Julius Štarka: nepelnytai pamirštas dirigentas ir pedagogas
ENJulius Štarka (1884–1960) during his active work in Lithuania (1919–1944) was a prominent and honourable choir conductor, known not only in the provisional capital Kaunas, but also in the whole country, as well as overseas, too. He became famous as one of the first professional choir conductors (attending the Warsaw Music Institute in 1911–1913), established and conducted the best choirs in the state, and performed pedagogical work while preparing young conductors in Lithuania. Usually, Štarka’s abilities to conduct were greatly appreciated by Lithuanian reviewers. His choirs became known for their high quality performances; at times, the quality would evolve into perfection. According to Vladas Jakubėnas, a choir conducted by Štarka “could have even competed with choirs from the world’s greatest opera houses” (Jakubėnas, 1994, p. 1087). The article then revealed Štarka’s style of conducting: he was thorough, meticulous and precise regarding details. He sought vocal culture, accuracy in intonation and, of course, professionalism. The whole practical work experience of Julius Štarka was visible not only in his conducted choirs, but also in his pedagogical practice. He became the founder of a choir class at the Kaunas Music School, where the class started its activities in the academic year of 1924–1925. Furthermore, the same position of a predecessor was acquired in 1926–1927, when a choir conducting class was opened in the very same school (Gruodis, 1931, p. 26). Unfortunately, after pedagogues Julius Štarka and Nikodemas Martinonis came into professional confrontation, the foundation of choir conducting in Lithuania was no longer built by the best specialist in this field, but by Nikodemas Martinonis.
