While examining and evaluating artistic development a concept “innovation” or “innovational process” suggests itself, by which we can span a polarity between categories of “old” and “new” or “traditional” and “modern”. In a newer musicology the concept is used to describe a differentiated character of music innovations and their usage in social sphere. Due to a flexibility of the chosen concept we may explore variable levels of innovational movements in the 20^th century Slovak music, too. According to their orientation we may study the character of development, structure, analogies, distinctions and periodization since the interwar formation of a generation of Slovak music modernism through avantgarde of 1960s to postmodern inniciatives at the end of the century.

In his contribution the author deals with the philosophical reflection of actual music making. Having analyzed the periodization of music by Jacques Attali and the conception of art by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, he uses the music of American composer David Shea to confirm the main thesis suggested in both philosophical conceptions of art. He argues that the culture in current world of simulacra can be seen as a dialogical game of reinterpretations as the more and more works of art are created in the space in-between where the artists only mark unknown and already known territories. But the beginning of modernism does not mean the end of the tradition because the linguistic games do not allow it. The postmodern dialog with traditional art forms is the evidence.

Traditionally conceived identity in music encompasses also genre and stylistic categorization of a creation of a particular composer. Formerly the identity was perceived completely automatically as a natural frame of creation, continuously confirmed in a cultural discourse by every new production. Innovation as well as identity existed as part of shared period paradigm. Roughly since the 1980s new authors’ strategies have been emerging increasingly, obscuring the identity concept perceived as a manifestation of an affiliation to a certain genre or style. This way ultimately results in a disintegration of a traditionally conceived identity, which enabled unambiguous assignation of a genre to a creator. In a harmony with actual social-psychological theories we may comprehend the author’s identity in the contemporary music as a process of unstable and continuous construction. In it the musician’s identity (his musical self) is continuously re-created as a result, intersection and performer of interactions of various musical discourses, often wholly different in their genre.

A concept “music moderna” appeared in Czech journalism for the first time after 1870 in works of Otakar Hostinský in a connection with Bedřich Smetana’s orientation on Romantic European music. Later also Vladimír Helfert (1936) takes this orientation as basic for evaluation of other composers’ creation (Dvořák, Novák, Suk, Janáček) and newer eras of Czech music after 1918 on the basis of neoclassicism (Iša Krejčí) and expressionism (Alois Hába). World War II attenuated the content of the concept “modernity” and it was ideologically deformed after 1948. In an endeavour to revive its meaning in Czech composers’ creation from the following decades we may speak more about “fashionability”.

Czech music journalism from the period 1945–1948 reveals the predominating search for continuity with Czech and European avantgarde from the interwar period. The presentation of Bartók’s, Britten’s, Hindemith’s, Honegger’s and Stravinsky’s work was positively commented and did not oppose to assertion of ideas of democratization of art and strengthening of national peculiarity of the Czech music. However, the vocabulary of the articles from the early ‘50s contrasts sharply with this; it reflects the vulgarization and ideologically motivated deformation of democratization ideas and of national music traditions. Reflecting the division of Europe a sharp borderline was posed between the West and East art. The music from abroad was labeled as decadent and being in crisis, while the domestic contemporary music was designated as progressive and developed. Neither jazz escaped its fate: opposition even possessed racist implicit meaning.

In her contribution the author deals with a question of nationality, of an origin and existence of a phenomenon “Slovak national music”. She poses a question, whether any Slovak music style exists and whether the creation of the Slovak composers of the 20^th century demonstrates specific signs, by which it may be discerned from the music from abroad. She tried to answer the posed questions. Concluding she presented theses intended to stimulate the contemplation. The author considers the question of style to be more a matter of fashion, efforts in national character for historical dependence, an endeavour in novelty or returns to tradition and past for repeated regularity in the history. According to her there is a more important phenomenon than the nationality of a composer, his affiliation to school or to a place, to stylistic orientation, fashionality of antiquity: merits of his artistic utterance addressing the recipient.

The contribution deals with the controversy arisen between Samuel Capricornus and Philipp Friedrich Böddecker, the Stuttgart cathedral organist, soon after Samuel Capricornus assumed the post of Kapellmeister of Würtemberg Hofkapelle. The course of the controversy is revealed due to a preserved letter, sent by Capricornus to his master Eberhard III., in which Capricornus presents the origin of the tension and asks for his master’s opinion and judgment on the rightness. The complete letter supplemented by a commentary was published by Josef Sittard at the early 20^th century, but recent knowledge about life and creation of both arguing sides initiated a repeated revaluation of its content not only for the differentiation of historical truth from the mutual exaggerated smearing but also for the perspective on a relation between period compositional trends and their music-theoretical reflection. Seemingly the controversy reminds the much more famous polemics in the history of music between Artusi and Monteverdi. However, in the content and in the way of arguing the Capricornus’ endeavour in a harmonization of traditionalism and modernism, in a delineation of space for application of modern compositional devices in the frame of traditional theory of composition reveals more than building the barriers between the theory and the practice.

