The paper focuses on the artistic career of the conductor Lovro von Matačić (1899–1985) in his younger years, between the two world wars, when he frequently performed in Slovenia, a period that represented a source of inspiration and artistic growth. After examining the influence of musical training, which shapes and lays the foundation for the career of every artist, the paper then looks at previous scholarly analyses and findings and considers the influence of Matačić’s capacity for individual expression on the conductor’s rostrum, the pulsations of the cultural environment and the abilities of the performing ensembles with which Matačić worked on the overall principle of artistic expression. Matačić was a conductor capable of complementing the sound picture with the mental and emotional characteristics of the composer and the knowledge, abilities and energies of the performer. He believed that there was no such thing as a final or definitive interpretation and that a musical work is only “completed” when it is the subject of profound interpretation that takes into account the whole of the composer’s personality, the circumstances in which the work was created and the structure of the piece, while also giving due consideration to the composer’s idea, all musical elements and the architectural structure of the form. It was his conviction that immersing oneself in a composer’s oeuvre, their character and the circumstances surrounding the creation of a work was a lengthy process and therefore dedicated himself to certain specific works throughout his life, in this way deepening his contact with the composer and achieving interpretations of the highest possible calibre. Lovro von Matačić had highly developed intuitive abilities and great personal energy and these factors combined to shape his interpretation of a chosen work. He was an individual of tireless energy who breathed life into written music and, time and again, impressed upon it his own unique and convincing stamp.
Darja Koter (Fri,) studied this question.