VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
Join us on a journey of discovery, explore the musical heritage and experience the interconnected cultural roots of Europe.
Immigrant Musicians
III. MUSICAL LIFE IN PTUJ
Ptuj had a rich musical life in the nineteenth century. In 1848 the National Guard with a brass band was founded, in 1855 the Music Society with a municipal brass band, in 1863 the Reading Society with a choir and a music school, then the Men’s Chorus, the Fire Brigade, the Casino Society, and in 1884 the Slovenian Choral Society. Ptuj’s musical life was also enriched by the theater, in which theatrical families and local amateurs performed. The theater groups, which usually stayed in Ptuj for one or more years, were touring groups from Celje, Maribor, and Varaždin. In addition to serious and classical works, burlesques, farcical comedies and operettas were also performed, and occasionally an opera. The theatrical performances were often accompanied by local musicians from the brass band, the music school, and other musically talented citizens. The central role in Ptuj’s musical life was played by the municipal brass band, which was founded in 1855 and in 1878 came under the auspices of the newly-founded Music Society, which also included a music school. The brass band was composed of brass players from the town and the surrounding area, and the bandmasters, who changed very frequently, were mostly foreign teachers from the Music Society school. One of the most important bandmasters was Franz Haring (1861–1895) from Attnang-Puchheim, who led the brass band for ten years. The municipal brass band took part in all important events of the town: Music Society concerts, Reading Society events, folk and singing festivals, visits of important personalities, carnival parades, promenade concerts, and other events. The musicians also took part in theatrical performances, and at the end of the nineteenth century promenade concerts of the municipal brass band were held in the music pavilion. The Ptuj Music Society brass band was disbanded in 1903 due to its poor financial situation.
Establishment
PETTAUER MUSIKVEREIN
In 1878, the Ptuj Music Society (Pettauer Musikverein) was founded to meet the political and cultural needs of the German population. The initiator of the society was the merchant Viktor Schulfink, who was also an amateur pianist and the central figure of the society. The other founders of the society included merchants, landowners, lawyers, clerks, and some craftsmen. There were also some Slovenian intellectuals among the founders, but the majority of the society’s members were Germans. The aim of the society was to cultivate good music, and for this purpose it planned to establish its own music school and a brass band. Soon the society was able to realize its goals, and on 20 March 1878, the Society’s brass band gave its first concert. Two months after its foundation, the music school was also established.
Musicians’s Origins
PETTAUER MUSIKVEREIN
The society advertised for directors and teachers in the Deutsche Musik Verband Zeitung newspaper in Prague, and sent vacancy notices to music schools throughout Germany. During its forty years of operation, the Ptuj Music Society employed only German principals and teachers from the German, Czech, and Austrian geographical areas. The only exceptions were the first principal, Anton Stöckl, and Filip Emeršič. A major change took place in 1885, when the society was taken over by the versatile musician Erich Wolf Degner from Germany. He thoroughly reorganized the music school and later sent his pupils from Weimar to Ptuj, where they worked as music teachers.
Origins of Musicians employed by Pettauer Musikverein
Music performances
PETTAUER MUSIKVEREIN
The statutes stipulated that the Music Society should hold six events per year (soirees, concerts, park music). The most frequent society events were the soirees, which were mainly social events. The society gave several concerts every year, at which soloists and invited guest musicians from Graz performed almost regularly. Unlike the soirées, which took place in Ptuj pubs, the concerts were held in the theater. As was customary at that time, they were chamber-orchestral concerts with a mixed program. In 1879, the Music Society began to hold chamber music evenings, which were mainly attended by locals. Between 1878 and 1920, the music society gave more than 118 large concerts, the majority of whose performers were foreign musicians who lived and worked in Ptuj.
Concerts organized by Pettauer Musikverein between 1878 and 1920
Music Teachers from abroad
