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The Periodization of Slovak Pop Music and Jazz

Wednesday February 2nd, 2011

| Author: Yvetta Kajanová | Posted in: Musicology

Published In: Kajanová, Yvetta: Towards a Periodization of Slovak Popular Music and Jazz. In: Musicologica Istropolitana VI, Stimul, Bratislava 2007, s. 197 – 216, ISBN 978-80-89236-43-5

There are two reasons why we decided to deal with the periodization of Slovak pop music: Firstly, to attempt to prove the viability of Slovak non-artificial music as an independent musical unit, and secondly to point out that Slovak pop music and jazz should be understood as a historical phenomenon. The development of Slovak non-artificial music in a conceptual unit can not be separated from the world`s development. On the contrary, a complex understanding may lead to fundamentally new responses to the constantly recurring questions of (1) isolation and (2) falling behind the world`s progressive trends, as it was said about Slovak pop music and jazz in the first written works of Igor Wasserberger, Ladislav Šoltýs, and Július Kinček.^¹ In this paper, we aim to outline the basic historical data important for the general character of Slovak pop music, remarking on the developmental changes in particular periods. The periodization of the history of Slovak pop music is essential for further historical research in particular periods, and this research empties into synthetic history.

When dealing with the periodization of the historical development of non-artificial music in Slovakia, it is necessary to consider some important characteristics:

A classification of music in further genre subgroups which have their own internal development concerning a self-character of the genre; it contains a mainstream – hit production, jazz, rock, folk, chanson, country and western, and electronic dance music;
A cultural – political development in Slovakia and its ideological interventions on non-artificial music. This production gained a huge audience, primarily youth;
The organization and the system of the regulation of musical life in Slovakia; which experienced the processes of open competition and free market (1918 – 39), followed by the destructive interventions of Fascistic and Nazi ideologies (1939 – 45), then a process of free market competition (1945 – 48), centralization (1948 – 89) and finally decentralization (1989).

These three central aspects are taken into account in various ways in current synthetic works and monographs. A short section by Igor Wasserberger in Jazzový slovník from 1965^² is the first study of the history of jazz in Slovakia. The author sees jazz as an independent genre with particular styles. He illustrates its development in Slovakia from World War II to the year 1965 when the publication Jazzový slovník came into existence. It is curious that Slovak jazzmen are ranked among the world`s big names. For example, if we take the letter “D”, along with the legendary American musicians such as Miles Davis, and Paul Desmond, we also find Slovak names such as Laco Déczi and Ivan Dominák. The same author, Igor Wasserberger^³, in the Encyklopédia jazzu a moderní populární hudby (First edition from 1980, second edition from 1983), divides the history of non-artificial music in Slovakia into two sections – “the history of Slovak pop music” and “the Slovak history of jazz” in accordance with the conception of the authors of the book. Rock genre is classified in the section about the development of pop music. Igor Wasserberger understands the history of Slovak non-artificial music as the history of jazz, pop and rock music. However, he does not consider it necessary to write about the development of rock music in more detail, regarding its actual development. He moves the beginnings of the history of Slovak jazz back to “the end of the thirties.” This is unlike a chapter of Jazzový slovník from 1965, in which he said that strict jazz tendencies in Slovakia began after 1953. He percieves the periodization rather pragmatically in decades – as the development in the fifties, sixties, seventies.

A chapter devoted to Slovak pop music and rock, entitled “K teórii populárnej hudby” [On the Theory of Pop Music], is found in Ladislav Burlas` monography^⁴ Hudobná teória a súčasnosť from 1978. The author searches for societal and socially significant aspects and confronts his musical-theorethical approach with a new genre area. He deals with rhythm, time, and the form genres of non-artificial music. Attention is paid to the fact that there is a big difference between “a lyric chanson song, a dance song, a musical song unit, and beat and rock music”^⁵ in Slovakia. The history of non-artificial music in Slovakia is pragmatically divided into decades – the fifties, the sixties etc. In 1978, as well as during the writings of the mentioned works, there was a short interval from the historical beginning of Slovak rock and other genres. A positive side of Burlas` view is that he wrote about the actual formations of the progressive rock Gattch and Collegium Musicum.^⁶ Another positive is that he went in search of the analytical approach to pop music, though it was not on behalf of the pop music in light of today`s axiological approach. Meanwhile, an essential work of analysis in this field was published in the collective volume Jazzforschung in Graz^⁷ by Lubomír Dorůžka in 1977. His approach, however, is much different.

