Ivan Mane Jarnović (; 26 October 1747 – 23 November 1804) was a

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

during the 18th century, often said to have been Italian but whose family was of Ragusan (today in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) origin. There is no evidence that he ever lived in the Croatian lands to which both his paternal and maternal lineages have been traced. He later appears to have held French citizenship, escaping to England during the revolution. His career spanned Europe as he performed and/or sojourned in almost all major centres including Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, St Petersburg, Vienna, Stockholm, Basel, London, Dublin, amongst others. It appears he was a pupil of Antonio Lolli and he was an acquaintance of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, with whom he shared concert programmes in London. Jarnović was reputedly born at sea ''en route'' from

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

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(or was possibly born in Palermo), where he was baptised in the church ''San Antonio Abate'' on 29 October 1747. He died in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

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on 23 November 1804.

Biographical gaps

Whole periods of his life - his youth and other interludes - remain unaccounted for, while details as to his origins and identity have proven to be elusive. There are plausible arguments to suggest that his family was from

, possibly from the Karlovac-Delnice region. Highlighting a further riddle concerning his identity, Schneider and Tuksar both point out that Jarnovic's (or Giornovichi's) first names, Giovanni Mane, do not appear in any literature about him until 36 years after his death, namely in Schilling's ''Enzyclopadie'' of 1840. These names become the form most usually cited in encyclopaedic and biographical works from then onwards, often rendered today in their Croatian form as Ivan Mane Jarnović. It is "quite incredible," Tuksar has remarked, "that one of the leading musicians of 18th century Europe could have lived for 64 years without his name and surname ever being given anywhere, not even in his printed works, in their full and proper form." Besides Jarnović, several variations in the rendition of his surname also occur: ''Jarnowick, Jarnovick, Jarnovichi, Jarnowicz, Garnovik, Giarnovicki, Giernovichi'', ''Giornivichi''. It seems likely that shifts in the spelling and pronunciation of his name occurred according to the country in which he was living or performing or publishing his works at any given time. At least one source does exist which indicates his first and last names, namely a register entry recording the baptism of Jarnović's daughter Sophia, in London, in 1795. The same document throws light on yet another area of uncertainty - that of Jarnović's family. Whereas little was previously known of the fate of his daughters "Mimi" and "Sofie", something of their lives and subsequent history is now on record.

Debut in Paris, 1773

Jarnović made a "sensational" debut in Paris, at a ''

Concert Spirituel The Concert Spirituel () was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts with the same name occurred in multiple places including Paris, Vienna ...

'' on 25 March 1773, and appeared in three successive concerts in which he was billed as the "''fameux violoniste''". He was for some years "all the rage in that capital". The ''

Mercure de France The () was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was publis ...

'' described his playing as brilliant, finished and mannered, at the same time that it was sensitive and animated; he was "''celebre''" for the "''beau fini''" and "''l'elegance et l'expression''" of his playing. There is reference to at least five concert performances in 1775, five in 1776 and one in 1777, in addition to private concerts in many Parisian salons. In December 1775 he had "amazed" his audience and "seemed to surpass himself in his new violin concerto and in the little airs varies that he played following it". The ''Mercure de France'' later described the Polish violinist Felix Janiewicz as his student on the latter's appearance at a ''Concert Spirituel''.

Positions held in Prussia and Russia and extensive travels across Europe

In addition to other appointments, he appeared from 1779 to 1783 in the service of the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm II of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. On 14 May 1783 he was granted a three-year contract, in St Petersburg, in the service of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

, Empress of Russia. Hereafter he returned westwards, performing, among other places, in Vienna and Paris. He resided in England from 1790 to 1796, "and there met with much success". Principally he performed in London but also in Bath, Edinburgh and in Dublin, before returning to the concert platforms of Europe, performing in Hamburg, Berlin and elsewhere in Germany between 1797 and 1802. A correspondent for the ''

Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung The ''Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung'' (''General music newspaper'') was a German-language periodical published in the 19th century. Comini (2008) has called it "the foremost German-language musical periodical of its time". It reviewed musical e ...

'' reported that "since my last letter there have been three concerts here of very diverse nature. The first and indisputably one of the most superior ones of the entire winter, was given on March 21 by Herr Giornowich ... one admires in the two violin concertos composed by him the beauty and novelty of the ideas just as much as the dexterity, power and extraordinary subtlety in the playing." Towards the end of 1802 he travelled to St Petersburg where he lived the two remaining years of his life.

Works

Jarnović composed about 50 chamber instrumental pieces, 22 violin concertos (17 preserved), and is known for having introduced the

romanza ''Romanza'' is the first compilation album by Italian tenor singer Andrea Bocelli, released internationally in 1997. Although a compilation, ''Romanza'' is considered Bocelli's breakthrough album and is his most commercially successful, topping ...

as a slow movement into the structure of the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

concerto. The violin concertos and other works have been studied in detail by Vjera Katalinić. The hymn-tune ST ASAPH is attributed to Jarnović, usually under the surname Giornivichi. It was published in Robert Smith's ''Sacred Music'' in Edinburgh in 1825, and may be an arrangement of a work of Jarnović made at that time.

Pupils and influence

While in England, one of Jarnović’s several pupils was the young Mulatto prodigy

George Bridgetower George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (11 October 1778 – 29 February 1860) was a British musician, of African and Polish descent. He was a virtuoso violinist who lived in England for much of his life. His playing impressed Beethoven, who ...

, for whom

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

subsequently composed the Kreutzer Sonata. Jarnović’s influence in terms of musical forms and performance is discussed by Katalinić and Milligan.

Fictional depictions of his life

Jarnović's life is fancifully described in a novel, ''Jarnović'' by G. Desnoisterres (pub. le Brisoys, Paris 1844), and in a collection ''Scènes de la vie d'artiste'' by P. Smith ("Une leçon de Jarnović" - pub. Paris, 1844).

Bicentennial in St Petersburg

A bicentennial seminar and concert in honour of Jarnović was convened and hosted by the St Petersburg Union of Composers on 23–24 November 2004. Participants included Professor Vladimir Gurevich and other local musicologists and performers, together with Jarnović specialists Vjera Katalinić and Stanislav Tuksar from

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and by a descendant of one of Jarnović's daughters who travelled from Kimberley in South Africa.Ivan Jarnović/Giornovichi Bicentenary - Account of a journey to St Petersburg, November 2004
/ref>

References

External links

*
Ivan Jarnović Bicentenary - Account of a journey to St Petersburg, November 2004

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarnovic, Ivan 1747 births 1804 deaths Croatian classical violinists Croatian composers Croatian male composers Italian people of Croatian descent Early modern Croatian music