Ján Cikker (29 July 1911 – 21 December 1989) was a Slovak composer, a leading exponent of modern Slovak

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. He was awarded the title ''National Artist'' in

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 ...

, the

Herder Prize The Herder Prize (german: Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis), named after the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), was a prestigious international prize awarded every year from 1964 to 2006 to scholars and artists from Central and Sout ...

(1966) and th
IMC-UNESCO International Music Prize
(1979).

Life

Cikker was born in former

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, today Slovakia, in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...

. His first music teachers were his mother, Mária Psotková, and

Viliam Figuš-Bystrý Viliam Figuš-Bystrý (born Viliam Figuš) (28 February 1875 – 11 May 1937) was a Slovakia, Slovak composer, teacher and author of the first Slovak national opera ''Detvan (opera), Detvan''. Viliam Figuš was born in Banská Bystrica. He at ...

. After he graduated from high school, he studied at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

from 1930 to 1935, where he attended courses of composition of

Jaroslav Křička Jaroslav Křička (; 27 August 1882 in Kelč, Moravia – 23 January 1969 in Prague) was a Czech people, Czech composer, Conducting, conductor, and Music education, music teacher. He was the brother of poet Petr Křička:de:Petr_Křička, e...

, of conducting and organ. He then studied at the Master's School of the

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Conservatory from 1935 to 1936, where he was a student of

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important e ...

. Later on, he moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he studied with

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. T ...

from 1936-1937. From 1939 to 1949, he taught at the

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Conservatory. At the same time he was a repertory advisor of the opera of the

Slovak National Theatre The Slovak National Theater ( sk, Slovenské národné divadlo, abbr. SND) is the oldest professional theatre in Slovakia, consisting of three ensembles: opera, ballet, and drama. Its history begins shortly after the establishment of the first ...

from 1945 to 1948. He was forced to leave this post after the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948.

Oxford Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

, ''Cikker, Ján'' Finally, he worked as professor for composition at the ''Bratislava Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts'' ( VŠMÚ), where he was the teacher of many Slovak composers. He died in

, where a museum in his name has opened.

Characteristics

His pronounced style is characterized by a typical richness of contrasting moods and characters (dance, expressive, lyrical pronunciation), and by the emphasis on humane and ethical conduct. His first creative works were nearly always instrumental, but from the 1950s onward he increasingly devoted himself to composing operas.

Major works

*cycle of symphonic poems ''O živote – Leto, Vojak a matka, Ráno'' (About life – Summer, Soldier and Mother, Morning; 1941-1946) *operas: ** ''Juro Jánošík'' (1950-1953, libretto by Štefan Hoza), ** ''Beg Bajazid'' (1955-1956, libretto by Štefan Hoza), ** ''Mister Scrooge'' (1958-1959, alternative name ''Tiene'' /Shadows/, after

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

''), ** ''

Vzkriesenie ''Vzkriesenie'' (1960) is an opera by Ján Cikker. It is based on Leo Tolstoy's last novel, ''Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a d ...

'' (1960; Resurrection, after

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

), ** ''Hra o láske a smrti'' (Play of Love and Death, after

Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...

), ** ''Coriolanus'' (1970–72; after

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

), ** ''Obliehanie Bystrice'' (1969-1971; The Siege of Bystrica after

Kálmán Mikszáth Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages. Biography Mik ...

), ** ''Zo života hmyzu'' (1983–86; after

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Ro ...

's and

Josef Čapek Josef Čapek (; 23 March 1887 – April 1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek. ...

's play ''

Pictures from the Insects' Life ''Pictures from the Insects' Life'' ( cs, Ze života hmyzu) – also known as ''The Insect Play'', ''The Life of the Insects'', ''The Insect Comedy'', ''The World We Live In'' and ''From Insect Life'' – is a satirical play that was written in Cz ...

''), ** ''Antigona'' (1987–89, unfinished; after

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

) *chamber and orchestral pieces: ''String quartet no. 1 op. 13'' (1935), ''String quartet no. 2 op. 14'' (1936), ''Spring Symphony'' (1937), ''Slovenská suita'' (1943; Slovak suite), ''Spomienky'' (1947; Memories), cMeditácie na Schützovu tému'' (1964; Meditations about the Schütz theme), ''Štúdie k činohre'' (1944; Studies for a theatre play) *piano music: ''Sonatina op. 12, no. 1'' (1933), ''Tatra brooks'' (1954), ''Piano Variations on a Slovak Folksong'' (1973) *song cycle: ''O mamičke'' (1940; About Dear Mum) *adaptations of folk songs *theatre and film music (''Varúj!'') *music for folk dance groups, e.g. for SĽUK (Slovak Folk Art Collective), Lúčnica and VÚS.

Sources

, ''Cikker, Ján''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cikker, Jan 1911 births 1989 deaths Musicians from Banská Bystrica Slovak composers Male composers Slovak opera composers 20th-century classical composers Male classical composers Herder Prize recipients 20th-century male musicians Slovak male musicians