The Role of patrons in the activities of the Galician musical society in Lviv in 1838–1914

Abstract

Relevance of the study. The issue of public patronage in musical, cultural, and educational societies, and in particular in the Galician Music Society, unfortunately, has not received proper scientific coverage in the modern art historical and humanitarian discourse. The functioning of various societies as a respectable and prestigious institution depended on the human potential of its active and helpful members.
 The purpose of the study. The purpose of the presented study, based on archival sources, documents from the private archive of Leszek and Teresa Mazepа, is to identify the role of patrons in the activities and development of the Galician Music Society.
 The research methodology has a complex interdisciplinary nature and is based on the combination of the principles of cultural, art history, historical, aesthetic, archive-bibliographic, sociological, comparative research.
 The results and conclusions. Based on archival documents, the article analyzes and systematizes the structure of the Galician Music Society, identifying its active, auxiliary, and honorary members, patrons, and the composition of its directorates and supervisory boards. On this basis, the role and importance of patrons in the activities of the GMS is presented. The democratically organized GMS brought together representatives of different nationalities and animated the musical life of Galicia. The number of full (active) members primarily determined the concert-performance, educational and outreach activities of the Society, as they constituted the main artistic and pedagogical core of the Society. The members who surrounded it with their patronage (patronage) were the auxiliary members. Among them were representatives of various social and national strata: aristocrats, officials of various levels, intellectuals (professors, teachers, doctors, lawyers, writers, artists, etc.), clergy, bourgeoisie, merchants, and landowners. The auxiliary members provided the GMS with material (in the form of material and monetary donations, scholarships, and donations) and organizational support, appropriate external representation, and even its social status. Thanks to the supporting members, the cultural policy of supporting and promoting the artistic activities of the important music center for Galicia, which was the GMS, and preserving its positive cultural impact on society was implemented. Thanks to its supporters, the GMS was able not only to develop its artistic activities and expand its infrastructure, but also to strengthen its reputation and become competitive in the field of music distribution. Thanks to their help and patronage, the GMS has been able to develop its activities, build its reputation and become competitive in the field of music distribution.