The old record listening sessions and the debate club will be organized twice in the first year, and four times in each of the subsequent three years of the project. We anticipate that they will strengthen and expand the existing groups of lovers of music captured on shellac records. Old record listening sessions and the debate club are a mode of dissemination, but also a potential research context, as the visitors, and in particular the regular visitors, will eventually be identified as a focus group of sorts.
For the programmes of Croatian Radio, once in four months, we will prepare radio features dealing with the project topics, highlighting elements of overlap between the record industry and radio. Same as in the case of the old record listening sessions, the radio features aim to contribute to the public awareness of record releases as an important part of cultural heritage.
In December 2023, the project leader Naila Ceribašić reflected on the importance of the project (alongside two other guests, Koraljka Kuzman Šlogar and Tvrtko Zebec) in the radio broadcast Znanstveni koncentrat with the topic “How to protect musical and dance tradition” on the 3rd program of Croatian Radio (hosted by Rajka Rusan).
In November 2023, Jelka Vukobratović was a guest on the Plesnjak show, Radio Sljeme (hosted by Jelena Ucović), presenting covers in the early domestic discography.
In October 2023, Jelka Vukobratović announced in the “Coolturnet” show on National Radio a listening session of old records titled “While the moon shines bright, our gaucho sings loudly: domestic covers on old records,” which took place at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies.
In April 2023, the editor of the radio broadcast Tragom Glazbe, Gordana Krpan, hosted our colleague Nada Bezić on the 3rd program of Croatian Radio. The feature was dedicated to the successful listening session in Glina, which took place on January 26, 2023. It was organized within Diskograf Project, featuring old “shellac” records owned by Beata Devčić Domić, the widow of the composer Natko Devčić. Recently, Beata has been the focus of the public because of her rich ballet career and work in the Ensemble “Lado”, all the way from the beginning in 1949. Prof. Devčić-Domić was a guest at the listening session in Glina, presenting herself as an excellent speaker and a good connoisseur of the history of the town where her husband was born.
In April 2023, collaborator Jelka Vukobratović held a lecture titled “Jugoton’s ‘Window to the West’: Foreign popular music in early Yugoslav discography” as part of the Summer Semester at the Center for Cultural and Historical Research of Socialism at Rado Rojc (hosted by Nevena Trgovčić). The discussion is available here.
Last November, project collaborator Nada Bezić prepared a feature for the radio broadcast Tragom glazbe by editor Gordana Krpan played on the 3rd program of Croatian Radio. In the broadcast, Bezić talked about the beginnings of the record industry in Zagreb, which go back to 1927, when the Edison Bell Penkala record factory started operating. In the story about the first “shellac” records, Bezić took us on a walk to the places in Zagreb where the records were produced and listened to, but also where people danced to the music from the records. She presented music performed by legendary performers: Vlaho Paljetak, Andrija Konac and Ivo Robić. In addition, she prepared several examples of classical music by Verdi and Chopin.
Project collaborator Tanja Halužan was a guest on the radio broadcast Kajkaviana edited by Ana Lacković Varga on Radio Sljeme (October 13, 2022). That evening, she presented the Kajkavian repertoire recorded on early shellac records of the record companies EBP, Elektroton and Jugoton, which operated in Zagreb in the first half of the 20th century.
On Thursday, June 16, 2022, project associate Nada Bezić was a guest on the show “Nepregledno blago” edited by Vesna Jurić Rukavina on Radio Sljeme. She presented Irma Poak, the Croatian-Slovenian operetta queen who eventually became the “manager of the gramophone salon”, i.e. the record shop of the Edison Bell Penkala company in Oktogon, Zagreb. There, she would often deal with the EBP records of her husband, the famous Aleksandar Aca Binički…
On Sunday, December 12, 2021., our collaborate Irena Miholić was a guest of the radio show “Bakina škrinjica” edited by Karmen Valenta and broadcasted on the Radio Quirinus. They talked about music forms, genres of traditional, popular and artistic music, sheet music publishing, and the world of the early record industry.
On Friday, November 26, 2021, we were guests of the radio show “Putovi hrvatske glazbe” edited by Iva Lovrec Štefanović. The show was broadcasted on the Third channel of Croatian Radio. The guests of the show were project leader Naila Ceribašić, project collaborator Irena Miholić and doctoral student Dora Dunatov from the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, and project collaborators Željka Radovinović and Jelka Vukobratović from the Music Academy in Zagreb. They talked about the progress and challenges of research within our project.
On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, we presented the project on Radio Križevci in the show “Ne dirajte mi krugove” edited by Ratko Matić. The guest of the show was Jelka Vukobratović. Dedicated to early Croatian discography, the show emphasized the popular music repertoire recorded on Edison Bell Penkala records. In that line, the first gramophone record with the recitations and songs originating from Križevci tradition was presented. In addition to that, Vukobratović talked about the record company’s connection with the cabaret scene of interwar Zagreb.
