DUBROVNIK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HISTORY

The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra is an important part of the rich and varied cultural heritage of the city of Dubrovnik and the Republic of Croatia.  The Orchestra in the City of Dubrovnik has been in operation continuously since 1924, initially as a semi-professional organization, and subsequently as a fully professional orchestra.  The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra continues the long and significant musical tradition that had already been developed in the early years of the Republic of Dubrovnik (1358-1808).

The Orchestra, at that time called the Dubrovnik Orchestra, was founded by a group of young, enthusiastic students of the Gymnasium School in Dubrovnik.  The original name of the Orchestra (Dubrovnik Orchestra) was changed in 1925 to the Dubrovnik Philharmonic Orchestra.  During the ensuing years, the Orchestra's membership steadily increased, and the Orchestra's technical sophistication allowed the ensemble to perform more sophisticated and demanding musical works, often under famous conductors including Tadeusz Sygietynski, Josef Vlach Vruticky, and Ludomir Michael Rogowski.

In 1946 the members of the Orchestra, aware of a pressing need to offer a more competitive product to an increasing and diverse tourist market, formed another musical body called the Dubrovnik City Orchestra.  This ensemble was independent of the Orchestra, but consisted mostly of its members.  The Dubrovnik City Orchestra was the city's first fully professional orchestra, performing mostly for the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (formed in the 1950s).  For a short time during the 1980s, the Orchestra was called the Dubrovnik Festival Orchestra. In 1992 the Orchestra renamed itself for the last time as the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra.

A concert held in Zagreb on February 5, 1916 (Zagreb Philharmonic, conducted by Fridrik Rukavina), marked a new era in the musical world of Croatia.  The concert provided an indication that the musical movement in the country was turning more toward serious, instrumental music of the Classical and Romantic periods, and away from the folk music that had been so heavily influenced by Czech and Russian musicians.

It was only several years later when a group of students (graduates from the Dubrovnik Gymnasium high school) founded an Orchestra under the name of Dubrovnik Orchestra.  It was, as previously mentioned, a semi-professional orchestra and its first members were Mato (Tulko) Katić, August Brilli, Vladimir Berdović, Šime Torbarina, Miljenko Tudorić, Petar Lucijanović, Ante Glušćević, Domenico Capurso, Miljenko Cvitanović, Milan Bojanić, Melko Gracić and Zdenko Šapro.  The members of the Orchestra announced an interesting appeal in the Public Conscience (newspaper), where they invited all friends and admirers of music, who also know how to play some musical instruments, to apply for an audition to the orchestra (auditions were conducted in the rooms of the Boskovic society).

The members of the Orchestra had one vision in mind, and that was to form a Philharmonic Society in Dubrovnik.  Enthusiastic and determined in their vision, the members of the Orchestra in 1925 formed the Dubrovnik Philharmonic and appointed its first president Mr. Lujo Fouquea (who was also responsible for changing the name).  The first concert of the Dubrovnik Philharmonic (1925) was held in the BondinoTheater (today's Marin Držić Theater) under the Polish conductor Tadeusz Sygietynski (the young conductor of the Warsaw Opera House, who came to Dubrovnik for medical reasons).  The first newspaper critique was excellent, stating that the concert was performed with the right dose of taste and style.  The Dubrovnik Philharmonic had its first Statute legalized on the 24th of August 1925.  As a result, the Philharmonic was recognized under the District's budget in 1926.

A famous composer and conductor who arrived in 1926 in Dubrovnik (and stayed until his death in 1954) was Ludomir Michael Rogowski.  Mr. Rogowski studied music at the most prestigious musical academies in Poland, France and Germany.  The most notable performance by Mr. Rogowski was in 1928: The Miracle of St. Blasius (text written by the famous writer and poet Ivo Vojnović).  In 1927, the well known conductor, Josef Vlach Vruticky, came to Dubrovnik and started teaching in the Musical School Dubrovnik Philharmonic.  The Musical School Dubrovnik Philharmonic was founded in 1927, with the sole purpose of educating future musicians who would later take an active role in the Dubrovnik Philharmonic.  The Dubrovnik Philharmonic Orchestra had between thirty and fifty members, ranging across the string, brass, woodwind, and percussion families.