In 1994, Igor Wasserberger published a study^⁸ on the beginnings of Slovak popular song. The period from 1920 to 1944 is treated as the first period in his periodization. It also appears in the title of his study. Concerning these findings and the confrontations in the research of authors such as Oskár Elschek, Ľubomír Chalupka,^⁹ and Juraj Lexmann, we consider it necessary to talk preferably about the period from 1918 – 1945.

Another compact work about pop music was written by František Turák and is a part of the synthetic work Dejiny slovenskej hudby from 1996, edit Oskár Elschek^¹⁰. In this paper, the authors approach the history of Slovak music with a new aspect of a genre and a stylistic multi-layer phenomenon for the first time. A genre-stylistic area of modern pop music in Slovakia is also a component part of the conception of history. In Elschek`s conception, however, the history of the twentieth century is a part of the entire development from the Middle ages to present times; proportionality of the particular chapters suits this assumption. Only one quarter of the total number, which is more than 550 pages of the synthetic history, is devoted to the twentieth century. It partially interferes with the chapter “Hudba v období romantizmu a národno-emancipačných snáh” [Music in the Period of Romanticism and National-Emancipatory Efforts].^¹¹ The section “Slovenská hudba 20. storočia” [Slovak Music of the Twentieth Century] consists of 150 pages.^¹² The twentieth century is divided into two sections: development through 1945, and after 1945. Therefore, the year 1945 is not only a political and historical milestone, but also a turning point after more than a 50- year period, after which a new factor logically comes. This milestone does not arise from the internal developmental marks of Slovak music, but it has rather of a cultural and social-political character. However, Turak`s short paper named “Moderná populárna hudba a jazz” [Modern Pop Music and Jazz]^¹³ focuses only the development of pop and rock music, other genres are mentioned just partially. Obviously, it is not possible to describe the development of the other genres of jazz, folk, country and western, and chanson in such a short article. František Turák had to choose the genres which were more important to him. When he talked about pop music and rock in Slovakia, like the previous authors, he described history in the decennial developmental periods in the fifties, sixties, and so on up to the eighties.

In Turak`s next monography^¹⁴ entitled Moderná populárna hudba a džez na Slovensku: vývojové tendencie a kritické reflexie from 2003, the development of Slovak non-artificial music is known in the multi-layer genres of pop music, jazz, rock, chanson, operette, and the musical. However, it is problematic to integrate an independent line of the world`s development in the context of the development of Slovak pop music as well as the usage of some terms such as cabaret, folk music or chanson. The question arisis of whether it is not one developmental line of the genre named as “the short theatre forms” of the past. Understanding the development in decennial periods, starting from the fifties of the twentieth century and so on, is found in periodization. Significant political milestones in Slovakia – e.g. the years 1968 or 1989 – are also a part of the developmental periods.

When documenting the organization of musical life in Slovakia in the cited papers, the authors mostly confine themselves to the statements about the existence or absence of the publisher, the agent activity, and regular concert life. Some theorists absolutely did not give their opinions on ideological interventions in the artistic activities of musicians since they treated them as tabooed. Other authors were often forced to do so directly by an editorial office or the interventions “of the regime” in regard to the circumstances of publishing. Many ideological components were related to the concrete situations in cultural policy of any certain period. In the following part of this paper, we express an opinion on the ideological questions and problems of organizing musical life, which greatly influenced the periodization of the history of Slovak pop music and jazz in the past.

