Juraj Beneš (2 March 1940 in

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...

Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arka ...

– 11 September 2004 in Bratislava,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) was a Slovak composer, teacher, and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. He graduated from the university called

Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava The Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava ( sk, Vysoká škola múzických umení v Bratislave, abbr. VŠMU) is a university founded on June 9, 1949. The university consists of three faculties: *''Theatre Faculty'' (Acting, Directing, Dramat ...

(VŠMU) and was a pupil of

Ján Cikker Ján Cikker (29 July 1911 – 21 December 1989) was a Slovak composer, a leading exponent of modern Slovak classical music. He was awarded the title ''National Artist'' in Slovakia, the Herder Prize (1966) and thIMC-UNESCO International Music Pri ...

, who was one of the best known Slovak composers. Since 1983 Beneš taught at the same university. Beneš's work followed current trends and spanned genres. He was best in composing

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s such as ''Cisárove nové šaty'' (The Emperor's New Clothes), ''Skamenený'' (Petrified), and ''Hostina'' (Feast) and often employed the human voice together with unusual instrument combinations as in ''Tri ženské zbory'' (Three Women's Choir).

External links

Biography and list of works
1940 births 2004 deaths Musicians from Trnava 20th-century classical composers Slovak composers Male composers Slovak pianists Male classical composers 20th-century pianists Male pianists 20th-century male musicians Slovak male musicians {{slovakia-composer-stub