Concerto style belongs to the most typical components of Baroque music. It was entrenched on the ground of cori spezzati at the turn of 16^th and 17^th centuries, notably in the work by Giovanni Gabrieli, especially through equal participation of melodic instruments (cornetto, trombone, violin) and vocal choirs. His pupil Heinrich Schütz developed Gabrieli-like principles through specification of particular types of choirs, while „cori favoriti“ (soloists) possessed an important position, and in comparison with Italian composers (Alessandro Grandi, Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Antonio Rigatti) he significantly developed a so-called klein geistliches Konzert. During the early Baroque period an emancipation of instrumental music was finished. Even the first violin virtuosi (Biagio Marini, Giovanni Battista Fontana etc.) attained a considerably high level of sophistication in their compositions. Other innovations of concerted style took place exclusively on the basis of instrumental music, namely in Italy. Soon after the origin and improvement of concerto grosso (Alessandro Stradella and namely Arcangello Corelli – his Op. 6) a solo violin concerto originated in the 1690s, mostly due to Giuseppe Torelli (Op. 8). He had created a three-movement concerto form (adopted by Antonio Vivaldi and other composers), middle movement being mostly in three-sections (slow-quick-slow, so called Torelli-like middle movement), and he had created a thematic contrast of tutti (Torelli’s distinct subjects are usually contrapuntal) and soli (virtuoso elements, figurations, runs, arpeggios etc.). These virtuoso soli penetrated the concerto due to Torelli and other composers of the Bolognese school, having come probably from perfidia, a short piece based on a static bass, above which excellent violinists experimented with figurations etc. Antonio Vivaldi just polished Torelli-like concerto form; the most innovative concerti among his almost 500 ones are the famous Le Quattro Stagioni, Op. 8, representing in themselves a programme music par excellence. (Programme fully destroyed the traditional concerto form.) The other composer after Vivaldi bringing innovations was Johann Sebastian Bach, namely in his Brandenburg Concertos, which in all aspects are a great experiment in concerto, in concerto style. It is an innovation in itself.

An extraordinary personality of Dr. Martin Luther influenced not only European political history, but also a cultural one, musical history inclusive. Luther’s theses on music substantially affected its development in the North- and Middle German territory, the region, on which Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession predominated. Our contribution focuses on Luther’s life and his contacts with music. Dr. Martin Luther admired Josquin Desprez (1440–1521), whose musical world remarkably shaped Luther’s theoretical musical principles. Luther’s relation to music may be summarized into several theses: he believed in divine origin of music, he was persuaded about the unity of theology and music and about unity of word and music, he stressed communicative power of music represented by the idea “who sings, prays twice”. The influence of Luther’s reformation reveals in J. S. Bach’s work on two levels: a spiritually-theoretical and a compositionally-practical one. Luther’s idea about music being a special God’s gift and its influence on Bach’s work is most fittingly characterized by an idea put down on a margin of Calov Bible: “In devotional music, God is always present with His grace”. Luther’s reformation can be seen in both vocal and instrumental output of Bach. In vocal works it is revealed predominantly in usage of the texts of Luther’s songs, as well as a melody of a song Vater unser im Himmelsreich, the authorship of which may be provably assigned to Luther. In Bach’s work we find all Luther’s songs elaborated several times in various shapes, in vocal and instrumental pieces. Bach used Luther’s texts of songs – either in a precise form or poetically elaborated – in ten of his cantatas, what is more closer explained in the article. Luther’s influences revealed also in masses and Passions. The influence of Luther’s reformation is particularly distinctive in Bach’s organ work, as German organ work was undoubtedly developing under his influence. Bach used and re-worked mainly Luther’s chorals, some of them even several times and moulded them into various organ forms. Bach’s compositional attitude to elaboration of particular chorals is briefly explained in the study. In Johann Sebastian Bach’s output we can see the top of influence of Luther’s reformation on the music of German composers. Bach was the latest composer, who strictly followed Luther’s ideas concerning the creation of music, its message in theological and civil life, which, from his point of view, were closely related and intermingled. Due to strict respect of Luther’s principles Bach’s work acquired inner balance, architectonic perfection and an unpredictable deepness of thought.