The Actual Periodization of Slovak Pop Music

Critical opinions which stressed out the social requirements of national and original production were often heard in the freely developing musical market after 1918. It is because the contemporary German, Austrian, Hungarian, Czech, as well as English and American big hits were spread throughout Slovakia. The first period of authentic Slovak works had freely been developing since the beginning of the first Slovak popular song in 1934 until the second World War began. Events in the war caused the first discontinuity and artificial interventions in the natural assimilation of outside sources. The period between 1945 – 48 was a short continuation of a freely developing market. After 1948, ideological interventions caused the features of discontinuity to again appear in the development of non-artificial music in Slovakia. Constraints “by the regime” directed Slovak popular song away from Anglo-Saxon or American music^¹⁵. Music of the ideologically “friendly countries of the Eastern block” or the big hits dominating the western hit-parades of the European countries later in the sixties became an important starting point. Indications of the periodization appear more in partial works of particular theorists in the present tracing of the history of the genre-stylistic area of Slovak non-artificial music. In 1994, Igor Wasserberger published a study^¹⁶ about the beginnings of the Slovak popular song. He targets the period from 1920 to 1944. He provides an analytic and developmental view of contemporary pop music produced in the dulcimer Roma groups in paralell with the hit productions, folk music and operetta melodies. Besides the Roma groups, brass ensembles also performed at dances held in wide open spaces mostly in the country. They assumed the modern dances of these “Gypsy groups” into their repertoire. These new forms of entertainment in night clubs offering the revue programs came to bigger Slovak towns (Bratislava, Košice). The pianists who played contemporary dance repertoire to entertain the audiences were mainly invited. While the Gypsy groups and their fluctuation throughout Slovakia were well-known before the foundation of Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, the coffee pianists, who appeared in Bratislava as early as in 1915, were also performing.

The next type of music, through which contemporary hits were spread, is movie music. One of the first cinemas in Bratislava was built in 1905. In following years, cinemas were also built in other towns of Slovakia – Nové Zámky, Nitra, Banská Bystrica, Košice, Dobšiná, Gelnica, Levoča, Žilina, Lučenec, Trnava, Ružomberok, Trenčín, Zvolen, Prešov, Levice, Poprad, Rimavská Sobota, Rožňava, Liptovský Mikuláš.^¹⁷ Repertoire mostly came from Germany and Austria. Czech hits came well after. Juraj Lexmann, in his monography about Slovak movie music, moves the formation of a new type of music in Slovakia back to the beginning of the twentieth century in 1905. He points out that “the first cinema in Prague − Ponrepo − was opened as late as in 1907”^¹⁸, thus two years later than in Bratislava. The constitution of Czechoslovakia did not interfere with this process at all but it paved the way for the formation of a new type of urban culture. Therefore, we regard it relevant to determine the year 1918 – the foundation of Czechoslovakia – as the first significant cultural-political milestone for the formation of Slovak non-artificial music. Thus, Wasserberger`s periodization of Slovak pop music should be moved forward two years.

Slovak folk music was ready to assume many new elements if we consider its developmental aspect. According to Alica and Oskár Elscheks, the process of the propagation of a new harmonic song (a transition from the fifth-tonal musical culture to the harmonic musical imagination)^¹⁹ and a Neo-Hungarian song in Slovak folk music took place in the 1890s. As Elschek said, the Hungarian and Slovak middle class burghers regarded this new musical style as their national music and as an expression of national pride. Slovak nationalists were enchanted by the new harmonic song in Gypsy performance. Neo-Hungarian musical culture found its way to Slovakia mainly through Gypsy musicians, soldiers, servants in towns, and agricultural workers who went for summer work to South (Dolniaky).^²⁰ After the abovementioned facts, we may claim that Slovak folk music was able to assume new musical elements from the surrounding countries of Austrian – Hungarian provence; just as in the 1890s continuing until the foundation of Czechoslovakia.

