Magic Batons: The Great Conductors Josef Zöhrer, Václav Talich and Fritz Reiner in Ljubljana through the Eyes of Contemporary Critics

This work deals with three important conductors who greatly influenced musical performance in Ljubljana at the beginning of the 20th century: Josef Zöhrer, music director of the Ljubljana Philharmonic Society; Václav Talich, conductor of the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra and the opera orchestra at the Slovene Regional Theatre; and Fritz Reiner, Talich's successor at the Philharmonic and Opera orchestras. The main focus is a discussion of their artistic work and the way it was reviewed in the print media of the time. The work of all three conductors was of great importance for Ljubljana. Each of them significantly raised the standard of artistry in the city’s ensembles and contributed to a general enhancement of bourgeois culture. Josef Zöhrer set the artistic philosophy of the Philharmonic Society, while Václav Talich and Fritz Reiner between them created the first pinnacle of Slovene symphonic and operatic performance of the 20th century.