![Stevan Hristić 2009 Serbian stamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Stevan_Hristi%C4%87_2009_Serbian_stamp.jpg)
Stevan Hristić ( sr-cyr, Стеван Христић; 19 June 1885 – 21 August 1958) was
Serbian composer, conductor, pedagogue, and music writer. A prominent representative of the late romanticist style in Serbian music of the first half of the 20th century.
Biography
Hristić started his music education at the Serbian Music School in Belgrade (established by
St. Mokranjac) and continued his studies in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
(1904–08) where he received instruction in composition from S. Krehl and R. Hofmann, and in conducting from A. Nikisch. Following a brief period of teaching at the Serbian Music School, he spent time 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 ...
,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
(1910–12). Upon his return to Belgrade before the start of the World War I, Hristić began his conducting career at the
National Theatre and resumed pedagogical activities at the Serbian Music School as well as at the Seminary. Between the two World Wars he contributed to the development of Belgrade musical life as: a founder and the first principal conductor of the
Belgrade Philharmonic (1923–34), conductor at the Belgrade Opera House (director 1925–35), and one of the founders and first professors of the Belgrade Music Academy (composition professor 1937–50 and president 1943–44). He was inducted into the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
(1950) and was in charge of the Institute of Musicology. Hristić was also among the founders and a longtime president of the Serbian Association of Composers.
Works
Hristić's oeuvre consists of large-scale though not numerous works:
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
''The Dusk'' (1925),
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
''The legend of Ohrid'' (1947), oratorio ''Resurrection'' (1912), several orchestral pieces (incidental music for stage), works of sacred music (''Liturgy'' and ''Opelo'' (Orthodox ''Requiem'')), concert pieces (''Symphonic fantasy'' for violin and orchestra and ''The Rhapsody'' for piano and orchestra), choral compositions (''Autumn'' and ''The Dubrovnik requiem''), and chamber vocal lyrical pieces (“There once was a rose,” “The Swallow,” “Elegy,” “An evening on the reef,” and “The blossom”). Hristić's musical language is characterized by melodic inventiveness, colorful orchestration, late romanticist and partially impressionistic harmonies, and clarity and transparency of formal structure. By his primarily romanticist orientation, Hristić somewhat differs from his contemporaries
Konjović and
Milojević whose works manifest more radical ventures toward a contemporary stylistic expression. Hristić appears closer to the Mokranjac origins, whereas his oeuvre represents a transition from the romanticist groundwork toward contemporary trends. Hristić's most significant work, ''The legend of Ohrid'' is at the same time the first full-evening ballet in Serbian music.
The legend of Ohrid
The history of origins and settings
Despite the fact that Hristić started his work on ''The legend'' during the late 1920s with Act I even being performed for celebration of the composer's 25th career anniversary (1933), the ballet was completed only following the end of the World War II. It premiered at the National Theatre in Belgrade on 29 November 1947 in choreography by
Margarita Froman, set design by
Vladimir Zedrinski, and costumes by
Milica Babić. The ballet was equally successfully performed during numerous visiting shows in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
(1951),
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
(1952),
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
and
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
(1953), Geneva and Zurich (1953), Florence and Wien (1955), Cairo (1961), and Barcelona (1965). In its original version ''The legend'' was also performed in Skopje, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Novi Sad, Sarajevo, Rijeka, and Maribor. For the 1958 premiere held at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre, Hristić added certain numbers that shaped the final version of the ballet. ''The legend of Ohrid'' had over 1,300 performances in twenty-four settings (premiered and renewed), engaging four foreign and ten Yugoslav choreographers (some of whom returned to this work several times), with six premieres held in Belgrade. The integral performance and the first recording of the entire ballet music were completed in 2008 (edited by
Dejan Despić in 1985) on occasion of the 50th anniversary of the composer's death (
Radio Television Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
Symphony and Choir with conductor
Bojan Suđić).
Musical expression
The music of the ballet consists of three composed segments featuring the plot developments and rounded numbers—dances—as points of stagnation within the dramatic action. The framework of all musical events lies on several prominent leit-motives developed through the symphonic texture. The two main leit-motives are extracted from the thematic fabric of Mokranjac's ''Rukovet'' no. 10 (''Song-Wreath'' no. 10): the songs “Biljana, whitening the linen” (“Biljana platno beleše”) and “Let me go” (“Pušči me”). Along with these two leit-motivical citations, the ballet music also features a theme from the widely known song “Biljana,” as well as the transcription of a folk tune notated by V. Đorđević (“I’m drinking wine and rakia” (“Pijem vino i rakiju”)) which does not serve as a leit-motive, but rather appears only as a theme of the closing bachelor's kolo. The main leit-motives symbolize Biljana's character and love of the two youths. Other prominent motives, although of a more sporadic role, depict Biljana's father and the sword. The citations represent the ballet's primary thematic material that ensures coherency of its musical content. The motives are treated in a symphonic manner whereas the symphonic development serves the dramatics of the plot: the motivical transformation is tightly connected with the plot and the shifts demonstrate characters’ psychological ordeals and characterize dramatic tensions.
