Primož Ramovš (March 20, 1921 – January 10, 1999) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n composer and librarian.

Life

Ramovš was born in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, then the administrative centre of the Slovenian part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. He studied at the Ljubljana Academy of Music from 1935 to 1941 under

Slavko Osterc Slavko Osterc (17 June 1895 – 23 May 1941), was a Slovenian composer. Osterc was born in Veržej. He studied under Emerik Beran, who was a pupil of Leoš Janáček, in his youth before attending the Prague Conservatory from 1925 to 1927. ...

. Afterwards, he studied in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

under

Vito Frazzi Vito Frazzi (1 August 1888 – 7 July 1975) was an Italian neo-romantic composer. He was born in San Secondo Parmense, and studied at the Parma Conservatory, where he learnt composition from Guido Alberto Fano. From 1912 to 1958 he taught p ...

in 1941 and in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with

Goffredo Petrassi Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.Petrassi, Goffredo. (2008). ...

and

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

from 1941 to 1943. From 1945, he worked as a librarian at the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members o ...

and was the director of its library from 1952 until 1987. He also taught at the Ljubljana Conservatory from 1948 to 1964. He died in Ljubljana at the age of 78 years.

Musical style

Ramovš was a pioneer of Slovenian musical avant-garde and one of the most prolific Slovenian composers. His early works are neoclassical in style, but later works employ

serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...

and other modernist techniques. He wrote almost exclusively instrumental music, which he found inspiration for in the abstract world. He often experimented, even in very extreme sense. "If the result is negative, it will fall away by itself, but if it is positive, then it will be a new step in the development of music, which should never stop, but must go hand in hand with the times to build up our culture."

Works

*6 symphonies (1940, 1943, 1948, ''Simfonija 68'' 1968, ''Simfonija med klavirjem in orkestrom'' ymphony between piano and orchestra1970, ''Simfonija Pietà'' 1995) and a sinfonietta (1951) *''Kolovrat'', string orchestra (1986) *''Contrasts'', flute and orchestra (1966) *''Syntheses'', horn and ensemble (1971) *''Concerto profano'', organ and orchestra (1984) *Concerto for violin, viola and orchestra (1961) *Trumpet concerto (1985) *''Transformacije'' (Transformations) for 2 violas and 10 string instruments (1963) *''Tryptychon'', string quartet (1969) *''3 Nocturnes'', double bass (1972) *''Improvisations'', harp (1973) *''Aforizmi'' (Aphorisms) for viola and piano (1964) *''Nokturno'' for viola and piano (1959) *''Skice'' (Sketches) for viola and piano (1958)
''Za harmoniko'' (For Accordion) for solo accordion (1983)
performed by Dean Delgiusto *''Viribus unitis'' for violin, guitar and accordion (1983) *''Ernönek'' for classical accordion (1986) *''Izpolnjena želja'' (Fulfilled Wish) for two accordions (1997) *Film music

References

;Footnotes ;Sources *

Don Randel Don Michael Randel (born December 9, 1940) is an American musicologist, specializing in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Spain and France. He is currently the Chair of the Board of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a trustee ...

, ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Harvard, 1996, p. 725. 1921 births 1999 deaths 20th-century classical composers Musicians from Ljubljana Prešeren Award laureates Slovenian classical composers Slovenian male musicians Slovenian librarians University of Ljubljana alumni Male classical composers 20th-century male musicians Yugoslav musicians {{Slovenia-composer-stub