The recording of the first Slovak tango Dita, by Alexander Aranyos (music) and Štefan Hoza (lyrics and vocal) in 1934 was another important milestone. The tango Nepovedz dievčatko nikomu by Dušan Pálka (music) and Štefan Hoza (lyrics and vocal) was recorded on the second side of the same disc. Since the song Nepovedz dievčatko nikomu had been written two years before, the question of historical primacy is controversial and is related to the means of spreading a then popular song. Dušan Pálka played this song (1932) in a group of his friends when it was performed for the first time by a violinist Dieši in the coffee house Reduta, and later was copied and performed by many salons and Roma bands. In the spring of 1933, it was recorded and ready to be published with Štefan Hoza`s vocals accompanied by the piano. The song Dita was originally published by the Czech, Mojmír Urbánek (Prague), in a musical edition of vocals accompanied by the piano (1932). Due to its success, it was recorded once again at Christmas of the same year. We do not know, however, why the publisher Ultraphon decided to realize a new version of the song Dita in a performance of the experienced and successful Czech orchestra the Melody Boys of R. A. Dvorský. The song Nepovedz dievčatko nikomu is sung by Štefan Hoza accompanied by the piano^²¹. Both tangos were published on the same disc in 1934, although on the label Dita was deemed “the first Slovak tango” (in Czech language). In retrospective shows, Aranyos acknowledged the primacy of Pálka and his tango Nepovedz dievčatko nikomu. Owing to the problem of historical primacy and the way of spreading a popular song, some authors already mention the year 1932 as the year of the beginning of the first Slovak popular song. However, we must incline to the historical datum of the appearance of this song on disc, and therefore present the year 1934.

This is how the foundations of the authentic Slovak song were laid. Its significance was underlined by the foundation of “Kruh autorov pesničiek a operiet” in Bratislava [The Circle of authors of songs and operettas], as a step towards the protection of the author`s rights (KAPO, in the Tatra Coffee House, 1937), as well as the foundation of the first publishing houses (the publishing house of Ján Stožický, Karol Závodský). The next periodization of the history of Slovak pop music is clearly influenced by the political course of events in Europe and in the wider world. After the foundation of the Slovak Republic, activities in entertainment enterprises were limited to 9:00 pm under the pressure of fascist ideology. KAPO was first renamed as “Slovenský kruh autorov pesničiek a operiet” [The Slovak Circle of authors of songs and operettas] (16/12/1938), but was dissolved on the second of April, 1943^²². The music of American, English, French and Soviet authors was forbidden in broadcasts. Czech musicians had to leave Slovakia after 1939. Only German music, traditional folk music, and artificial Slovak music was played. External nationalist intervention in the internal development of Slovak pop music only formally facilitated authentic works when the Slovak Republic was founded. A Slovak popular song was naturally created by the assimilation of the streams of particular dance forms from the neighbouring countries, by an occasional exchange and migration of the coffee musicians, engagements in night clubs and variety shows, through radio broadcastings, and the transformation of folk music in the process of cultural exchange. This ideological attack caused the first discontinuity of Slovak pop music.

The coming of the big band model of the swing orchestra, e.g. the first ensembles such as “Studio Jazz Ladislava Faixa” [The Jazz Studio of Ladislav Faix] (1939), “Orchester Vysokoškolského zväzu študentstva Jána Ondruša” [Orchestra of the University Union of Students led by Ján Ondruš] (later led by Ady Helman; 1940), was very important for the subsequent development of Slovak pop music. These ensembles endeavoured to professionalize the Slovak scene of pop music. According to the partial research of the particular researchers in their theses, it is clear that the first non-professional orchestras in Slovakia appeared in the early thirties.^²³

In the period 1946 – 47, Gustáv Brom formed an orchestra by choosing the best Slovak and Czech musicians in the Radio of Bratislava. The orchestra presented the highly performable and compositional qualities of jazz. Ladislav Šoltýs considers Gustáv Brom`s Orchestra and his performance in Bratislava as laying “foundations not only of the modern performance but also of the composition of the pop music.”^²⁴ However, he did not discern swing pop music from the swing model of jazz as a concert genre. The conflict between the ambitions of the musicians to produce concert music and the requirements of the audience to play dance music and create dance repertoire was also common in the world`s development of jazz. It was apparent in the repertoire of “Tanečný orchester bratislavských vysokoškolákov” [The Dance Orchestra of the Undergraduate Students in Bratislava] (1947 – 49). This orchestra was founded by the drumer Pavol Polanský, a promoter and a broadcasting moderator in 1947. He recorded a composition of progressive jazz – Concerto for a Doghouse by Stan Kenton in the radio “Československý rozhlas” in Bratislava. This might be considered a more distinct professional jazz expression. In the next period of time, orchestras approach pop songs influenced by swing (“Kolektív 50, 51, 52 – 58” of the conductors Ján Siváček, Síloš Pohánka, Jaroslav Laifer). The definite jazz expressions culminate in small combos: The Quintet of Juraj Henter (1954 – 56, although the Quintet of Juraj Henter was ensued from the orchestra “Kolektív 54” of Ján Siváček), The U5 of Karol Ondreička from 1954, The Quintet of Karol Ondreička (1956 − 57). Therefore the year 1954 is considered to be a notable milestone for the birth of modern jazz as a genre-stylistic area.^²⁵

