Kaštela City Library Day was celebrated this Monday in Kaštel Sućurac, and the central part of the program was the presentation of the historical novel "The Flute Players" by Mirko Ćurić. The event was organized by the Kaštela City Library.
On that occasion, the "Knez Trpimir" literary award was presented for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel, which this year went to Mirko Ćurić.
In her address, the director of the Kaštela City Library, Renata Dobrić, emphasized the importance of the competition and the meaning of the award:
- For the eighth year in a row, the Kaštela City Library has announced a competition for the best unpublished Croatian historical novel, and this time we are awarding an award called Knez Trpimir. This award bears this name because the competition was announced in Kaštela, the cradle of Croatian statehood. The oldest manuscript of the Trpimir Charter, a document in which the name Croatia is mentioned for the first time, is kept in Sućurac.
Dobrić emphasized the expansion of the competition's reputation:
- Every year we have more and more authors, young and old, famous and unknown, which means that the competition is really taking on Croatian proportions. This year we even received a manuscript from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The program included a staged performance of an excerpt from the novel performed by actors from the Kaštela Theatre, Nina Matasa and Petra Gudelj, which was one of the central parts of the evening.
The author about the novel and the historical background of the work
Mirko Ćurić pointed out that Kaštela is no stranger to him and that he has been coming to the city for many years, mostly for cultural projects, and this time he introduced himself as a writer and award winner:
- I am a fairly frequent guest in Kaštela. For more than 15 years, together with the Opor Botić association, I have been organizing Luka Botić Days, but now I am coming in a different, literary capacity - said Ćurić, adding that winning the award meant a lot to him.
He emphasized that he had been working on the novel "The Flute Players" for many years and that it was the result of systematic archival research. As he explained, he had been collecting historical sources for years, until he decided to take the final step and transform the collected material into a novel.
Speaking about the book's content, the author said:
- The novel is about Jakob and Sofia Hajbel, but not only about them, but also about their family, especially about their sister Constance, as well as Mozart, who married sisters from the same family.
He explained how the plot spanned fifty years and took place in numerous European locations – most notably Vienna, Salzburg, Weimar and Graz – while the central setting was Đakovo in the early 19th century. He pointed out that Jakob Hajbel and his wife came to Đakovo on business, where Hajbel gained an important place in the town’s musical life.
Ćurić warned that the story, although it may seem historically dry at first glance, actually carries a strong emotional and social dimension. According to him, the novel depicted the drama of the turn of the century, the changes in musical eras, and the search for Croatian identity in the historical circumstances of the time.
He particularly emphasized the role of historical figures who shaped the cultural life of Slavonia. He said that thanks to visionaries such as Bishop Mandić and Bishop Strossmayer, Đakovo became an important cultural center at that time.
Finally, he emphasized that his goal with the novel was to remind us that Croatia was also part of European cultural trends back then: - I am glad that this novel will be proof that some artists, who did not find happiness in Vienna and Salzburg, did find their place in Đakovo, in Croatia - concluded Ćurić.
The evening was also enriched by a performance by pianist Nikolina Miše, and the program also included the Folk Singers and Miro Miše and Radenko Lovre Jovkić, who performed a Croatian Christmas carol.
Photo: Ivana Topic
