Hudobné centrum / Music Centre Slovakia
Slovakia
Member since:
2000
Website
CEO
Igor Valentovič
Address
Michalská 10, 81536 Bratislava,
Slovakia
Services
Introduction
The Music Centre Slovakia is a State-subsidised institution established by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. Its mission is to encourage Slovak music culture by organising concerts, bringing pieces of Slovak composers to the stages, publishing sheet music and music books, documenting the music life in Slovakia and promoting Slovak music culture abroad.
About
The origins of a State institution involved in organising music life in Slovakia go back to 1969, the year when the Slovkoncert agency was founded, operating as a guarantor in the field of music festivals and concerts both of “classical” and “popular” music.
The concert life was run until 1969 by several institutions, e. g. by the Music and Artists’ Centre and the Concert and Theatre Board (after 1958).
The introduction of federal organisation of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1969 meant also an extension and enhancement of the powers of Slovak institutions, especially as far as their international activities were concerned. This is how Slovkoncert gained public notoriety not only at home but also within the international network of art agencies.
In 1997, it was integrated in the National Music Centre, while in 1999 the Slovkoncert was turned into the Music Centre Slovakia consisting of five departments: documentation, publishing, concert, music education and economy.
The Music Centre Slovakia has its seat in a building of great historical value in the heart of the Old Town.
Michalská Street 10 was also the place of birth of Adam Friedrich Oeser (1717-1799), Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s teacher of painting and later the first director of the Academy of Painting in Leipzig (Germany).
Hudobné Centrum, photo: Gregor Valentovic
Services
Music Centre Slovakia offers the following services
- Concert and Festival Department – organizing international classical music festivals throughout Slovakia (Pro musica nostra Festivals, Allegretto Žilina; Melos-Ethos – International festival of contemporary music; Days of Early Music, International Singing Competition of Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský).
- Publishing Department – Editing and publishing musicological works (books, journals), sheet music, and CDs. The focus is on Slovak authors and performers.
- Department of Documentation and Informatics – Documentation, archive and database management of Slovak composers, musicologists, performers, jazz and other “less classical” genres, historical pipe organs and musical events; Library; management of the organization’s websites
- Music Education Department – Musical and educational projects for children and students; Management of the National Youth Orchestra of Slovakia; collaboration in organizing workshops and master classes.
Have a look at the website to view all information they have to offer about Slovakian music life.
Visit the website
Recent Publications
This is a Selection of publications of the Music Centre Slovakia
- Viliam Figuš-Bystrý: 1000 Slovak Folk Songs https://hc.sk/en/katalog/detail/412-1000-slovak-folk-songs
- Miloslav Starosta: The Art of Piano Playing https://hc.sk/en/katalog/detail/409-the-art-of-piano-playing
- Various: Violin Duets of Old Masters (compiled and revised by Viliam Kořínek) https://hc.sk/en/katalog/detail/399-violin-duets-of-old-masters
- CD Album Sacred Music in Slovakia from Sources of the 11th–17th Century
https://hc.sk/en/katalog/detail/397-sacred-music-in-slovakia-from-sources-of-the-11th-17th-century - Viliam Figuš-Bystrý: Three Sonatinas for Violin and Piano
https://hc.sk/en/katalog/detail/408-three-sonatinas-for-violin-and-piano - Béla Bartók: Slovak folk songs
https://hc.sk/en/katalog/detail/299-slovenske-ludove-piesne-1-2-3-4-dvd
Insights into our work
Education Program, photo: Martin Babarik
Pro Musica nostra Festival, photo: Tomas Telepak
SMO 25, photo: Berlin, Kai Bienert ©️MUTESOUVENIR
Bartok Slov Lud Piesne, photo: Archives of Music Centre Slovakia
mock-up CD Duchovna hudba, photo: Hudobné centrum
Interview
Igor Valentovič
Music Centre Slovakia – Director
Igor Valentovič – Director of Music Centre Slovakia
For readers outside Slovakia: How is musical life organised and structured?
Musical life is organized within the education and performing arts systems at the local, regional, and national levels. In the education system, it is represented by a broad network of specialized elementary art schools (administered by municipalities and cities), conservatories—secondary vocational schools (administered by regions), and music academies—university-level institutions (administered by the state). Artistic institutions—orchestras and opera houses—are exclusively administered by the state.
Where does Music Centre Slovakia fit into this structure?
The Music Centre Slovakia is one of 29 cultural institutions established and administered by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. It serves as a music documentation and information centre, a music publishing house, a concert and festival institution (organizing, for example, festivals of early and contemporary music, as well as regional festivals), and a supportive educational institution for children and youth—ranging from amateur to professional levels (it is, for example, the founder and managing body of the Slovak Youth Orchestra).
Why is Music Centre Slovakia relevant for national and international target groups?
Given the nature of our work, we serve a wide range of users—from the general public to students and specialists in the field of music culture (documentation, information, books, sheet music, audio recordings), performers and lovers of classical music (concerts and festivals), future professionals (members of the National Youth Orchestra of Slovakia), as well as both domestic and international enthusiasts of Slovak music and Slovak professional musical art.