Rococo is a short period preparing the following Classical style though still demonstrating many Baroque traits. Many researchers pointed to the primacy of Italy in establishing of this new artistic style, musicologists Edward J. Dent and Ernst Bucken, a cultural historian Casimir von Chledowski and others. According to Chledowski, tendencies for a transformation of the style are present already in the first years of the 18^th century in Italy, most significantly in instrumental music. One of the most distinctive predecessors of rococo is Arcangelo Corelli, whose instrumental creation developed most markedly during the high Baroque. Corelli composed not only solo sonatas with figured bass, but also trio sonatas and first of all so-called concerto grosso. In his 12 Concerti grossi Op. 6 the forms of church (Nos. 1–8) and secular instrumental music (Nos. 9–12) are present. From the point of view of our issue the melody of Corelli’s Concerti grossi is the most interesting, nevertheless, considering the form, a classical sonata form also roots in Corelli’s work. Traces leading to the preparation of rococo music may be found also in expressive means of Neapolitan opera seria. Periodicity in development of a musical idea, a consistent da-capo opera aria (A-B-A’), a growing popularity of “Scarlattian” opera sinfonia (prelude, overture) in tempo quick-slow-quick occur frequently. This type of overture later contributed significantly to a formation of pre-classical Mannheim and Monn-Wagenseil symphony. Important representatives of Neapolitan opera seria (Alessandro Scarlatti, Leonardo Vinci, Leonardo Leo, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi) applied a “continuous melody” (melodia continuata) in their recitatives. Compositional devices evoking rococo are still the most distinctive in opera buffa. In Pergolesi’s La serva padrona, the most representative work of this genre a classical segmentation of a diatonic melody may be found. The overcoming of the older style in instrumental music occurred in several spheres, the most distinctive of them are: 1. Origin of a pre-classical sonata form; 2. Emergence of the second theme in a sonata form structure; 3. Appearance of a development (Durchführung). Domenico Scarlatti is a predecessor of a new “empfindsamer Stil”. The process, taking place in the first three decades of the 18^th century in Italy possessed traits of a transitional period. It is in Italy, where all significant stylistic signs originated, considered today as typical for the so-called “style galant”, the first evolutional rococo period.

Innovation is typical for the whole 18^th century and it demonstrated most distinctly in Classical style. Many examples in music may be found proving this fact, mostly in the work by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Innovation was conditioned by the:

1. time restriction
2. contents
3. possibility to evolve into a paradigm in the future.

In renowned monographies on life and work of W. A. Mozart (Otto Jahn, Hermann Abert) a quarrel of the ingenious composer with his employer, Salzburg archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo is passed on as a manifestation of independent artistic attitude towards conservative opinions of a narrow-minded ruler. Nevertheless, a more detailed research of period documents reveals this interpretation as a tendentious one. The interpretation quality of the cappella concerned him very much and he did not like frequent absences of Mozart father and especially Mozart son, touring the Europe. Even the assertion about Colloredo’s reactionariness is not valid. During his govern Salzburg archdiocese became economically the most stable in Austria. The contents of the pastoral letters monitoring the preservation of church singing reveal his unambiguous interest in representative music productions in Austrian churches.

During Classicism music repertory on the territory of Slovakia exposed a balanced symbiosis of imported music blended in with remarkably vivid creation of domestic authors. Particular regions of Slovakia differed in the extent of their dependence on historical traditions: on compositional trends and their perception. An economical and cultural flourishing, advantages of Pressburg (now Bratislava) being a capital of historical Hungary and closeness to Vienna, a centre of musical classicism enabled strong contacts between the Slovak territory and Europe and an exchange of repertory. Import to Slovakia (via Vienna, but also directly) was dominated by influences from Austrian (mostly Vienna), Czech and Moravian, South-German and Italian composers. Export of domestic music is not sufficiently explored yet; it spread out to German and German-speaking European regions, too. The regional elements, among others, contributed to formation of European classical style. It was mostly before 1800, that an exchange of repertory was realized as a kind of music patronage.

