Classical and scholarly music
Slovakia as a national entity emerged late in history, and it wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that Slovak classical music really took off. It was led by a trio of illustrious composers: Alexander Moyzes (1906-1984), Ján Cikker (1911-1989) and Eugen Suchoň (1908-1993). Articulating his themes around Slovak history and incorporating numerous folkloric elements, it was Suchoň who truly imposed a national style through his two major operas Krutnava(The Whirlpool, 1949) and the highly acclaimed Svatopluk (1960). Although his work is little known, Suchoň master Frico Kafenda is another great 20th-century composer, as is Viliam Figus-Bystry, author of the first Slovak opera Detvan (1928) and a Bartók-like collector and arranger of Slovak folk songs. More recently, in the 1960s, Slovakia shone on the international scene with a fine avant-garde scene. These included dodecaphony, serial music and atonality with Jozef Malovec, a local pioneer of sound collage and electroacoustics, as well as Ilja Zeljenka, whose more experimental sound grammar was banned by the Communist regime, and Ladislav Kupkovič, a close associate of Stockhausen who composed extensively for the accordion. Freed after the fall of the Wall, contemporary Slovak music is now quivering in the hands of musicians such as Peter Breiner, a daring (even iconoclastic) pianist and conductor, or Vladimír Godár, a composer (of film music in particular) who has worked for the highly prestigious ECM label.
Slovakia is a great land of opera. Its reputation has been nurtured throughout the world thanks to such magnificent voices as coloratura soprano Edita Gruberova, tenor Peter Dvorsky, in whom Luciano Pavarotti himself saw a future, and Pavol Breslik, the best Slovak tenor of his generation. Given the quality of the ensembles and soloists - violinists Bohdan Warchal and Dalibor Karvay are prodigious - we couldn't recommend attending a classical music concert or opera in Slovakia more highly. The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, for example, is particularly renowned for the excellence of its interpretations, which has enabled it to invite such distinguished conductors as Claudio Abbado and Sergiu Celibidache. It has been conducted by the best local conductors - Ľudovít Rajter or Ladislav Slovák - as well as Emmanuel Villaume, a Frenchman (surprisingly) little known to the French. The orchestra plays in Bratislava's magnificent neo-Baroque Reduta building, as does the stunning Slovak Philharmonic Choir (with whom it regularly collaborates), whose list of guest conductors includes such stars as Casadesus, Gatti, Chailly, Masur and Salonen. Slovakia's other major orchestra is the Košice State Philharmonic. Housed in the Dom Umenia Fatra (House of the Arts), a former synagogue converted into a concert hall, this philharmonic orchestra plays host to internationally renowned ensembles and has recorded numerous works for labels such as Naxos. Also of interest is theRadio Slovakia Symphony Orchestra, which, like our own Orchestre de Radio France, offers excellent interpretations of local composers. Lovers of the lyric arts will be enchanted by the New Slovak National Theatre. This magnificent neo-Renaissance building overlooks Hviezdoslav Square and offers a sumptuous interior for top-quality theater and opera performances. In Banská Bystrica, right in the heart of the country, the Štatna Opera ("State Opera") presents two or three very fine opera performances a week, generally at good prices.
Folk and traditional music
Slovakia is proud of its traditional dance, music and costumes. Understandably so. It has to be said that the country's folk tradition is as long as it is remarkable. While it is united by a core dating back to the time of Greater Moravia, it varies enormously from region to region. In the west of the country, polyphonic music resonates, and small bowed ensembles are commonplace. In the mountain regions, shepherd's songs and bagpipes are heard, along with gypsy influences. Further east, male polyphonies are heard, accompanied here by hand-clapping or body-clapping. While Slovak composers enriched the classical repertoire with traditional music in the second half of the 19th century, the latter benefited enormously from Béla Bartók's collecting and arranging work in Slovak Folk Songs (4,500 pieces of music transcribed!). Still very popular today, folk music is regularly performed by theRadio Slovakia Symphony Orchestra, and numerous festivals are devoted to it: the Myjava Folk Festival, the Elro Folk Festival, the Detva Folk Festival (the oldest) and the Vychodná Folk Festival (the largest in the country). The Cassiova Folkfest is the best opportunity to see fujara players. This very long flute made of elder wood is an emblem of Slovak folk culture, and at the end of 2005 it was included on UNESCO's list of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
A good place to hear it is Klub Lúčnica. This small, authentic bar-restaurant - once home to the famous Lúčnica folk dance group (an institution) - now serves tasty, inexpensive food to the accompaniment of excellent traditional music. A few dancers can still be seen here from time to time. And let's not forget SL'UK (Slovenský l'udový umelecký kolektív), a collective with its own stage that puts on shows based on folk music and dance.
