Tribuna muzicală
Prepared by Cristina Şuteu
Online only (2020)
Tribuna muzicală [TMZ] was published monthly from April 1909 to September 1909 under the direction of Heinrich Göring as Editor in Chief. Published by the Conservatory Shop located on Calea Victoriei street, no. 60 in Bucharest, the five issues were dated 15 April (no. 1), 15 May (no. 2), 15 June (no. 3), July-August (no. 4), September (no. 5). Issues 3 to 5 also bear the subtitle “Revista pentru cultura muzicală” (Magazine for musical culture). Each issue of TMZ contains fourteen pages in double-column format with page numbers beginning anew with each issue.
Heinrich Göring (1878-1945) was the founder of Tribuna muzicală and Arta muzicală (Bucharest, 1911, in collaboration with Theodor Fuchs). 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 1. Göring employed a wide range of pseudonyms, including G. Haynes, G. Heinrich, Henri; Guering, G. O. Ring, and G. Heinz.
The five issues of Tribuna muzicală focus on the following topics: (1) musical reviews and the concert reception of notable Romanian musicians – George Enescu, Theodor Fuchs, Cella Delavrancea, Eduard Wachman, and Dumitru Georgescu-Kiriak – locally and throughout Europe, especially Austria, Germany, France, and Italy; (2) articles about the evolution of different musical instruments; (3) music competitions from London, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Bucharest; (4) general musical news, including inaugurations of music halls; announcements of repertories for the next musical season; new editorial releases at the Conservatory Shop in Bucharest; (5) reports on activities at the Bucharest Music Conservatory (admissions, exam results, composition of evaluation committees); (6) necrology; (7) bibliography, specifically books and musical magazines published by various European publishing houses including Breitkopf & Hartel, Quelle & Mayer, C. Klinner, B. Schott (Lepizig and Mainz), A. Fürstner, Harmonie, Schuster & Loeffler, A. Duncker (Berlin), Kirchheim (Münich), Schottlaender (Breslau / Wrocław), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company, Methuen (London), and Fischbacher (Paris). German musical culture, very well represented in Romania at the time, is reflected in the periodical through contributions about Richard Wagner, Georg Friedrich Händel, Joseph Haydn, Johann Sebastian Bach and musical activities of various German musical societies. Wagner is discussed in the journal frequently on topics including: biographical sketches, his compositional style, announcements regarding subscriptions for his musical scores – an editorial project organized by the shop of Music Conservatory from Bucharest – and news about the performance and reception of his works in Bayreuth and Lisbon.
A strong collaboration with the Shop of the Bucharest Music Conservatory is evident through advertisements, articles promoting its editorial projects, musical instruments sold in the shop, new books and scores, and its position as the official representative of various music publishing houses throughout Europe.
This RIPM index of the Tribuna muzicală is based on a 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), Editura Muzicală, București, 2000, p. 220.