Lucijan Marija Škerjanc
Encyclopedia
Lucijan Marija Škerjanc (December 17, 1900 in Graz
– February 27, 1973 in Ljubljana
) was a Slovene composer
, pedagogue, conductor, musician
, and writer who was accomplished on and wrote for a number of musical instruments such as the piano
, violin
and clarinet
.
He is considered an important figure in 20th century composition in Slovenia and is a Prešeren laureate
and a recipient of the first award given in 1947 for his Koncert za violino in orkester (Concerto for Violin and Orchestra), which he went on to win on numerous occasions. His style reflected late romanticism
with qualities of expressionism
and impressionism
in his pieces, often with a hyberbolic artistic temperament, juxtoposing the dark against melodic phrases in his music.
, Prague
, Vienna
, Paris
and Basel
, Škerjanc was liberal in his attitude to music and multifaceted in his works. He spent many years teaching composition at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, teaching composers such as Nada Ludvig-Pečar
whilst serving as a chancellor for a period and was a pianist, conductor, music writer and director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
based in the country's capital. Whilst musically diverse, his opus centred on composition, varying from piano miniatures and solos for beginners, and solo and chamber works to full blown concerto
s and symphonies. Apart from sonatas, he notably composed a cycle of seven nocturnes, which many consider his greatest piano oriented work, and seven orchestral pieces Gazele (Ghazels
). He not only composed for the piano but also the violin
, the clarinet
and the bassoon
(known as a fagot in Slovenia) in 1952. During his life he also wrote for international composers and composed the film score
s for a number of films under Yugoslavia
.
In 1949 he was elected a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
. Škerjanc was also a music critic and writer about music and is the author of three monographs on Slovene composers, five pedagogical handbooks and a book Od Bacha do Šostakoviča literally meaning From Bach to Shostakovich.
He received the Prešeren Award many times, the last being in 1971 and was also a recipient of the Austrian Herder Award and the French Palmes académiques
.
In 2001 he was commemorated by appearing on a postage stamp of Slovenia which featured at portrait of him by Božidar Jakac
positioned on the manuscript of his symphonic poem Marenka.
Concertante
Chamber music
Keyboard
Vocal
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
– February 27, 1973 in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
) was a Slovene composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pedagogue, conductor, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and writer who was accomplished on and wrote for a number of musical instruments such as the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
.
He is considered an important figure in 20th century composition in Slovenia and is a Prešeren laureate
Prešeren Award
Prešeren Award is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia awarded each year to one or two eminent Slovene artists...
and a recipient of the first award given in 1947 for his Koncert za violino in orkester (Concerto for Violin and Orchestra), which he went on to win on numerous occasions. His style reflected late romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
with qualities of expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
and impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
in his pieces, often with a hyberbolic artistic temperament, juxtoposing the dark against melodic phrases in his music.
Biography
Educated in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Škerjanc was liberal in his attitude to music and multifaceted in his works. He spent many years teaching composition at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, teaching composers such as Nada Ludvig-Pečar
Nada Ludvig-Pecar
Nada Ludvig-Pečar is a Croatian composer. She was a student of Miroslav Špiler and Lucijan Marija Škerjanc. Starting in 1969 she taught music theory at the Sarajevo Music Academy. She was also author of several music text books...
whilst serving as a chancellor for a period and was a pianist, conductor, music writer and director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national philharmonic orchestra of Slovenia, based in the capital Ljubljana.On the Philharmonic Hall, a pastel yellow building on Kongresni trg., is a plaque stating that the Philharmonic was founded in 1701; though this refers to the founding of the...
based in the country's capital. Whilst musically diverse, his opus centred on composition, varying from piano miniatures and solos for beginners, and solo and chamber works to full blown concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s and symphonies. Apart from sonatas, he notably composed a cycle of seven nocturnes, which many consider his greatest piano oriented work, and seven orchestral pieces Gazele (Ghazels
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
). He not only composed for the piano but also the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and the bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
(known as a fagot in Slovenia) in 1952. During his life he also wrote for international composers and composed the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s for a number of films under Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
In 1949 he was elected a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members of the academy....
. Škerjanc was also a music critic and writer about music and is the author of three monographs on Slovene composers, five pedagogical handbooks and a book Od Bacha do Šostakoviča literally meaning From Bach to Shostakovich.
He received the Prešeren Award many times, the last being in 1971 and was also a recipient of the Austrian Herder Award and the French Palmes académiques
Palmes académiques
The Ordre des Palmes Académiques is an Order of Chivalry of France for academics and cultural and educational figures...
.
