The novel "The Magic Flute Players" by Mirko Ćurić was declared the best manuscript at the Knez Trpimir Literary Competition – Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel which the Kaštela City Library has announced for the eighth time this year with the aim of encouraging literary creativity on the topic of Croatian history, with an emphasis on historical topics from the Kaštela Bay area.
Premiere presentation of the novel Magic flute players will be held in Monday, December 8th at the Archbishop's Castle in Kaštel Sućurac on the occasion of the celebration of Kaštela City Library Day, organized by the Kaštela City Library.
On that occasion, the printed edition of the novel will be presented Magic flute players with the staging of several excerpts. The novel was published by Naklada Bošković in co-publishing with the Kaštela City Library.
The author will be awarded a cash prize of 1.300,00 euros. The sponsors of the main prize are the Kaštela City Library and the City of Kaštela.
Commission's explanation
The Review Committee evaluated the manuscript Magic flute players the best novel with a theme from Croatian history that has entered this year's competition Knez Trpimir Literary Competition – Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel Kaštela City Libraries.
The novel is a revelation for a wide audience as well as for connoisseurs of historical facts. It stands out from the other novels submitted to the competition, and we believe that this is why it will attract readers of all generations, the Commission concluded.
The decision on the best manuscript was made by the Committee Literary competition Prince Trpimir - Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel of the Kaštela City Library consisting of: Nevenka Nekic, writer, publicist, historian and painter; Đuro Vidmarović, writer, publicist, literary and art critic, translator, historian and diplomat and Hrvoje Hitrec, writer, novelist, playwright, film and television screenwriter.
About the manuscript "The Magic Flute Players"
The more or less unknown connection between Vienna and Đakovo in the form of the composer Jakob Haibel at the beginning of the 19th century is the basis for the novel The Magic Flute Players, with a subtitle that explains that it is a historical love-musical prose work. The novel Magic flute players It is also intriguing because of the fact that Jakob Haibel, a composer and tenor, one of those who captured the attention of the musical public in Mozart's time, was married to Sofia, the sister of Mozart's wife Constanze, which the author uses abundantly in such a way that in many parts of the novel the brilliant Austrian composer is actually the protagonist, especially in the brilliant descriptions of the lively musical life in Vienna at the end of the 18th century, the theater and theater companies, entertainment venues with numerous audiences. This was the Mozart era, which ended shortly after Amadeus's death, and almost completely fell silent during the years of Napoleon's conquests.
Jakob Haibel, composer and tenor, the gifted son of a clothier, was married to a sickly wife, with children who died early, and he was in love with Sofija Weber. Shortly after he became a widower, he made Sofija his new wife. They were married in Đakovo.
Namely, when the musical life in Vienna died out, many musicians sought work on the "periphery" of the Monarchy. One of these was Jakob, who came with Sofia to Đakovo, where Bishop Mandić, a music lover, was then in office. Haibel became the cathedral choirmaster there, composing church music and eventually a requiem in honor of Bishop Mandić.
The author skillfully uses documents from that time, letters that testify to the turbulent relationship between Mozart and Constanze, delving deeply into their relationship from their first meeting to the poignant description of Mozart's death, just as he very vividly, inspiredly and thoroughly describes the atmosphere in which Amadeus, Haibel and numerous other composers worked.
With special feeling, the author depicts Đakovo at that time, a peaceful Slavonian oasis that welcomed newcomers, Đakovo which was already becoming an attractive cultural center.
Overall, Croatian literature benefits – a very atypical, original historical novel has appeared, with protagonists who are not Croatian kings and princes, but kings and princes of music in Central Europe at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, one of whom was active in Croatia for a long time.
(Hrvoje Hitrec, excerpt from a review of the manuscript of The Magic Flute Players)
Literary competition Prince Trpimir – Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel of the Kaštela City Library
The Kaštela City Library has announced its eighth call for papers in 2025. Knez Trpimir Literary Competition - Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel of the Kaštela City Library written in the Croatian language, because the previously announced Competitions aroused great public interest and the involvement of well-known Croatian writers, but also young authors unknown to the public.
Purpose Knez Trpimir Literary Competition is to enrich the genre diversity of Croatian literature and to stimulate interest in Croatian history, historical novels and literary creation. The aim of the competition is also to introduce the wider public to events from Croatian history in the most interesting way possible, which should be achieved precisely through this form. The competition was launched in 2018 on the initiative and according to the idea of Renata Dobrić, director of the Kaštela City Library.
Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel of the Kaštela City Library is named Prince Trpimir because it is in Kaštela, a place rich in cultural and historical heritage and the cradle of Croatian statehood, that the transcript is kept Trpimir's grants (Trpimir's charter) from 852 (the birth certificate of Croatian statehood), in which the name CROAT is mentioned for the first time.
Previous winners Knez Trpimir Literary Competition – Competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel of the Kaštela City Library in the period from 2018 to 2022 are: Tomislav Bašić: Island (2018), Ana Cerovac: Krsnik (2019), Zlatko Tomić: The Secret of the Undug Crown (2020), Ante Brčić: Uskočko gnijezdo (2021), Nenad Stojković: Fire Fairy – The Legend of Mile Gojsalić (2022), Ivan Klarić: Vizier and Snow (2023), Petar Merčep: In the Shadow of Time (2024).
All novels were published by Bošković Publishing House in co-publishing with the Kaštela City Library, and all authors were given free printing of their novels, along with a premiere presentation of the novels, which was well-covered by the media. The exception is 2020.
Photo: Kaštela City Library