In terms of harmony, while there are some bolder instances within the realm of romanticist expression, Hristić mostly operates with simple devices. His harmonic language encompasses modality, specific scalar structures such as the Balkan scale (minor), whole-tone scale (utilized strictly in melodic lines), and Phrygian mode-mixture, to the typical late romanticist expanded tonality. The most captivating aspect of Hristić's craftsmanship pertains to the richness of orchestral sound. This trait is also manifested in the four orchestral suites composed of the most pertinent ballet excerpts (recording of the Belgrade Philharmonic with conductor
Emil Tabakov
Emil Tabakov ( bg, Емил Табаков ; born August 21, 1947) is a Bulgarian conductor, composer and double-bass player.
Life and career
Emil Tabakov was born in Ruse, Bulgaria. In 1974 he studied at the Bulgarian State Music Academy with ...
, 1998).
The score evocates traditional music of Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. "The score may lack modernist pretension, but its clean lines and bright colours have been so beautifully realised that Ohridska legenda stands today as one of the significant achievements of Yugoslav music."
[Music in the Balkans by Jim Samson, BRILL, 23 May 2013 page 360]
The Dusk (Suton)
In his opera ''The Dusk'' (1925), Hristić integrates some experiences of the Verismo musical
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
and elements of
impressionistic
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...
musical language. The work was almost entirely composed upon the integral text of the second (symbolist) drama from ''A trilogy of Dubrovnik'' by
Ivo Vojnović
Ivo Vojnović (9 October 1857 – 30 August 1929) was a writer from Dubrovnik.
Biography
Vojnović was born in Dubrovnik as the first son of Count Konstantin Vojnović (1832–1903) and Maria de Serragli (1836–1922) on 9 October 1857 in Du ...
and depicts the atmosphere in the home of old and reputable Benesh family during the downfall of Dubrovnik nobility following the abolishment of the Ragusa Republic at the beginning of the 19th century. At the center of the plot are two young people whose love for each other is rather unfeasible due to the difference in their social classes, while all other characters are only roughly drafted. Underscoring the chamber nature of the work and operating consistently within the realm of the dramatic lyrical psychology, the composer intentionally avoids genre-scenes. Alongside Vojnović's text, the lyrics of the poem “The Dreams” (“Snovi”) by
Jovan Dučić
Jovan Dučić ( sr-cyr, Јован Дучић, ; 17 February 1871 – 7 April 1943) was a Herzegovinian Serb poet-diplomat and academic.
He is one of the most influential Serbian lyricists and modernist poets. Dučić published his first collec ...
(for Luyo's arioso “Oh, how it hearts” (“Vaj, kako to boli”)) are incorporated in the
libretto, thus fitting by its overall mood into the drama's emotional ambience.
The large-scale form of Hristić's ''The Dusk'' is a musical drama with vocal part treated largely as an accompanied recitative. The melodic element is determined by profound psychological interpretation of the text, within its own vocal logic. Orchestral part carries the leit-motivical events, albeit not in a systematic fashion that Hristić would utilize in his ballet. The motive of the dusk from introduction, as one of the principal motives, permeates the entire work.
Resurrection
The first oratorio in Serbian music, ''Resurrection'', conceived upon the text by
Dragutin Ilić, was premiered in 1912, declaring in a way interests toward new genres of then young composers’ generation. The introduction for this work has been performed as an independent orchestral piece entitled ''The Poem of the dawn''.
Orchestral music
Despite his superior knowledge of the orchestra, Hristić peculiarly did not have a particular affinity for symphonic music. He devoted a relatively few, mostly freely conceived works to this genre: the overture for ''Cucuk Stana'', symphonic poem ''In the countryside'' (the first movement of an unfinished symphony), and two effective concert pieces—his BA diploma-work from Leipzig, ''Symphonic fantasy'' for
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
and orchestra (1908), and ''The Rhapsody'' for piano and orchestra (1942).
Sacred works
Hristić's ''Liturgy'' and particularly ''Opelo'' in b-flat minor are considered the cornerstone contributions to the development of Serbian sacred music. In these works, the composer liberally resorted to late romanticist harmony resulting in thick, at instances polyphonic, choral texture.
See also
*
Kosta Manojlović
*
Petar Krstić
*
Miloje Milojević
Miloje Milojević (Serbian Cyrillic: Милоје Милојевић; 27 October 1884, Belgrade – 16 June 1946, Belgrade) was a Serbian composer, musicologist, music critic, folklorist, music pedagogue, and music promoter.
Biography ...
*
Stevan Mokranjac
*
Isidor Bajić
Isidor Bajic ( sr-cyr, Исидор Бајић) (16 August 1878 – 15 September 1915) was a Serbian composer, teacher, and publisher.
