Vjenceslav Novak
Vjenceslav Novak (born September 17, 1859 in Senj , † September 20, 1905 in Zagreb ) was a Croatian music teacher, journalist, translator and writer. He is considered an outstanding representative of Croatian realism .
Life
For his short life - he died of consumption at the age of 46 - Novak created an extremely extensive work, preceded by narrative prose. With keen observation, he took a socially critical point of view. Slavko Batušić and Ivo Frangeš agree that Novak was the first Croatian writer to devote himself with sympathy to the fate of unhappy and humiliated people and the misery of the recently emerged proletariat.
Studied music in Prague
Novak, of Czech origin on his father's side, initially worked (1879–1884) as a primary school teacher in his hometown of Senj. During this time he made his first publications. After studying music in Prague (theory and organ), he became a music teacher (1887) at the teacher training college in Zagreb. From 1892 he was a teacher there. Music remained Novak's second great calling throughout his life. He collected traditional church chorals, published among other things the first Croatian harmony theory (1890), created organ preludes and other compositions, most of which have been lost. It is thanks to Novak's notes that the text and the melody of the famous Croatian folk song Vila Velebita have been preserved. As a narrator or playwright, Novak received little response during his lifetime. He had a large family and was often in financial straits. This is also the reason why Novak often remained below his literary level: because he was forced to improve his meager teaching salary with "immature" prose works.
Photographic objectivity
According to Kindler's New Literary Lexicon, Novak created his most convincing work with the novel The Last Stipanićs , published in 1899 , which depicts the decline of a Senj patrician family . Despite almost “photographic objectivity” (with “compassionate narrative attitude”), the author understood how to make psychological developments credible. However, he did not always "escape the danger of sentimentality".
Novak's works are not yet available in German. In addition to the reference works cited, the literature on Novak is quite extensive, but rarely written in English or even German. Milorad Živančević in Leksikon pisaca Jugoslavije , Novi Sad 1997, gives the most extensive list of literature by and about Novak .
Individual evidence
- ^ Josip Andreis : Music in Croatia , Zagreb 1974
- ↑ Slavko Batušić: Vjenceslav Novak. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 7, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1978, ISBN 3-7001-0187-2 , p. 168., accessed on March 6, 2012
- ^ History of Croatian Literature , Cologne 1995
- ^ Andreis 1974
- ↑ a b Kindler's New Literature Lexicon , Munich 1988 edition
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Novak, Vjenceslav |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Croatian music pedagogue, journalist, translator and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 17, 1859 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Senj |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 20, 1905 |
| Place of death | Zagreb |