The year 1955 is another important milestone for the further internal development of Sovak pop music. It is mentioned in Ladislav Šoltýs` serials “Polstoročie slovenskej populárnej hudby” [A half-Century of Slovak Pop Music] and “Piesne nášho storočia” [Songs of Our Century] in the journal Populár. In 1955, a Slovak popular song was established within the general reception of the public audience insomuch as that the domestic production exceeded a sale of the foreign hits and Czech popular songs. These were the songs such as Na dobrú noc bozk ti dám (beguin) and Vám o láske spievam (waltz) by Andrej Lieskovský, Zavri oči krásne (tango) by Teodor Šebo – Martinský, Nie som už sám (tango) by Zdeněk Cón – Viera Palátová, Ako vták letí v diaľ (slow fox) by Milan Novák – Viera Palátová, Marína (tango) by Gejza Dusík – Andrej Braxatoris. The new cover version (gramophonic renditions) of the songs Prečo sa máme rozísť by Dušan Pálka (1948) and Tak nekonečne krásna (1944) by Gejza Dusík were the fourth successful sales regarding gramophonic discs in the period 1949 – 58. The year 1955 represents the first retro-wave in Slovak pop music with the comeback of some ten-year old songs, as well as a stylistic tie with the first period of Slovak popular song as a reaction to the audience towards the ideologically preferred mass and revolutionary songs. Even after fifty years, we may point out that these songs represent a historically attested value because their reception is still alive. However, the historical breakthrough of the successful establishment of the Slovak popular song in 1955 occurred thanks to the internal development and professionalization of the Slovak music scene in light of performance. Orchestras copying the contemporary European sweet-music orchestras, European swing and American big bands were also formed in Slovakia. “Tanečný orchester bratislavského rozhlasu” [The Dance Orchestra of the Broadcast in Bratislava] (fifty members, 1954), The Orchestra of Ján Siváček, Jaroslav Laifer , and Gustáv Offermann^²⁶ were the keystones of the professionalization of dance music. This climax in Slovak pop music was proceeded by the development of aesthetic and receptive thinking of the songwriters in the late forties. Primarily the elder generation of the performers pursued the model of salon music proceeding from the tradition of European music of “waltzs and operettas”. Communist ideology preferred a model of mixing folk music with the new dance compositions, as documented by the second Congress of the Czechoslovak composers and musicologists [Zjazd československých skladateľov a hudobných vedcov] in May 1949 and the first meeting of The Slovak Composers Union [Zväz slovenských skladateľov] in Trečianske Teplice in June 1949.^²⁷ On the one hand, a traditional model of entertainment music proceeding from the traditions of the nineteenth century was ceased, on the other hand priority was given to the imported elements of new dance compositions–on the principles of linking with Slovak folk music. The ideology of the art and culture ordered by the regime underlined folk dance tradition as “the best manifestation of the new form aborning socialist enertainment.”^²⁸“The Victorious February in 1948” established new requirements of intelligibility, folksiness, greater communicativity, and optimism. Owing to this fact, the sense of the mass revolutionary song and the variety song was emphasized. It was an ideologically influenced song production, artificially preferred in light of contemporary politics. A new younger generation of songwriters (including Ján Siváček, Pavol Zelenay, Jaroslav Laifer, František Havlíček, Tomáš Seidman, Bohumil Trnečka, Ľudovít Štassel, Gejza Toperczer, Milan Novák) preferred the swing model of dance music with new modern engagements, instrumental sections of the big band, and the compositional techniques of swing, unlike the older generation supporting the traditional entertainment of salon music. However, the audience was not ready to accept this model of mixed new dance elements of jazz and rock, as is reflected in the wide popularity of tangoes and waltzes in 1955.

