THE
UNKNOWN ARTS I once had a good
friend who used to tease me about my support for
things Slovak by asking me where was Slovakia's
version of a Mozart, a Beethoven or a Verdi.
I would reply we had them but they didn't
receive the kind of publicity or airing that the
masters she had mentioned received, so that it
was not surprising that Slovak artists were
unknown.
Bratislava, being on the route from Vienna to
other major concert stops in Europe, attracted
many world famous artists and it encouraged
Slovak musicians. As a result it may surprise you
to learn there are more Slovak artists of repute
than Canada has ever produced. Yet very few
people in the West know about them.
My acquaintanceship with classical music began
as a very young boy with my mother taking me to
recitals by the then young Slovak violin virtuoso
Charles (Karol) Dobias and his sister Gabriela on
the piano. Charles today lives in Winnipeg, and
looks back on a full life having been
concertmaster with such orchestras as the Royal
Winnipeg Ballet, National Festival at Stratford,
and the National Ballet orchestra. My violin
never sounded the same as Charlie's.
He too is concerned that in our desire to
preserve the culture of Slovakia in Canada we
have concentrated on folk music and dances and
have left Slovak classical music to drift by
itself.
Today Charles is busy setting up a world-class
violin competition Sept. 19-21, 1996, in the
Slovak Symphony Hall in Bratislava. The winner
will get 50,000Sk and a guest spot with the
Bratislava Symphony Orchestra.
Many of you will remember the late Steve
Roman, encouraged by his wife Betty, promoted
operettas including Modra Ruza, and at sessions
of the Slovak World Congress introduced Slovak
artists who would sing many beautiful classical
and folk songs which were to whet our interest in
Slovak music and opera.
As we approach the year 2,000, we must ask
ourselves where are our Slovak philanthropists
whose duty it is to continue the work of Steve
Roman in promoting Slovak classical music on
Canadian airwaves?
I am willing to bet that if the works of Eugen
Suchon, Jan Ciker and Mikulas Schneider-Trnavsky,
for example, are played on Canadian stations, the
enjoyment by Canadians would be just as great as
listening to the works of accepted masters they
always hear.
Once I happened to find recordings of Eugen
Suchon's Krutnava (Whirlpool) and Svatopluk. I
was impressed with the Shakespearean quality of
Svatopluk, and the hypnotic music of tribute to
the great pagan god Perun chilled my spine, as
did the fervent "Tuzim zit" of Milena
who was selected to be sacrificed to the gods.
Krutnava, based on the eternal triangle
featuring lust and desire, was a down-to-earth
opera reflecting a mountaineering people with a
lust for life. I never tire of recommending these
recordings to my friends.
I remember in St. Cyril's church hall in the
late 40s when members of the parish would put on
dramas, one of which featured the pagan king
Perun, with costumes made by the enterprising
women of the parish. I wonder today whether we
will ever see these plays performed again.
The point of all this is, that if you spend
any time listening to classical music, why not
track down some of this Slovak music at a local
music store and listen to it beside your daily
dose of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Every Slovak
home should have such a collection to teach our
young of the beauty of Slovak music.
Our music is beautiful; but it has to be heard
in Canada.
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