The submitted text is an attempt to rank a theoretical work Anleitung zum Gesange… (1798) written by a composer, theoretician and a teacher Franz Paul Rigler (ca 1748–1796) into a context of a period musico-theoretical writing. Rigler’s text is analyzed especially from the point of view of its relation to two representative theoretical works of the period, a treatise Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen by C. Ph. E. Bach and a book Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in der Musik by J. Ph. Kirnberger. Rigler knew both of them; he adapted the Kirnberger’s classification of dissonances in his work, however, in systematics of harmonic phenomena he is closer to musico-theoretical thinking of C. Ph. E. Bach. Rigler’s theoretical concept of thorough-bass thus belongs to numerous works, in which an older general-bass doctrine mingles with more progressive theoretical ideas. Despite the reduction of the problematics caused by presumed usage of a book in schools the Rigler’s work is a representative theoretical text demonstrating knowledge of works and ideas of the most important German and Austrian period theoreticians in the context of music on the territory of Slovakia.

Václav Jan Tomášek’s musico-aesthetic views root in an aesthetics of the 18^th and 19^th century and they balance between a classicising attitude and a certain anticipation of an early Romantic subjectivism. Contrary to Hanslick Tomášek never separated creative and aesthetic questions. Although his aesthetic views do not represent a system, they surpass the original adherence to classical forms and they tend to a reflection of dramatical or poetical truth as an important component of the artwork’s value. He surpassed an aesthetics of expressional principle, too, and he came to an opinion that a musical form may depend on poetical ideas. Through this versing by music he approached the circle of Schumann-like Romantics. He accomplished this ideal in his characteristic piano pieces (eclogues, dithyrambs, rhapsodies). He amply drew his aesthetic principles from literature, e.g. Goethe. Nevertheless, he remained remote to a Romantic cult of a genius. In his reflection of artistic brilliance he appeared as Kant’s devotee, probably through his friend Heinrich Dambeck. Even the greatest genius (e.g. Beethoven) should be theoretically educated. Tomášek’s aesthetic opinions point to a relation of tradition and innovation which causes the transformations of one style into another one in musico-historical situations.

A famous document by Ferruccio Busoni “ Sketch on a New Aesthetic of Music” was published at the beginning of the 20^th century (1907, 1916) in a time, when the topical problem was to overcome several cliché of the Late Romantic symphonic and opera music and to create a new material basis, which could secure new expression. Nevertheless, Busoni’s treatise was not an appeal for experiments in music. His aims are revealed in a letter from 1920, in which a notion “junge Klassizität” emerges. By using it Busoni wanted to eliminate the danger he anticipated in the future expressive development of music and in arbitrariness of artistic search. Busoni saw an appropriate way out in composition of a well-arranged artefact, which can attract by its beauty and purity of its musical syntax without programme accretion. He did not mean only ideas of musical neoclassicism, but also an eternal principle of a perfect creation.

Dancing music of the 19^th century as a kind of functional music (terminology by H. H. Eggebrecht and F. Otterbach) remained joined with practical demands of music life, with the public taste and occasion, for which it was composed. It acquired unpredictable popularity in a society and it worked in the context of social entertainment and celebrations (balls, weddings, dancing parties). In a multiethnical ambience of Slovakia and in the researched period in the bigger towns balls of German and Hungarian townsmen prevailed, in smaller cities that ones of the Slovak townsfolk. The first Slovak patriotic (national) ball was organized in Liptovský Mikuláš in 1840. Famous balls took place in Bratislava; they were usually organized by townsmen’s associations.

Dancing music was played usually by three kinds of music ensembles: Roma, or Gypsy bands, civil bands (town’s, mining and company bands) and military bands. A life of legendary Roma first violinist Jozef Piťo passed to Slovak myths. Domestic authors of dancing pieces used to compose namely quadrilles, polkas, mazurkas, polkas-mazurkas, waltzes and csardases, to a lesser extent polonaises, galops or other dances. In the nationally specified Slovak quadrille quotations of Slovak national songs (folk or previously artificial, which had become folk) appeared. A quadrille Marína by M. Hudec and Saint Martin’s Quadrille by J. L. Bella, both published in 1862, belonged to favoured ones. Among the composers of dancing music we may name Jozef Rizner, Štefan Fajnor, František Janeček, Ignác Boldiš, Leopold Dušinský, Ján Egry, Oto Matzenauer, Josef Chládek, Oldřich Hemerka, István Kövesdi (Knauer), József Mosolyi (Lachmann) and others. The military leaders were Karl Kaspar Richter, Franz Lehár Sr., Franz Lehár Jr., Alois Neidhardt, Josef Striczl, Béla Kéler and Alfons Czibulka. Some domestic composers elaborated dancing forms in their piano music to a higher level of stylization and technical pretention. After 1900 in Bratislava the imported dancing music discloses new impulses from the American continent (ragtime, cakewalk, boston, tango) pointing to a paradigmatic change in the social dancing, related to a change of life style and aesthetic taste.