This 1334th edition of the award-winning cultural and popular science show “Ne dirajte mi krugove” was broadcasted on Radio Križevci on 96.60 MHz.
The recording is available at the following link: https://futurehub.krizevci.eu/repo/ne-dirajte-mi-krugove.
On Monday, June 21, 2021, the Third Program of Croatian Radio broadcasted the radio show Traditional Music edited by Sonja Gospodnetić. In the first part of the one-hour show, the project was presented by Joško Ćaleta, Tanja Halužan, and Dora Dunatov.
The premiere of the music documentary stories “Twenty meters of gramophone records – the collection of Ivan Mirnik” was presented in the radio feature Oda-birano, edited by Iva Lovrec-Štefanović. The radio feature revealed some interesting details about the rare collection of shellac records gathered by the eminent archaeologist Ivan Mirnik. Ivan Mirnik started collecting a large collection of shellac records (vinyl predecessor) in the late 1950s, just when they stopped being produced. He himself didn’t continue to count the records, so the collection is now estimated not by the number of records, but rather by meters of shelves. The collection, researched through a conversation with Mirnik by musicologist Nada Bezić, a collaborator on the project, offers rarities such as the oldest recording of composition in Zagreb dated back in 1902, and a short insert of the finale of the opera “Tosca” with an extremely rare recorded voice of Croatian primadonna, Milka Trnina. Ivan Mirnik digitized more than 1,600 of his shellac recording and made them available to the general public through a special YouTube channel.
Listen to the feature here.
Naila Ceribašić, Željka Radovinović and Jelka Vukobratović spoke about the project on September 10, 2020. The show “Nepregledno blago” is edited by Ana Lacković Varga (Radio Sljeme). Apart from the state of research, the availability of the records themselves, incentives to start the project and its goals, they talked about ongoing work on the database of Croatian e-discography. Part of the broadcast was dedicated to Vlaho Paljetko who translated foreign songs to Croatian, and how the foreign hits influenced his authorial songs. Some musical examples were songs “Jedan brodić mali” (Dalmatian folk song arranged by J. Gotovac) performed by Zagreb Vocal Quintet (S. Reinis, Z. Krček, M. Kuftinec, M. With, N. Bogdan) accompanied by pianist V. Mutak, found on the first Jugoton record (J-1001, 1947); “Capinera” (A. Giuliani) performed by Vlaho Paljetko with the Schild-Vlahović Jazz Orchestra (edited by Edison Bell Penkala, Z-1411, 1928 ?, this is one of several Paljetak’s recordings of mentioned 1920s Italian hit); and Paljetak’s most popular authorial song “Marijana” performed by the author himself accompanied by the orchestra Vlahović – Mahalup – Tomin (EBP, Z-2195, 1936?).
The show is available here.
On October 24, 2023, at the Library of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, a listening session of old records was held. It was titled “While the Moon Shines Bright, Our Gaucho Sings Loudly: Domestic Covers on Vintage Records”. Covers were a significant part of the early domestic music industry and represented a form of cultural transfer, both in song lyrics and music. This listening session, focused on foreign songs in Croatian and Serbian, was prepared by our collaborator Jelka Vukobratović from the Department of Musicology at the Music Academy in Zagreb. The event was part of the Croatian Book Month, dedicated to literary translators, hence the title ‘Literature Without Borders!’”.
On January 26, 2023, we held an old record listening session in the Glina Library and Reading Room. The listening session was dedicated to gramophone records at 78rpm that belonged to the private collection of the Devčić couple, today kept in the archives of the Department of Croatian Music History at HAZU. The session titled “From the living room of Natko and Beata Devčić” was organized by Nada Bezić, joined by Beata Devčić-Domić. See more.
On November 7, 2022, we held an old record listening session in the Voltino library in cooperation with the Center for Civil Initiatives. The listening session was dedicated to the earliest examples of the Kajkavian repertoire recorded on shellac and was intended for the Center’s associates. It was led by our collaborator Tanja Halužan.
On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, the eighth old record listening session was held. This time, we moved to the north of Croatia, more precisely to the courtyard of the Gallery of the City of Krapina, and marked the Week of Kajkavian Culture with the 57th Festival of Kajkavian Songs. The listening session was prepared by Tanja Halužan, and the focus was not only on the earliest recorded Kajkavian songs but also on other musical and spoken material with the Kajkavian dialect that was recorded on EBP and Jugoton records.
See: Poster
On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the seventh old record listening session was held. This time, the concept of the listening session was adapted to the new setting of the Zagreb RO&DO bar (Britanac square, Ilica 73). The session hosted the collector Mikula Marušić Pederin and the PhD student, Dora Dunatov. They played Italian jazz from Elektroton’s records from the legacy of lawyer Željko Martić on a modern, but also on an old mechanical gramophone. The program included various dances, mostly performed by the dance orchestras Kramer and Semprini, the protagonists of Italian jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. In the pleasant company of the listeners on the terrace of the bar in Zagreb, some of whom came after hearing about the event on Radio Sljeme, the listening session lasted more than two hours.