Rock, pop and electronic music
In Slovakia, rock is a business that knows no crisis. Ever since pioneers Elán, considered the local Queen, and Vidiek, the other mythical band of the 1980s, paved the way, each generation has produced a constellation of stars. No Name, Peha, IMT SMILE, Desmod, The Hex... Slovakia is a factory of rock bands, most of them following the same pattern, but whose success often ensures them a career outside their borders (especially in the Czech Republic). Thanks to the Internet, we're seeing more and more young bands tempted by indie rock and electro-pop, more sophisticated, progressive and cool than the aesthetics of their elders. Spearheading this scene are Nvmeri, The Ills, Tolstoys, Fallgrapp and Bulp. But the most exciting thing at the moment is undoubtedly the boom in the Slovak electro scene. With artists such as Pjoni and his research into sound (and the cello), Jimmi Pé and his nervous beatmaking, Theydon Boys who follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Jaar or Slavo Herman and his almost palpable ambient, the Slovak electronic scene, still small, is not long in gaining the worldwide recognition it deserves.
Bratislava boasts a number of excellent contemporary music scenes. Among them, KC Dunaj is more than worth a detour. A party venue, concert hall, design boutique, radio station, café́ and bar all rolled into one, the Dunaj cultural center offers its hip clientele labyrinthine spaces, a fantastic view of Bratislava's old town and a very well thought-out program. In the same spirit, Nova Cvernovka, a former chemistry school transformed into a cultural center, offers a cutting-edge program with a strong focus on young local talent. In Košice, Tabačka kulturfabrik is a former tobacco factory turned cultural platform promoting visual arts, theater, dance and music. A lively place.
Dance and theater
Although Slovak folk dance has been shaped by many factors, its roots lie in the cultures of peasants and shepherds who lived along the Danube before the 12th century. Considered the "national" dance, theodzemok is one of the most emblematic and spectacular. Here, a shepherd performs an impressive acrobatic solo with leaps and bounds, twirling the valaška(small axe) around him. Older (and even the oldest), the chorovod is a collective dance for women in which they run in chains. The verbunk, known as marhaňská in some regions, is a masculine dance performed solo or in a circle, featuring many boot-clapping motifs. A similar spirit can be found in bašistovská, where boot-clapping is also performed in groups, but with the addition of hand-clapping to syncopated rhythms. A final emblematic dance, the čardáš sees couples improvising steps, mostly spinning on themselves.
To see folk dance in Slovakia, one troupe to watch is Lúčnica. This semi-professional dance club is an institution in the country and has been touring all over (the world) since 1948. Attending one of its performances is guaranteed to bring you face to face with some of Slovakia's finest dancers. In a different vein, the New Slovak National Theater Ballet, directed by the highly effective Russian choreographer Vasily Medvedev, offers fine adaptations of the classical repertoire. This is also an opportunity to see choreographed sound pieces by great local composers such as Peter Breiner.
A great artistic tradition in Slovakia is puppet theater. Inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, it is both a popular traditional form of entertainment and an educational tool conveying moral values to the very young. Not at all considered a sub-genre or a minor art form, on the contrary, it is an integral part of local theater and Slovakia's literary tradition. To attend a performance, the cities of Bratislava, Košice and Banská Bystrica each boast an excellent Puppet Theatre. For those who speak Slovak and want a taste of contemporary drama, the Malá Scéna Stu Theatre is the best place in the country to find it. Created in 1991 in the capital, this stage complements the Slovak National Theatre with a repertoire geared towards staging new authors. Good texts in an intimate setting.
