Early life[edit]
Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always surrounded by music and art: his father had a career as an opera singer, and his mother as an actress. After his parents’ divorce, the family moved to Vienna, where Lovro joined the Vienna Boys Choir of the Royal Court Chapel at the age of eight. The Choir's repertoire must have influenced his later affinities, but most of all through the music of Anton Bruckner. In the Piarists’ Gymnasium in Vienna he received training in piano, organ and music theory. His music education continued under distinguished teachers at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik,[2][3][4] which he never attended formally, and from which he did not obtain any degrees.
Legacy[edit]
The International Lovro von Matačić Competition is held every four years in Zagreb.[5] Notable past prize winners include Eugene Tzigane and Jakub Hrůša.
The "Lovro Matačić Lifetime Achievement Award" is awarded biannually by the Croatian Association of Musical Artists.[6]