In 1928, the city of Dubrovnik started to emphasize tourist development.  Tourists came not only for the rich natural beauties that Dubrovnik had to offer, but also for its rich cultural life.  The Dubrovnik Philharmonic, Dubrovnik Opera Society (formed in 1921), the choral singing society Dubrava (formed in December 1918) as well as an abundance of theatrical performances all contributed to the cultural life of Dubrovnik.  In 1933 the members of the Dubrovnik Philharmonic—with the help of the “Dub Society”—formed a new, small professional orchestra.  It was independent of the Philharmonic, and was called Kurorchestra, literally “salon orchestra.”  This was a chamber orchestra formed of fifteen members who played waltzes, polkas and opera pieces.  Kurorchestra operated under the auspices of City government, and each member of the Orchestra was obliged (by contract) to take an active role in the Dubrovnik Philharmonic.  The formation of the Kurorchestra in Dubrovnik also enriched the range of offerings available to the growing number of cultural tourists.  In 1935, the Dubrovnik Philharmonic celebrated its 10th anniversary.

At the beginning of World War II, music was not to be heard.  It was not until 1942, when the members of the Dubrovnik Philharmonic formed the Croatian Musical Institution of Dubrovnik, that music again took its place in the life of the city.  The Croatian Musical Institution of Dubrovnik consisted of fifteen professional musicians performing mostly chamber music.  After the surrender of Italy in 1943, one more orchestra existed in Dubrovnik—it was called the Orchestra of the Dubrovnik Crew—and was essentially a military orchestra.  After World War II, the Dubrovnik City Orchestra (1946) was formed as a professional body.  The members of the Orchestra, with few exceptions, were mostly educated as professional musicians.  In the 1950s, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival was formed and the City Orchestra was the sole performer of symphonies (mostly performing musical pieces from the Baroque and Classical periods).  The musical works were performed in the Rector's Palace and soon the City Orchestra had two or three performances a week and over one hundred concerts per year.  In order to increase the public's interest in classical music, the City orchestra recorded numerous symphonies that were aired on Radio Zagreb.

For a period of time in the 1960s, Dubrovnik had a Musical Academy as a branch of the Musical Academy in Zagreb; the manager was Professor Zdravko Cobencl.  The Musical Academy provided the Dubrovnik Philharmonic with qualified musicians who were ready to play in the Philharmonic.  However, the civil war (1991) changed everything and the Musical Academy was moved to Split, where it remains today.  In the 1970's the Orchestra started performing “Opera Stagione” with the help of opera societies from Sarajevo and Split.  Some of the most famous conductors of that time were Dr. Krešimir Kovačević (1946-1951); Klara Mizerit (1951-1958); Anton Nanut (from 1958) and Nikola Debelić (from 1971).

In the 1980s, the Dubrovnik City Orchestra merged with the Dubrovnik Summer Festival and changed its name to the Dubrovnik Festival Orchestra.  The year 1980 was marked by conductor Ivo Dražinić, who with the support from the City government, had formed a civic choir called Libertas and enriched the performance of the Dubrovnik Festival Orchestra by including instrumental pieces of both the domestic and foreign composers.  After the reorganization of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (1992), the Dubrovnik Festival Orchestra changed its name to the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra.

Today, the City of Dubrovnik boasts numerous cultural organizations and institutions and has a rich musical, dramatic and theatrical tradition that contributes immensely to the rich artistic spirit which imbues so much to the charm of this old city.  The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra has made its impact and contribution to the enrichment of musical life in Dubrovnik, and continues to do so through its outstanding performances, and through a love and devotion to music of all areas and periods.  The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra is one of the cultural cornerstones of Dubrovnik—and indeed, the Republic of Croatia—performing traditional baroque, classical and romantic repertoire, as well as various symphonic music composed in recent years.  “It is not only the notes one reads and understands, it is the music one experiences and loves,” as one of the DSO members stated.

If you close your eyes on the streets of the Old City of Dubrovnik, you will hear the murmur of people walking along the Stradun, the whispers of young lovers, and laughter of the local children.  In the far distance, you will hear musicians tuning instruments and the chattering of people before a concert starts.  The lights will grow dim...two “tick, tick” of the Maestro's baton...and the music begins!  The fluttery sound of the violins calls to the deep tones of the contrabass to respond...the rhythmical beats the timpani player makes...the inviting sound of the horns.  The music of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra takes you beyond the notes and the instruments: it touches your fondest and dearest memories and fills you with the sounds of dramatic and relaxing emotions.  For a while, the music allows you to be transported to a different place; and a long time after the concert has ended, the melodies linger in your mind as a reminder: just as feelings and memories are never forgotten!