On Tuesday, May 3, 2022, we continued our sequence of 78 rpm record listening sessions. After the prominent performers of Dalmatian songs recorded during the first half of the 20th century, to whom we listened in January 2022, our focus turned to prominent composers of Dalmatian melody. Vjekoslav Knežević, Silvio Sutlović, Vlado Vicić, and Mario Nardelli are just some of the composers whose name has faded over time, turning a number of recognizable melodies into a national treasure without a known author. Their rich work has been recorded by Edison Bell Penkala, Elektroton and Jugoton record companies. The listening session was moderated by dr. sc. Joško Ćaleta, project associate and doctoral student Dora Dunatov. It was held in hybrid form in the library of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb and via the Zoom platform.
On Thursday, January 20, 2022, another old record listening session was held at the library of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb. This time, it was dedicated to prominent performers of Dalmatians songs that were recorded on 78 rpm records issued by Elektroton and Jugoton rec. companies. Going through the rich Dalmatian repertoire, we selected a series of recordings performed by Petar Tralić and his Grupa Dalmatinaca, Boris Nikolić, Ansambl Dalmacija, Anica Zubović etc. Many of them are today undeservedly forgotten and hidden in the dusty grooves of hard records that were played on numerous turntables and radios of the former state during the 1940s and 1950s, representing an extremely important part of the music industry. The listening session was held in hybrid form (in person and via Zoom platform) and was prepared by dr. sc. Joško Ćaleta, ethnomusicologist specialized in the music of Dalmatian area, and doctoral candidate, Dora Dunatov.
On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, we organized the fourth Old record listening session with the debate club. The session was realized in a hybrid form, so that a limited number of visitors participated live in the library of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb, while some accessed it virtually via the Zoom platform. This session was dedicated to the Christmas songs on shellac records, thus the title “Christmas in early Croatian record industry“. Given the continuous cooperation of project members with the City Museum of Sisak, the event was once again organized in cooperation with this institution. Therefore, one of the mediators of the session was Predrag Jelić, the curator of the Museum. He led the session with Irena Miholić, our project collaborator from the IEF.
On Friday, October 29, 2021, we organized the third Old record listening session with the debate club. The session was realized in a hybrid form, so that a limited number of visitors participated live in the staff room of the Music Academy in Zagreb, while some accessed it virtually via the Zoom platform. This session was dedicated to the topic of military music, thus the title “In War and Peace: Early Recordings of Military Music in Croatia”. Given the continuous cooperation of project members with the City Museum of Sisak, the event was organized in cooperation with this institution for the second time. Therefore, one of the mediators of the session was Predrag Jelić, the curator of the Museum, who presented the historical context of military music and marches in the first part of the session. In the second part, the lead was taken by our associate Jelka Vukobratović, who talked about repertoire and performers of military music produced by Edison Bell Penkala rec. co. The session yielded a rich hybrid discussion, showing how broad and detailed the echo of this rather small interest niche actually is.
On Friday, January 29, 2021, the second Old record listening session with the debate club, titled “Sounds of endurance: the Kraker collection of the Dutch House of the Sisak City Museum”, was held completely online. It was dedicated to the only informative-interpretative center of industrial heritage in Croatia – the Dutch House of the City Museum in Sisak. This famous 19th-century Sisak building houses the impressive music collection of the Sisak collector Velimir Kraker. The collection consists of around 1700 old records and a large number of phonographs, gramophones, and radios produced in the first half of the 20th century. The guest of the virtual audio-visual listening session was the curator of the Kraker collection, Predrag Jelić. The interview was conducted by Dora Dunatov, a P.h.D. student and an assistant at the IEF. Thus, at least for a short while, we went back to the musical past, sounded by a selection from Kraker’s rich collection.
The listening session, held in support of this interactive museum center, which celebrated its first birthday last month, was accessible through Zoom, and Facebook platforms. The recording is still available on YouTube.
On Wednesday, 2020/10/21, at the multimedia hall of Zagreb City Library, the first old record listening session was held as a part of this year’s event Croatian Book Month. The subject of the session was “Popevke je slagal: Vlaho Paljetak in early Croatian discography”. The session was mediated by dr. sc. Jelka Vukobratović, project associate and Igor Mladinić of the Music Department of Zagreb City Library. It was also recorded by CMC TV. In addition to the live session, the participants were able to join in via Zoom. Apart from presenting and analyzing selected songs performed by Vlaho Paljetak, the occasion was used to present the project financed by the Croatian Science Foundation. The interactive approach allowed participants to engage with their comments and questions throughout the session.
See: Announcement / PPT / Sound examples / Photogallery / CMC TV feature / Recording of the Listening session / Report