Dedications on compositions as a starting-point for the identification of the 19th century cultural history on Slovene territory

Abstract

Although dedications on musical works, which came into being in the 19^th century on Slovene territory, offer only limited possibilities for researching into the musical past, they are still a sufficiently convincing source for the recognition of cultural history. Dedications on the one hand reveal personal and social connections of the creators and dedicatees; they indicate who and in what manner one was taking part in cultural and social life; on the other hand dedications can denote a unique event and its actors. Thus, they certify the strong connection between music, musical life and social and economic circumstances of the first half of the19^th century on Slovene territory, and for the second the influence of political circumstances.