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 #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

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

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

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

Life

Cikker was born in former

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, today Slovakia, in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

. 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 Slovak composer, teacher and author of the first Slovak national opera '' Detvan''. Viliam Figuš was born in Banská Bystrica. He attended gymnasium from 1 ...

. After he graduated from high school, he studied at the Prague Conservatory from 1930 to 1935, where he attended courses of composition of Jaroslav Křička, of conducting and organ. He then studied at the Master's School of the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Conservatory from 1935 to 1936, where he was a student of Vítězslav Novák. Later on, he moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he studied with

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...

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

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Conservatory. At the same time he was a repertory advisor of the opera of the Slovak National Theatre from 1945 to 1948. He was forced to leave this post after the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

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 th ...

, ''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 novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' ''

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. It recounts the ...

''), ** '' Vzkriesenie'' (1960; Resurrection, after Tolstoy's

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

), ** ''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 ( 23 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 natio ...

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 * P ...

), ** ''Obliehanie Bystrice'' (1969-1971; The Siege of Bystrica after Kálmán Mikszáth), ** ''Zo života hmyzu'' (1983–86; after

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

's and Josef Čapek's play '' Pictures from the Insects' Life''), ** ''Antigona'' (1987–89, unfinished; after

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

) *chamber and orchestral pieces: **''String quartet no. 1 op. 13'' (1935) **''String quartet no. 2 op. 14'' (1936) **''Spring Symphony'' (1937) **''Symfonietta'' Op.16 (1937, dedicated to his teacher Jaroslav Křička) **''Concertino'' for piano and orchestra Op.20 (1942) **''Slovenská suita'' (1943; Slovak suite) **''Spomienky'' (1947; Memories) **''Meditácie na Schützovu tému'' (1964; Meditations on a theme by Schütz) **''Štúdie k činohre'' (1944; Studies for a theatre play, referred sometimes as “Fyzici”) *choral works ''Óda na radosť'' (1982, Ode to Joy; oratorio for speaker, soloists, choir and orchestra on words by Milan Rúfus. Written for the bicentennial of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig). *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 classical composers Male opera composers Slovak opera composers Czechoslovak classical composers Slovak male classical composers Herder Prize recipients 20th-century male composers Slovak male musicians Prague Conservatory alumni