Gala Opening Concert as Part of the Freedom Day Celebrations
Documented by two independent sources. The date, venue, conductor and programme agree in Viskup's catalogue, Koncertné sezóny SF 01 – 77, and in the daily bulletin of the Slovak Philharmonic from the Dušan Katuščák Collection – see Sources below.
This is the very first concert of the Slovak Philharmonic. The cover places it in the National Theatre, and the bulletin carries the new institution's programmatic declaration that it will “truly be a Slovak philharmonic” (“…bude ozaj filharmóniou slovenskou”). The ceremonial address by Commissioner Ladislav Novomeský is recorded by both sources.
The concert's title is taken from the bulletin cover – it is therefore not editorial, as it is for most concerts of those years; Viskup's catalogue gives no titles.
Contemporary press (see Media coverage) adds the starting time of 8 pm, given in announcements in Ľud (25 and 27 Oct), Práca (26 Oct), Východoslovenská pravda (26 Oct) and Új Szó (22 Oct). The concert opened the Bratislava Freedom Day celebrations organised by the Regional Action Committee of the Slovak National Front.
☆ The review in Ľud (30 Oct) notes that the full complement of the large orchestra at the opening concert was not yet the Slovak Philharmonic's own – for the time being the ensemble was to be a small symphony orchestra, gradually enlarged. It also regrets that the concert could not take place in the Reduta, not yet renovated, and that the National Theatre is acoustically unsuitable for concerts. ☆ The programme was repeated on the mornings of 28 and 29 October for schoolchildren in the concert hall of the Government Building (Ľud 30 Oct, Práca 9 Nov) – MOS19491028 and MOS19491029 in the archive.
All contemporary texts call Dvořák's symphony “Symphony No. 4 in G major” – the old numbering of today's Eighth; Práca and Bojovník add Op. 88, in agreement with the record.
☆ Prehistory. Slovenský týždenník of 13 Nov 1949 (essay Vývin slovenského hudobného života, signed Hl.) recalls that the name Slovak Philharmonic was not new: as early as 1920 amateur musicians in Bratislava led by Otakar Šimák, director of the teachers' training institute, founded an ensemble of that name – in the essay's words “only a hint and a promise of what came 28 years later”. Oskar Nedbal had planned a philharmonic orchestra in Bratislava as early as 1919, to be conducted by himself; he abandoned the plan and presented symphonic concerts at the Slovak National Theatre, where Milan Zuna had given them with the theatre orchestra before him. The essay ends with the wish expressed by Commissioner Laco Novomeský “at the first appearance of the Slovak Philharmonic”.
About
Gala Opening Concert as Part of the Freedom Day Celebrations
On 27 October 1949 the Slovak Philharmonic gave its very first concert. The Reduta had not yet been restored, so the new institution introduced itself at the National Theatre – amid Bratislava's Freedom Day celebrations, after a ceremonial address by Commissioner Ladislav Novomeský. On the podium stood Ľudovít Rajter, founder of the orchestra and its first chief conductor, who led the ensemble in 1949–1951 and 1953–1961. The programme spoke for itself: Alexander Moyzes's suite Down the River Váh as a Slovak opening, and Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, which the press of the day still called the “Fourth Symphony in G major”. The reviewer of Ľud noted that the full orchestra was not yet the Philharmonic's own ensemble – that was to be built up gradually – and the concert was repeated the next day for school audiences.
In 2026 we mark the 120th anniversary of Ľudovít Rajter's birth (30 July 1906, Pezinok). The evening where it all began is documented by the printed programme and twelve contemporary press reports – switch on researcher mode to read how Ľud, Práca and Új Szó wrote about it.
Program
- At the Source
- Z Liptova do Oravy
- Okolo Strečna
- Romanca
- Dunaju do náručia
- Allegro con brio
- Adagio
- Allegretto grazioso – Molto vivace
- Allegro ma non troppo
Media & Sources
Bratislava ünnepli a Szabadság napját. [in Hungarian] adt.arcanum.com/sk/view/UjSzo_1949_10/?pg=102…
Dôležitý medzník v dejinách slovenskej hudby. [in Slovak] adt.arcanum.com/sk/view/Lud_1949-4/?pg=130&la…
Program bratislavských osláv Dňa slobody. [in Slovak] adt.arcanum.com/sk/view/Praca_1949-4/?pg=205&…
Oslavy oslobodenia v Bratislave : Prísaha nováčkov a defilé armády. [in Slovak] adt.arcanum.com/sk/view/Lud_1949-4/?pg=142&la…
Sources
Slovenská filharmónia : Slávnostný otvárací koncert, 27. októbra 1949. [in Slovak] stream.filharmonia.art/koncert/SD19491027#bul…
Koncertné sezóny SF 01–77 [unpublished document]. [in Slovak]
Citations follow STN ISO 690 (D. Katuščák methodology) – Copy citation puts one on your clipboard.