The monthly magazine Review of Music was published six times in Belgrade from
January to June 1940. Each edition comprised thirty-two pages, half of which
were devoted to a sheet-music supplement, popular compositions of the time
for voice and piano. Review of Music published 222 articles and scores in
total. The aim of the magazine was to popularise classical music, but it also
encompassed jazz, films and film music, theatre, literature, fashion, and
even sport. Review of Music was different from all other Serbian inter-war
music magazines, not only because of its wide range of topics, but also
because it published anonymous articles, probably taken from other sources,
but it is not known from where. This study analyses the articles about
classical music in Review of Music. In several short chapters the author
presents the concept of the magazine, its genre structure, themes addressed,
and the style of its music writers. Selected examples show that article
authors tended to exploit elements of narrative (with an emphasis on
impressive details), humour, and moral teaching. The authors also especially
emphasized the neutral attitude of Review of Music towards contemporary
music, although the magazine published different views of contemporary
composers concerning the aesthetics of modern music. Review of Music started
four months after Germany invaded Poland. However, in the journal references
to social and political events are non-existant. The journal seems to have
been interested only in culture and the arts. However, the author of this
study presents examples in which the political circumstances of the time can
be perceived. One of these examples is the visit of the Frankfurt Opera House
to Belgrade in 1940. That extraordinary cultural event was attended by Prince
Paul Karadjordjevic and Princess Olga, the Yugoslav Prime Minister, and almost
all other government ministers. In this news, any authority on the political
situation of the time could see that the Yugoslav government and the
political elite took care of delicate relations with Germany at that time.
This is the first study to analyse the concept and content of classical music
in Review of Music. This magazine is certainly an interesting source, not
only for the history of Serbian music periodicals, but also for cultural
history.