Historical Contributions to the Study of Serbian-British Relations in the Field of Music and Culture from 1914 to 1941

Abstract

The paper deals with the relations between the Kingdom of Serbia / Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Great Britain with special emphasis on their ‘encounters’ in the field of music and culture during the First World War and then between the two wars, which drew the two fairly mutually distant and insufficiently known ‘worlds’ closer. That music was an integral part of all major social and state events staged by the two countries at different moments and in different situations throughout the mentioned historical periods can be observed. The paper also shows that research into the role and significance of music in the relations between the two countries and its influence on them was continuously permeated, like a particular ‘red thread’ – which sublimated the most significant mutual effects of Serbian-British music relations in those times – by the creative work and enthusiasm of Oxford graduate Kosta Manojlović. There is no doubt that all this contributed to a more profound mutual understanding of these peoples and their countries.