The musicians of Variety Show in the Tatra Coffee House indirectly continued the improvisational practices of movie music, the experiences of bar pianists, and the night club revue entertainment from the beginning of the century. These shows were known as the “Tatra revue shows” in the period between 1957 – 61. Besides dance music, other genres such as modern jazz, swing, traditional jazz, and chanson took place in Tatra^²⁹. The year 1957 represents the beginning of chanson as a genre in variety show programs in Tatra revue performed by the orchestra of Juraj Berczeller. Hana Hegerová is considered to be the first chanson singer.

In 1959, the First Congress of the Slovak Composers Union [I. zjazd Zväzu slovenských skladateľov] officially dealt with the problems of dance music and “the small musical forms”as “directed by the regime”. These musical forms represented “an important step towards large musical forms”. “According to the final results of The First Congress of the Slovak Composer Union, all institutions gradually took some measures which should have enhanced the quality of small musical forms. The broadcast emloyees most intensively endeavoured to do it. On the thirty-first of March, they held a seminar with the composers and performers. … They also tried to solve the problems related to the small musical forms although they were not the matter of broadcast. They dealt with the following problems: a need for training composition of dance music at The Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts [VŠMU] and at conservatory; keeping up the lyricists; proof-reading and approval of compositions; monitoring the repertoire of the musical ensembles in the entertainment enterprises; clarification of the modern and national features of the dance song; keeping up young singers in the dance song; affording facilities for increasing the quantity of professional ensembles specializing in the genres of the entertainment music etc.”^³⁰

In the mid-sixties, dance and entertainment music in broadcast production focused on folk music, dance song, and big beat. The same trend was also apparent in music of the non-professional village groups performing at dances. In 1963, we can prove existence of pop music, and jazz as genres, as well as the first indications of rock music, country and western music on the Slovak music scene. However, wide-spread popularity was gained only by rock and pop music. According to Šoltýs, big beat was wide-spread in 1966, however, “the beat features were mixed with a dance song of a swing type”^³¹ in the expression of many bands.It was evident in the song Lampy už dávno zhasli by Braňo Hronec, performed by Marcela Laiferová, Jana Beláková, and Elena Príbusová (1963)^³². In 1964, the Slovak Central Committee of the Young League [Slovenský ústredný výbor Zväzu mládeže] organized the all-Slovak parade of dance and jazz orchestras in Bratislava. The parade lasted for three days. “A big band from Žilina led by Ing. R. Mašlonka took first place in the chart, among the revival groups it was the Revival Jazz Band from Bratislava, and among the dance groups it was the band from The Factory Club of the Nickel Smeltery in Sereď. A special category consisted of the big-beat bands. Prúdy was the most popular band among them.”^³³

The beginning of Slovak rock is related to the formation of the hard rock bands “Prúdy” (1963) and “The Beatmen” in 1964. The first distinctive essays of popularized character about the history of Slovak rock were published in the journal Slovenská hudba in 1994. Marian Jaslovský and Iveta Pospíšilová – the authors of the papers based on authentic evidence according to interviews and contemporary critiques – presented the beginnings of Slovak rock – closely tied with the above mentioned bands. The existence of other rock groups in Slovakia can not be proven by evidence nor is it reflected anywhere. Other popular bands were “Jolana” (1963) and later “Players” (1966). In the early sixties, 38 “ambitious and relatively popular bands” in Bratislava, and more rock bands in other towns all over Slovakia, were already known.^³⁴ Both Marian Jaslovský and Iveta Pospíšilová had to confront the Czech pop scene. Pospíšilová says that a beat spree came to Bratislava two years after it had started in Prague^³⁵ because “at the time of the first public performances of Prúdy in Slovakia, Czech bands had already been very popular”. We assume that Pospíšilová refers to the more expressive reception of Slovak rock groups and this reception shows the non-sufficient organization in the Slovak musical environment more than the real interest of the audiences. “The Beatmen” had their performance in Prague in 1965. Later in Mladý svět, articles were published entitled Better than Olympic by Jiří Černý who considered them to be the best band which got ahead of the top band of Czech rock – Olympic of Petr Janda – in creativity.^³⁶ “The Beatmen” (Marián Bednár – bass guitar, Miroslav Bedrik – guitar, Dežo Ursiny – lead guitar, vocal, comp., Peter Petro – drums) was the first Slovak rock band with an agent and with their own manager, Peter Tuchscher. They had many performances. The band „Prúdy“ performed at students‘ events and was first recorded in the radio Československý rozhlas in Bratislava in the mid-sixties. In 1967, Marián Varga joined the band and they had their perfomance in the program “Večer pre dvoch” by Lasica and Satinský (1967). Other bands of rock beatlemania were “Soulmen” with Dežo Ursiny (1966), “New Soulmen”(1968 – 69), and “Provisorium”(1969). Dežo Ursiny wrote his texts in English until 1971 (it is said that the first texts were written by his mother). The band “Players” with Ľubomír Belák imitating the band “Shadows” was performing in 1966 – 68. At this time, they also made some radio recordings. Further popular and musically mature rock bands were “Prúdy” of Pavol Hammel, “Collegium musicum” of Marian Varga (1969), and later the band “Fermáta” (1972).

