Arta muzicală

Arta muzicală. Revistă lunară pentru cultura muzicală (Musical Art. Monthly magazine for musical culture) [RIPM code AZC] appeared monthly from October 1911 to March 1912 under the direction of Theodor Fuchs as founder and Heinrich Göring as director and editor in chief. The editorial office was in Bucharest, Anton Pann street, no. 14. The six issues of this periodical were dated October (no. 1), November (no. 2), December (no. 3), January (no. 4), February-March (no. 5-6). Each issue consists of eight pages in double-column format, with the only exception of issue no. 5-6 which consisted of 12 pages. Page numbering is not continuous throughout the journal’s run. Four additional pages of musical supplements are located between page 5 and 6 in each issue.

Theodor Fuchs (1873-1953) studied at the Conservatory of Bucharest (1880-1884) and the Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna (1884-1893). He served as conductor of the opera houses in Leoben and Bruch in Austria (1892-1893), music professor in Galați, Romania (1893-1901), founder and director of the Society of Classical Music Amateurs of Bucharest (1901-1903), and piano professor at the Music Academy and Dramatic Art “Theodor Stoenescu” of Bucharest (1909-1911). As a pianist, he accompanied George Enescu, Fritz Kreisler, Jacques Thibaud, Bronisław Huberman, Carl Flesch, Mischa Elman, František Alois Drdla, David Popper, Florizel von Reuter, and Socrate Barozzi. He published musical chronicles, articles, studies and reviews in Arta muzicală, Tribuna muzicală (Bucharest, 1909), Bukarester Tagblatt (also known by the Romanian title Gazeta Bucureștilor, published between 1916-1918), Rumänischer Lloyd (1907-1916, 1918).¹

Heinrich Göring (1878-1945) was the founder of Tribuna muzicală and Arta muzicală. Between 1920-1930 he was the musical-literary secretary at the Romanian Opera in Bucharest where he wrote program notes for productions. In addition, Göring was a local representative for the Christoph Willibald Gluck Society in Dresden. Beyond the two journals he founded, Göring’s writings appeared in Muzica, Gazeta artelor, Gazeta Transilvaniei, Voința națională, Revista idealistă, and Literatura și arta română. Göring employed a wide range of pseudonyms, including G. Haynes, G. Heinrich, Henri; Guering, G. O. Ring, and G. Heinz.²

The mission of Arta muzicală, as presented at the start of the first issue, was to reflect and guide public opinion on musical art. The periodical covers the following topics:

• Educational articles about different composers (e.g. J. S. Bach, Franz Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven), including biography, musical works, societies and musical events organized in the honor of the composer, the importance of music for the growth in human sensibility, and the role of music history in nurturing musical knowledge;
• Musical Societies: the Romanian „Societatea de patronagiu” and „Societatea Bukarester Deutsche Liedertafel” which promoted German culture;
• Aesthetical considerations about musical works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Ludwig van Beethoven, Henri Vieuxtemps; the content of a good musical review; the characteristics of a good piano performance; the development of public taste for music of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Hector Berlioz, and Claude Debussy; the contribution of Eduard Wachmann in the progression of Romanian musical art;
• Musical news: about the subvention of musical theatres from the country; the repertory of theatres in București, Iași, and Craiova; the foundation of the new theatres and music societies in Tecuci; tournées and new works of musicians in Romania and abroad; the artistic activities of different societies in Romania and abroad; musical premieres in Romania; announcements of musical competitions; decoration of George Enescu and Dimitrie Dinicu by the prince of Turkey; new musical releases at Carisch & Jänichen publishing house;
• Musical reviews of notable Romanian musicians of the time (e.g. George Enescu, Dimitrie Dinicu, Theodor Fuchs, and Leontina Fudulescu); remarks about the performance and considerations about concerts organized for the promotion of German composers; and
• Bibliography of Wagner from different publishing houses in Germany.

This RIPM index of the Arta muzicală is based on the microfilm copy which Professor Bujor Dânșorean donated to the author in August 2018. The microfilm was made from the original copy held by the Library of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest.

1. Viorel Cosma, Muzicieni din România. Lexicon, vol. 3 (F-G), București: Editura Muzicală, 2000: 98.

2. Ibid, 220.