In Banská Bystrica music creation developed only leisurely during the second half of the past century. We may speak about a certain interdependence among creation, institutionalization and resulting domestic amateur as well as professional performing basis. This basis influenced the genre differentiation of the music responding to various social needs or social order. Establishment of the Czechoslovak Radio – Studio Banská Bystrica, Garrison Band, Regional Symphonic Orchestra and singing choirs – all had its impact on the music creation of the composers – Dezider Nágel, Vladimír Gajdoš, Gregor Roletzký, Vojtech Tátoš and Vojtech Didi till the end of 1980s. Since the ‘90s there is visible a considerable diversion from the dependence on the social and cultural ambience of the city. Then individuality of the artistic utterance and innovational tendencies may be noticed in the compositional process of Alfréd Zemanovský and Evgeny Irshai.

From the point of view of ethnomusicology two forms of folk music exist in a contemporary society. On the one hand it presents itself in a traditional folk surroundings, on the other hand it is maintained by a folkloristic movement – through activities of folk ensembles in towns and villages. In the surroundings of the Hungarian national minority in Slovakia these two forms of existence mutually mould and influence each other in a specific manner. Original folk performers – carriers of folk musical traditions – possess a key position in the process. They not only participate in the folkloristic movement, but also serve as informants helping in present-day field researches. Due to their double action both forms of existence of folk music influence each other. Folk performers enrich and lead the folkloristic movement by their authentic expression, but they do not escape the backward influence from the side of the movement. The influence of the folklorism on the present state of a traditional song reveals in a prolongation of a phasis of its latent existence, in an occasional vivification of some parts of the repertory in traditional surroundings, in a volume of preserved songs and in a composition of the current repertory. It is highly necessary to respect these facts when explaining the present state of folk music of Hungarians in Slovakia.

In a strictly theoretical sense of word creativity and innovation are the same in economics. To innovate means to look for new and revolutionary solutions. Musicology, on the other hand, perceives creativity as a musico-psychological notion, novelty as a musico-aesthetic category and innovation as a notion from the realm of music management.

Music management is a new musicological discipline. We may say, that economical point of view contemplating the question of novelty in musicology is innovative, because it moved from the realm of psychology, aesthetics and sociology to the sphere of music management, general economics and management being its auxilliary disciplines. Music management has never been theoretically reflected in Slovakia. However, a development in the latest 15 years in Slovakia confirms that a taste and genre preferences were formed much more by an endeavour to increase the living standards. Therefore it is important to intervene in the music culture by other way, not only through upbringing and education. Interjection of economical thinking into music life in Slovakia was enabled only because of a differentiation of a society, rising of living standards and affiliation of percipients into the subcultures. Does economical domination over music in the world and in Slovakia exist? If yes, when did it begin? Speaking about innovations in music we understand innovations of musico-technological processes, innovations of control as part of cultural politics as well as a fast and good strategy for meeting the target – for instance promotion of Slovak music abroad, innovation of organizations of music life, innovations on the market and in trade with Slovak music, distribution net offering sound media at home and abroad. Innovative attitude in music results in a particular product or offered service (a publication, a conference, a festival project, a project of subscribers’ concerts, a model of functioning of a music organization, a model of club concert activities, a business plan for an entrance of a foreign investor e.g. into the Slovak Philharmonic, a project of a CD, a music video, film music, a radio or TV programme…).

Slovak music culture needs a coherent concept of management of music life in particular regions. It enables to point out to specific features of the region and to stimulate invention in development of culture. Present legislative background is not sufficiently utilized. Traditional system of culture institutes’ functioning and a low level of promotion together with unsufficient usage of newer communication media still predominates.

Family as a natural educational and pedagogic environment was ruled by certain written or mostly handed down principles in particular historical periods. These were conditioned by regional circumstances or by some family stereotypes. Domestic music-making and handing down the folk musical traditions from generation to generation belonged to conventional forms of music existence in a family in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Present musical family environment is determined by the changes of the family itself. In strong folklore regions active forms of “handover and preservation” of musical traditions from generation to generation maintain. Nevertheless, living music-making in a family becomes the matter of attraction and commerce (The Whole Family Singing Show). Musical space in the family is filled by reproduced pop and rock music mostly of the foreign production, which is sounding from the media and working as a “background music”.

[The contribution is available only in Slovak language in the printed version of the revue.]

[The contribution is available only in Slovak language in the printed version of the revue.]