Giovanni Mane Giornovichi
| Ivan Mane Jarnović | |
|---|---|
| Born |
26 October 1747 bapt Palermo, Sicily |
| Died | 23 November 1804 (aged 57) St Petersburg, Russia |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, violinist |
| Years active | 1770–1804 |
Ivan Mane Jarnović (Italian: Giovanni Mane Giornovichi) (26 October 1747 – 23 November 1804) was a virtuoso violinist-composer of the 18th century whose family was of possibly Ragusan (today in Croatia) origin. He had a European career, performing in almost all major centres including Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, St Petersburg, Vienna, Stockholm, Basel, London, Dublin, amongst others. It appears he was a pupil of Antonio Lolli and he was an acquaintance of Joseph Haydn, with whom he shared concert programmes in London.
Jarnović was seemingly born either in Palermo or at sea en route from Dubrovnik to Palermo, Sicily, where he was baptised in the church San Antonio Abate on 29 October 1747. He died in St Petersburg, Russia on 23 November 1804.
Whole periods of his life - his youth and other interludes - remain unaccounted for, while details as to his origins and identity have proven to be elusive. There are plausible arguments to suggest that his family was from Croatia, possibly from the Karlovac-Delnice region. Highlighting a further riddle concerning his identity, Schneider and Tuksar both point out that Jarnovic's (or Giornovichi's) first names, Giovanni Mane, do not appear in any literature about him until 36 years after his death, namely in Schilling's Enzyclopadie of 1840. These names become the form most usually cited in encyclopaedic and biographical works from then onwards, often rendered today in their Croatian form as Ivan Mane Jarnović. It is "quite incredible," Tuksar has remarked, "that one of the leading musicians of 18th century Europe could have lived for 64 years without his name and surname ever being given anywhere, not even in his printed works, in their full and proper form." Besides Jarnović, several variations in the rendition of his surname also occur: Jarnowick, Jarnovick, Jarnovichi, Jarnowicz, Garnovik, Giarnovicki, Giernovichi. It seems likely that shifts in the spelling and pronunciation of his name occurred according to the country in which he was living or performing or publishing his works at any given time.
At least one source does exist which indicates his first and last names, namely a register entry recording the baptism of Jarnović's daughter Sophia, in London, in 1795. The same document throws light on yet another area of uncertainty - that of Jarnović's family. Whereas little was previously known of the fate of his daughters "Mimi" and "Sofie", something of their lives and subsequent history is now on record.
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