Author Description

<p> Matija Arko, po domače Hojer, rojen v Sodražici, se je v mladosti izselil v Ameriko in s seboj prinesel veselje do glasbe in harmonike. Glasba je postala pomemben del njegovega življenja in s svojo skupino Hoyer trio je postal zelo priljubljen med Slovenci v ZDA pa tudi med izseljenci drugih narodnosti. S prepletanjem slovenske ljudske glasbe in različnih oblik ameriške popularne glasbe tistega časa je postavil temelje t. i. polka glasbe, ki je zaradi privlačnosti prestopila etnične meje in pozneje dosegla vsesplošno popularnost. Veliko glasbe Matije Arka je dokumentirane in ohranjene na gramofonskih ploščah, ki nudijo vpogled v njegovo delo in zgodovino slovenske glasbe v ZDA. O Matiji Arku, v Ameriki bolj znanem kot Matt Hoyer, in o njegovem glasbenem ustvarjanju smo vedeli v Sloveniji zelo malo. S pričujočo knjigo želimo opozoriti nanj, na njegovo delovanje in na glasbo, ki je ohranjena na starih gramofonskih ploščah.</p><p>_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _</p><p><br></p><p>Matija (Matt) Arko, known to family and friends as Hojer (Hoyer), was born in Slovenia. He emigrated to the States as a teenager, bringing alongside his love for music and the accordion. Music became an important part of his life and his Hoyer instrumental trio became extremely popular amongst Slovenians as well as emigrants of other nationalities. By mixing elements of Slovenian traditional music and various popular American genres of the time, he created the foundations of the polka music, the appeal of which crossed ethnic boundaries and later on achieved general popularity. Most of Matija Arko’s tunes have been recorded on gramophone records, which give us insight into his musical activities and the history of Slovenian music in the USA. Very little is known in his homeland about Matija Arko, known in the States as Matt Hoyer, and his musical endeavours. This publication (‘Music From Both Sides. Gramophone Records by Matija Arko and Hoyer Trio’) aims to shed light on his activities and m