In 2001 he was commemorated by appearing on a postage stamp of Slovenia which featured at portrait of him by Božidar Jakac
Božidar Jakac
Božidar Jakac was a Slovene Expressionist, Realist and Symbolist painter, graphic artist, art teacher, photographer and filmmaker. He produced one of the most extensive oeuvres of pastels and oil paintings , drawings and, above all, graphics in Slovenia...
positioned on the manuscript of his symphonic poem Marenka.
Works
Orchestra- Lirična uvertura (Lyric Overture) for orchestra (1925)
- Svečana uvertura (Festive Overture) for orchestra (1926)
- Slavnostna uvertura (Festive Ouverture) for orchestra (1932)
- Preludio, Aria and Finale for string orchestra (1933)
- Symphony No.1 (1933)
- "V onom cernom lese ..." for string orchestra (1934)
- Jadransko morje (Adriatic Sea) for string orchestra (1935)
- Suita v starem slogu (Suite in Old Style) for string orchestra (1935)
- Symphony No.2 (1940)
- Suite No.2 for string orchestra (1940)
- Symphony No.3 (1941)
- Dramatična uvertura (Dramatic Overture) for orchestra (1942)
- Symphony No.4 in B major for string orchestra (1942)
- Symphony No.5 in F major for symphony orchestra (1943)
- Notturno
- Mařenka, choreographic symphonic poem (1940)
- Gazele (Gazelles, Ghazels), cycle of 7 orchestral poems after France PrešerenFrance PrešerenFrance Prešeren was a Slovene Romantic poet. He is considered the Slovene national poet. Although he was not a particularly prolific author, he inspired virtually all Slovene literature thereafter....
(1950) - Suite No.3, 9 Pieces for string orchestra (1954)
- Sinfonietta (Dixtuor) for strings (1958)
- Mala suita (1956)
- Problemi (1958)
- Sedem dvanajsttonskih fragmentov (7 Twelve-tone Fragments) for string orchestra (1958)
- Zarje večerne
Concertante
- Concerto for piano and orchestra (1940)
- Concerto for violin and orchestra (1944)
- Koncertni allegro (Concert Allegro) for cello and orchestra (1947)
- Concertino for piano and string orchestra (1949)
- Concertino for clarinet and orchestra (1949)
- Concerto for harp and chamber orchestra (1954)
- Concerto for bassoon with strings and harp (1952)
- Concerto for clarinet with strings, percussion and harp (1958)
- Koncertantna rapsodija (Concertant Rhapsody) for viola and orchestra (1959)
- Concertino for flute and orchestra (1962)
- Concerto for horn and orchestra (1962)
- Concerto for piano left hand and orchestra (1963)
- Fantazija (Fantasy) for piano and orchestra
Chamber music
- String Quartet No.1 (1917)
- String Quartet No.2 (1921)
- String Quartet No.3 (1925)
- Woodwind Quintet (1925)
- Intermezzo romantique for violin and piano (1934)
- Sonata for cello solo (1935)
- String Quartet No.4 (1935)
- Maestoso lugubre for piano trio (1935)
- Piano Trio (1935)
- Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon (1937)
- Dve bagateli (2 Bagatelles) for violin and piano (1941)
- Tri mladinske skladbe (Three Youth Compositions) for violin (or clarinet, trumpet, cello) and piano (1942)
- String Quartet No.5 (1945)
- String Quintet (1950)
- Duo for 2 violins (1952)
- Pet liričnih melodij in Capriccio (Five Lyrical Melodies and Capriccio) for cello and piano (1953)
- Concertone for 4 cellos (1954)
- Štiri ditirambične skladbe (4 Dithyrambic Pieces) for violin and piano (1960)
- Sedem etud (7 Etudes) for cello solo (1961)
- Elegija (Elegy) for viola and piano
Keyboard
- Sonata for piano (published 1956)
- Sonata No.2 for piano (1925)
- Štiri klavirske skladbe (4 Piano Pieces) (1925)
- Deset mladinskih skladbic (Ten Youth Compositions) for piano
- Pro memoria for piano (1927)
- Sedem nokturnov (7 Nocturnes) for piano (1935)
- 24 diatoničnih preludijev (24 Diatonic Preludes) (1936)
- 6 improvizacij (6 Improvisations) for piano (1942)
- Prelude and Fugue in E Minor for organ (1944)
- Varijacije brez teme (Variations without a theme) for piano (1944)
- Šest skladb za eno roko (6 Pieces for One Hand) (1945); 3 pieces for the left hand, three for the right
- Dvanajst preludijev (Twelve preludes) for piano (1954)
Vocal
- Vizija (Vision), solo song for high voice and piano (1918)
- Sonetni venec, Cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1949); words by France PrešerenFrance PrešerenFrance Prešeren was a Slovene Romantic poet. He is considered the Slovene national poet. Although he was not a particularly prolific author, he inspired virtually all Slovene literature thereafter....
- De profundis for voice and chamber orchestra
- choral works
- 55 songs for voice and piano