Page 11 - Glasbenopedagoški zbornik Akademije za glasbo v Ljubljani / The Journal of Music Education of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, leto 9, zvezek 18 / Year 9, Issue 18, 2013
P. 11
ja Koter, BOJAN ADAMIÈ: THE CORRELATION BETWEEN HIS CREATIVE AND ...
appointed PORL conductor and they made their first appearance at the opening ceremony
of the Postojna caves on June 27th 1945. From the autumn of the same year, PORL
operated as the professional ensemble of Ljubljana Radio and its members were granted
the status of professional musicians. The ensemble, also known as Big Band, was among
the first of its kind in postwar Europe. Adamiè had to deal with a number of problems, as
he had to comply with the directives of the new socialist and pro-Soviet society, which
required music for the masses, such as compositions in the revolutionary and proletarian
spirit and popular songs “for the benefit of the nation”. Adamiè commented that,
fortunately, the period of bad marches and hit tunes came to an end quickly, so jazz grew
irrepressibly within Yugoslav society, finding many devotees among the young in
particular, who adopted it as a lifestyle. Consequently, the number of Yugoslav jazz
ensembles grew again, operating under the auspices of cultural and arts societies. Adamiè
compared the quality of jazz in Slovenia in with the other republics and claimed that while
Slovenian musicians were less successful in improvisation, which he saw as the
fundamental characteristic of jazz, they were generally better educated, since most of them
had attended the Academy of Music.23 In May 1945 Adamiè was assigned to the posts of
PORL conductor, head of the music department and assistant manager at Ljubljana Radio
– all of which suited his ambitions. 24 However, the political leadership were convinced
that a man of his type, a former partisan and highly educated musician, was obliged to
assume a political position; they offered him influential positions, such as a directorship in
the Ljubljana Opera, the Slovenian Philharmonic and other political-musical roles. He
declined all such offers and emphasized that he was content with his position. As a result,
he was “punished” for his arbitrariness with the consistent rejection of his applications for
further education.25 In other words, despite the long break in his piano playing career, he
strove to continue his studies and make himself even more proficient in his radio role.
Adamiè claimed that as far back as in 1944, he and the composer Marjan Kozina had been
promised a scholarship to study in Moscow. Nevertheless, his frequent appeals on the
matter seemed to be in vain, since the Ljubljana Radio superiors justified their decision
with the claim that Adamiè could not go abroad as they were unable to find a substitute for
him. He was convinced that he was treated unfairly, especially as many other musicians
had been given the opportunity to study even before the war in so-called “old Yugoslavia”.
Yet, after the war, one would expect that society would somehow advance in this respect;
apparently, in Adamiè’s case, this was impossible for a variety of unconvincing reasons.
Still, in 1949, Adamiè stuck to his guns and submitted an application through the British
Council in Belgrade for a scholarship to continue his piano studies in London. Had he
succeeded, he would also have been given the opportunity to hone his radio skills by
working at the BBC as an editor, conductor, arranger etc., similar to his work at Ljubljana
Radio. His application was apparently approved, but he never went to study in London or
anywhere else for that matter.26
23 NUK, Music collection, B. Adamiè legacy, based on Adamiè’s typescript »Jazz v Sloveniji« [Jazz in
Slovenia].
24 Alenka Adamiè keeps the documentation in the family archive.
25 NUK, Music collection, B. Adamiè legacy, based on autobiographic material.
26 NUK, Music collection, B. Adamiè legacy, documentary material, British Council letter dated January
3rd, 1949 and Adamiè’s letter to London, addressed to a certain Mrs. Dunja, dated October 24th, 1949.
11
appointed PORL conductor and they made their first appearance at the opening ceremony
of the Postojna caves on June 27th 1945. From the autumn of the same year, PORL
operated as the professional ensemble of Ljubljana Radio and its members were granted
the status of professional musicians. The ensemble, also known as Big Band, was among
the first of its kind in postwar Europe. Adamiè had to deal with a number of problems, as
he had to comply with the directives of the new socialist and pro-Soviet society, which
required music for the masses, such as compositions in the revolutionary and proletarian
spirit and popular songs “for the benefit of the nation”. Adamiè commented that,
fortunately, the period of bad marches and hit tunes came to an end quickly, so jazz grew
irrepressibly within Yugoslav society, finding many devotees among the young in
particular, who adopted it as a lifestyle. Consequently, the number of Yugoslav jazz
ensembles grew again, operating under the auspices of cultural and arts societies. Adamiè
compared the quality of jazz in Slovenia in with the other republics and claimed that while
Slovenian musicians were less successful in improvisation, which he saw as the
fundamental characteristic of jazz, they were generally better educated, since most of them
had attended the Academy of Music.23 In May 1945 Adamiè was assigned to the posts of
PORL conductor, head of the music department and assistant manager at Ljubljana Radio
– all of which suited his ambitions. 24 However, the political leadership were convinced
that a man of his type, a former partisan and highly educated musician, was obliged to
assume a political position; they offered him influential positions, such as a directorship in
the Ljubljana Opera, the Slovenian Philharmonic and other political-musical roles. He
declined all such offers and emphasized that he was content with his position. As a result,
he was “punished” for his arbitrariness with the consistent rejection of his applications for
further education.25 In other words, despite the long break in his piano playing career, he
strove to continue his studies and make himself even more proficient in his radio role.
Adamiè claimed that as far back as in 1944, he and the composer Marjan Kozina had been
promised a scholarship to study in Moscow. Nevertheless, his frequent appeals on the
matter seemed to be in vain, since the Ljubljana Radio superiors justified their decision
with the claim that Adamiè could not go abroad as they were unable to find a substitute for
him. He was convinced that he was treated unfairly, especially as many other musicians
had been given the opportunity to study even before the war in so-called “old Yugoslavia”.
Yet, after the war, one would expect that society would somehow advance in this respect;
apparently, in Adamiè’s case, this was impossible for a variety of unconvincing reasons.
Still, in 1949, Adamiè stuck to his guns and submitted an application through the British
Council in Belgrade for a scholarship to continue his piano studies in London. Had he
succeeded, he would also have been given the opportunity to hone his radio skills by
working at the BBC as an editor, conductor, arranger etc., similar to his work at Ljubljana
Radio. His application was apparently approved, but he never went to study in London or
anywhere else for that matter.26
23 NUK, Music collection, B. Adamiè legacy, based on Adamiè’s typescript »Jazz v Sloveniji« [Jazz in
Slovenia].
24 Alenka Adamiè keeps the documentation in the family archive.
25 NUK, Music collection, B. Adamiè legacy, based on autobiographic material.
26 NUK, Music collection, B. Adamiè legacy, documentary material, British Council letter dated January
3rd, 1949 and Adamiè’s letter to London, addressed to a certain Mrs. Dunja, dated October 24th, 1949.
11
