lens of guslars’ transition from amateur to professional capacity and the changed function of epics. Considering the consequences of the policy of invalid representation and experiencing epic song as poetry (void of musical component), and on the other hand, the effects of the strategy insistent on “citatory” (verbatim) treatment of poetic templates that leads to suppressing poetic creativity, I intend to draw attention of the responsible authorities in the areas of education, culture, and science. This is of particular importance in the context of ongoing endeavors towards preservation of singing with gusle as part of Serbian inherent cultural heritage.

Tајновита mисирлу: варијанте једне интернационалне мелодије медитеранског порекла у популарној музици XX века

Author(s): Predrag Todorović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 15/2013

My article deals with an unusual story on the roots of a song that has left a signifi cant imprint on the twentieth century popular music all over the world. It is the song Misirlou, created somewhere on the territory of the Ottoman Empire, probably in Asia Minor. The author of this song is unknown. It was created in the so-called rebetiko musical style, typical of the Greeks from Asia Minor, who developed that style after the World War I. The fi rst recordings of this song were made in the 1930s by Greek musicians Tethos Demetriades and Mihalis Patrinos. In no time, there was a true proliferation of different versions of this song, in almost every possible musical genre: jazz, latino, taksym, klezmer, makam, Serbian folk, hip hop, trash metal, pop and rock’n’roll. A number of these versions are mentioned in the article. The fact that this song is considered by many nations – Greeks, Turks, Arabs, Serbs, Jews, Americans – as their own, demonstrates its aptitude for incredible metamorphoses. What attracted me to this song was the story on how it was appropriated into Serbian folk music by the remarkable composer and singer Dragoljub Dragan Toković. The song was called Lela Vranjanka [Lela, the girl from Vranje] and became a standard in the so-called “Vranje folk music”, marvelously interpreted by the singer Staniša Stošić. I also compare various textual versions of Misirlou, in different languages, in order to show its parallel development in verse.