In this period of time the blues background was also established in Slovakia. It was represented by the “Blues Five” in 1967. Peter Lipa and his band “Blues Five” were awarded “The Discovery of the Festival” at the second Czechoslovak beat festival in Prague in 1968. Ján Litecký-Šveda gives more information about the beginnings of the blues in Slovakia in his monography Blues na Slovensku.^³⁷

The new episode of the variety tradition in the former Tatra Revue (1957 – 1961) was the theatre “Divadlo na Korze” in Bratislava. The comical couple Milan Lasica and Július Satinský had already performed in the Tatra Revue in their days as students. Music played an important part in their cabaret shows especially the political satire in the program “Večer pre dvoch” (Two men evening) at the theatre “Divadlo na Korze” in Bratislava (1967 – 71).^³⁸ Lyrics by Milan Lasica from that period may be found on the LP disc of Zora Kolínska Verše písané na vodu (Opus 1971). In consequence of the events following 1968 and the later consolidation of society, the couple had to stop their public performances. Though they did continue their performances in Moravia in the theatre “Večerní Brno” (1971 – 72). Jaro Filip, inspired by blues and folk, cooperated with them onward from 1978.

“Small theatre forms” – the genres of cabaret, chanson, and folk – were most often under the supervision of communist censure because they laid stress on lyrics. The ideological interventions were evident and they caused a discontinuity of continual development. After 1961, chanson singer Hana Hegerová left for Prague where she obtained a permanent engagement in the theatre “Semafor”. Other chanson singers associated with the small theatre forms appeared after Hana Hegerová. The singer and actor Zoro Laurinc (born in 1949) after his four-year career became the winner of the television competition named “Zlatá kamera” in the category of chanson in 1965. Next, singer and actress Emília Došeková (1937) together with jazz pianist Ladislav Gerhardt became popular on the music scene in 1969. However, both Zoro Laurinc and Emília Došeková were under ideological pressure as seen in their works. One might have found Russian ballads and romances (Zoro Laurinc) and political songs (Milka Došeková) in their repertoire.^³⁹ It was the beginning of mixing the categories of chanson with folk movements in Slovakia, in these developmental lines. The public, or the small circle of the audiences, reflected the existence of Slovak folk as “a protest song”, from the establishment of the song association named Slnovrat in the club “U Rolanda” in Bratislava in 1979. ^⁴⁰

