In 1968, on the 60th anniversary of the composer’s birth, a memorial plaque was attached to Anton Lavrin’s birthplace. The encomium at the unveiling of the memorial was delivered by Janez Bitenc.
Anton Lavrin
Composer Anton Lavrin (1908–1965) predominantly applied himself to choral music, but also made his mark as a music educator in Ljubljana, Maribor and Sarajevo.
Born in Vinji vrh pri Semiču, Lavrin received his first musical education from composer Srečko Koporc and later studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts. WWII suspended his academic work, but Lavrin resumed his studies in the post-war period and graduated from the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts in composition in 1953. In 1962, he was appointed associate professor at the Academy of Music in Sarajevo and later joined the faculty of the Maribor Academy of Education.
In addition to choral works and lieder, he composed orchestral and chamber music, as well as music for solo instruments, including Uvertura (Overture, 1936), Simfonija (Symphony, 1954), Kovači na Baščaršiji (Blacksmiths in Baščaršija, 1962), Pet preludijev za klavir (Five Preludes for Piano, 1960), Sedem preludijev za solo violončelo (Seven Preludes for Solo Cello, 1960), and Sedem preludijev za solo violino (Seven Preludes for Solo Violin, 1962). He also devoted himself to vocal-instrumental compositions, in 1941 scoring an opera, Krst pri Savici (The Baptism on the Savica). Unfortunately, the score was lost to a fire during the war.
During World War II, Lavrin scored six choral works, a lied, several instrumental compositions and three pieces for an undetermined ensemble. His instrumental works feature three compositions for wind band, and works for symphony orchestra. In 1944, he wrote Teloh (Hellebore), songs for youth choir based on poems by Tone Seliškar, Suženjstva težke zdrobil je okove (Breaking the Iron Fetters of Slavery) for unison youth choir and Naša vojska (Our Army) for two-part choir, based on poems by France Kosmač.
His most noteworthy instrumental work is Prva partizanska uvertura (First Partisan Overture), written in 1944 and performed in Črnomelj by the Military Band of the National Liberation Army and the Partisan Detachments of Slovenia. As a composer of partisan instrumental works, Lavrin ranks alongside Blaž Arnič, Bojan Adamič, Filip Bernard and Demetrij Žebre.
Maia Juvanc
