The composer’s birthplace bears a memorial plaque that reads: “On the day of 30 November in the year 1890 Niko Štritof was born in this house, a composer, conductor and librettist, and a master of Slovenian opera.”
Niko Štritof
Niko Štritof (1890–1944) was a conductor and composer and one of the few Slovenian translators of libretti. He attended a classical grammar school in Ljubljana and took classes at the Glasbena matica Music Society in both piano and violin, as well as harmony and counterpoint with Matej Hubad and composition with Josip Procházka. A répétiteur and Kapellmeister of the Ljubljana Regional Theatre from 1909, Štritof also entered the Faculty of Law in Vienna and played violin and organ at the Viennese court chapel throughout his studies.
After World War I, Štritof taught piano and harmony at the Glasbena matica Music Society Ljubljana between 1918 and 1922, but later came into conflict with the management, and then made his living by playing piano at the Dvor Cinema and Zvezda Cafe. He was subsequently appointed as conductor of the Ljubljana Opera. Asserting himself as a prominent figure in the operatic arena, Štritof gained recognition for encouraging the burgeoning and development of Slovenian opera. One of the first Slovenian translators of operatic libretti, he filled in the huge gap in Slovenian opera at that time. The opera libretti he translated include The Abduction from the Seraglio, Carmen, Don Pasquale, Eugene Onegin, Jenufa, Prince Igor, La Bohème, La Traviata, Manon Lescaut, etc. It was with real flair that Štritof captured the essence of an original text and rendered a faithful translation, one marked by poetical zeal and the skill of a great versifier.
His compositions reflect a characterstic incorporation of folk motifs, most notably folk echoes from remote Slovenian regions. Some of his songs for voice and piano were published by the Glasbena matica Music Society. The collection Narodne (National Songs), also published by Glasbena matica Music Society, includes Štritof’s arrangements of Carinthian, Styrian and Carniolan folk songs, first recorded in writing by Stanko Vraz. He also wrote music for the dramatic staging of Antigone.
Maia Juvanc
