Arti musices, Vol. 54 No. 1, 2023.
Prethodno priopćenje
https://doi.org/10.21857/ygjwrcpq8y
Young Rudolf Matz – General Secretary and Choirmaster of the Croatian Singing Association in Zagreb
Bernardica Kraljević
orcid.org/0009-0002-0629-6167
; Osnovna glazbena škola Rudolfa Matza, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
Rudolf Matz (1901-1988) was a versatile Croatian musician, known and recognized in the domestic and international cultural community primarily as a cellist pedagogue and composer. This paper provides insight on his lesser-known organizational and conducting activity in the Croatian Singing Association (Hrvatski pjevački savez) during the particularly significant period of the reorganization of the Association’s work in 1924 and 1925.
In 1919, Matz founded the Musical Society of Intellectuals in Zagreb with whom, as its artistic leader, he achieved a rapid artistic rise. In 1924 he was elected general secretary and conductor of the Association of Croatian Singing Societies or the Croatian Singing Association. At that time, the Association was already a respected institution with a fifty-year history and would remain active in Zagreb until 1947. As a well-organized umbrella organization, the Association made a significant contribution to Croatian musical culture by encouraging the activities of a large number of Croatian singing societies, which functioned as centers of cultural activity in their respective communities. During the period of Matz’s involvement (1924-1941), the Association notably strengthened its activities in the organization of compositional, publishing and ethnomusicological work, created strong connections with other European Slavic nations, and acted as a representative of Croatian cultural identity in the field of music.
Due to unstable Croatian political conditions, the work of the Croatian Singing Association was difficult. At the beginning of 1924, during a period of crisis caused by pressure from Belgrade, the center of political power at the time, a young Rudolf Matz, then a student of composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Zagreb, was given the prominent role of general secretary and then choirmaster of the Croatian Singing Association. After he actively participated in opposing the pressure from Belgrade to create a centralized Yugoslav Singing Association, thereby ensuring the survival of the Association as an independent organization, Matz became enthusiastically active in the organization of the work of the Association and the singing societies, creating important documents and regulations. The minutes of the meetings of the presidency and the central board of the Association from 1924 and 1925 contain valuable information about his central role in designing the »Rules of the Association of Croatian Singing Societies’ Counties in Zagreb«, which formed the basis for the organization of thirteen regional singing centers with a total of 100 Croatian singing societies. Also important are the documents created by Matz, which enabled the classification of choirs according to their artistic level.
In addition to conducting, Rudolf Matz played a key role in the reorganization of the work of the Croatian Singing Association, while at the same time encouraging an orientation toward the national style in programming. He had an overall impact on the improvement of the artistic work of the Croatian Singing Association and the performance practice of numerous Croatian singing societies, evident as early as 1925 at concerts celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the Croatian kingdom and the 50th anniversary of the Association. This was just the beginning of the strong momentum that Rudolf Matz gave to the Croatian choral movement in the period between the two world wars, resulting in a valuable long-term contribution to musical and cultural development in Croatia.
Ključne riječi
Rudolf Matz; Croatian Singing Association; singing societies; singing counties; regulations of the work of singing societies
Hrčak ID:
306086
URI
Datum izdavanja:
14.7.2023.
Posjeta: 334 *