Biography
He was born in Kula, Austro-Hungarian Empire. A pupil of Hans von Koessler in Budapest, he taught ...
*
Stanislav Binički
*
Davorin Jenko
Davorin Jenko (born Martin Jenko; 9 November 1835 – 25 November 1914) was a Slovene composer. He is sometimes considered the father of Slovenian national Romantic music. Among other songs, he composed the melody for the Serbian national anthem " ...
*
Jovan Đorđević
Jovan Đorđević (13 November 1826 – 9 April 1900) was a Serbian writer, dramatist, Minister of Education and the co-founder of the Novi Sad Serbian National Theatre in 1861, the National Theatre in Belgrade in 1868 and the Academy of Dramatic ...
*
Josif Marinković
Josif Marinković (Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Маринковић; Vranjevo, near Novi Bečej, 15 September 1851 – Belgrade, 13 May 1931) was a Serbian composer and choral director. Like his younger contemporary Stevan St. Mokranjac, he was ...
Selected works
*''Cucuk Stana'', vocal incidental music, 1907
*''Symphonic fantasy'' for violin and orchestra, 1908
*''Autumn'', from mixed choir, 1910
*''Resurrection'', oratorio, 1912
*''Opelo'' in b-flat minor, for mixed choir, 1915
*''The Dusk'', opera, 1925 (edited, 1954)
*''The Dubrovnik requiem'', for soprano and mixed choir, 1930
*''In the countryside'', symphonic poem, 1935
*''The Rhapsody'' for piano and orchestra, 1942
*''The legend of Ohrid'', ballet, 1947 (Act I, 1933; expanded 1958)
*''The Vranje suite'', for small orchestra, 1948
*Incidental music for stage plays (''King Lear, The Tempest, Hamlet, The Imaginary Invalid, The Chalk Circle, Resurrection of Lazarus'', and ''The eternal bridegroom'', among others)
Sheet music—score editions
*Suite No. 1 from ''The legend of Ohrid''. Belgrade: Prosveta, 1954.
*''The legend of Ohrid''. Piano reduction by Ilija Marinković, ed. by Milenko Živković. Belgrade: Prosveta, 1964.
Recordings
*''The legend of Ohrid''. CD. Four suites from the ballet. Belgrade Philharmonic, conductor Emil Tabakov. Belgrade: Komuna, CD 9011, 1984.
*''Suite no. 1'' from ballet ''The legend of Ohrid'' (Ohridska legenda). CD. ''New Sound'' (Novi Zvuk) 112, Belgrade: Komuna, 1998.
*''The legend of Orhid''. CD. Hannover Radio Philharmonic, conductor Moshe Atzmon. CPO 999 582–2, Germany, 1999.
*''The Rhapsody'' for piano and orchestra. CD. Radio Television Serbia Symphony, conductor Bojan Suđic. Belgrade: PGP RTS, 2000 (CD 430961).
*''Suites no. 1, 2 & 3'' from ballet ''Ohridska legenda''. Belgrade Opera Orchestra, conducted by Hristić. CD. Ректори Музичке академије у Београду (1937-1957). Fakultet Muzičke Umetnosti, Belgrade, 2013. .
References
Literature
*Mosusova, Nadežda. “''The legend of Ohrid'' by Stevan Hristić.” ''The Sound (Zvuk)'' 66, (Sarajevo, 1966): 96–115.
*
Peričić, Vlastimir, ed. ''Stevan Hristić and his oeuvre''. A collection of students’ papers. Belgrade: University of Arts, School of Music, 1985.
*Stefanović, Dimitrije, ed. ''The life and work of Stevan Hristić''. Belgrade: SASA, 1991.
*Mosusova, Nadežda, ed. ''Serbian musical stage''. Belgrade: SASA, 1995.
*Pejović, Roksanda. ''Opera and ballet of the Belgrade National theatre (1882–1941)''. Belgrade: University of Arts, School of Music, 1996.
*''Music production between the two world wars. Musicology'', 1 (Belgrade, 2001).
*Veselinović Hofman, Mirjana, ed. ''A history of Serbian music: Serbian music and European musical heritage''. Belgrade: Zavod za udžbenike, 2007.
*Despić, Dejan. “Hristić’s ''The legend of Ohrid''”. Editor's comments. ''Mokranjac'' 10: 44–45.
*Marinković, Sonja. “T''he legend of Ohrid'' (Hristić’s anniversary duly observed: integral performances of ''The legend of Ohrid'' at the Days of Mokranjac and
BEMUS festivals),” ''Mokranjac'' 10: 46–49.
*Tomašević, Katarina. ''At the crossroad of the East and the West. On the dialog of the traditional and modern in Serbian music (1918–1941)''. Belgrade—Novi Sad: The Institute of Musicology SASA—Matica Srpska, 2009.
External links
*
Opera Composer Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hristic, Stevan
20th-century classical composers
Serbian composers
1885 births
1958 deaths
Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery
Male classical composers
20th-century male musicians