Country and western music penetrated Slovakia in the fifties as a non-professional movement of its fans. According to the members of the monopolistic concert agency Slovkoncert (founded in 1969), there were not professional musicians of this genre who would be suitable for performances. Igor Wasserberger also held this view in 1980^⁴¹, although he wrote that the band “Jazdci” specialized in country and western music from 1969 onward. It is still uncertain whether it was a matter of lobbing or less transparency when searching for the talents in this genre. In regard to the monopolistic position of Czech Supraphon with the inflexible Slovak branch office in Bratislava (1946 – 70), the Czechoslovak radio in Bratislava substituted a competence of publishers in Slovakia. This is why many archival records are a part of the state broadcast and still have not been published on sound records as albums. The first professional products of country music appeared after 1989. According to secondary sources, this musical scene had already existed in 1961 but had not been documented in theoretical works^⁴². For example in December 1974, “A parade of the country and western bands” was held in Bratislava. As written in the contemporary press, this event was really appreciated and “laid the foundations of regular performances of the bands of this musical genre.”^⁴³ It was organized by the employees of “Záujmovo umelecká činnosť Obvodného kultúrneho a spoločenského strediska Bratislava III” [A Hobby-Creative Activity Group of the District Cultural and Social Centre in Bratislava III].

“Six bands were introduced at December concert: Dostavník, Teton, RákosníciKormorány, Folk, and W-klub. Their performances showed that they perceived country and western music as well as folk music as a broad spectrum of the songs of various characters, sometimes absolutely different from the confined musical genre. Rákosníci attracted the audience the most, they were also successful at Luna ’74 at which they won the author`s competition with the song Trieska. The band Folk got audience ovation especially with the smiling song Karol. Most bands were on a good non-professional level with the perspective of further growth. The event might be considered wonderful. However, it would be better if the bands outside Bratislava also participate.”

In the early sixties, Laco Šoltýs mentions “the mass movement of returning back to nature”, which expressed itself in the wave of western and tramp songs. As reported, only the songs Akordy na oheň(1963) and Táborák(1963) by Lánik were endeared among dozens of Slovak songs.^⁴⁴ This wave of western continued into the mid-sixties with the mainstream songs by Ján Melkovič – Tornádo nad Hornádom, Hučí voda, hučí, Po lese túla sa pieseň, by Ľudovít Štassel – Savana spí, Jimmy, and Smutná Anne.^⁴⁵ It is considered a reflection of the non-professional scene in the mainstream, not as the development of independent genre.

From 1959, the small theatre forms were supported at the congresses of Czechoslovak composers and Slovak composers, even at the meetings of the Central Committee of the Slovak Communist Party.^⁴⁶ All small musical forms were officially equalized according to party documents from 1962 onward. They belong to artistic genres, however entertainment music in Slovakia was reduced exclusively to dance music, as is documented above. Party officials interpreted the meaning of small musical forms as the songs of the pioneers, songs for the choirs and bands of Ľudová umelecká tvorivosť [Folk Artistic Creativity], mass songs, brass music, and the so-called “advanced pop music”. A model of the separated creative chain of composer, lyricist, performer – instrumentalists and singer star also existed alongside these “small forms”. Composing a song was more closely evaluated than the art of performing–according to the theoretical reflection and cultural policy. As late as the mid-seventies, theoretical papers (Fukač, Kotek, Poledňák)^⁴⁷ stratifying qualitative differences between artificial and non-artificial music came into existence. According to these papers, a performer is more important than the musical work in this genre-stylistic area.

The era of the separated creative process of composer-lyricist-performer-singer definitely ended in 1977 when the band “Modus” came up with the song Úsmev (music by Ján Lehotský, lyrics by Kamil Peteraj) and was the winner of Bratislavská lýra. The musicians of this band were simultaneously the authors of the music and performers as well. The government held the right to censor the lyrics through established committees; and approve, and check the repertoire of the bands until 1989. A gulf between governmental ideology presented by the media and official institutions on the one hand, and songwriters, the true audience demands and their receptive reactions on the other hand, grew constantly deeper and deeper, as found in the following material. The variety Soviet ensemble with the important instrument balalaika was given as an example model for Slovak pop music by the journal Populár in 1975. “The Soviet composer Viktor Kuprevič got the idea of using traditional Russian instruments such as balalaika, dombra, and bajan in modern pop music. He formed the band named Balalaika which played these instruments when performing a contemporary popular song.”^⁴⁸ This text comes from the East German journal Melodie und Rhythmus from the German Democratic Republic and was equivalent to the Czech journal Melodie [Melody] and Slovak Populár [Popular]. It can be said that on one hand, there was an official ideology which isolated the communist countries and artificially created ideas, opinions, and public opinion as well. On the other hand, there were some officially popular artists who tried to make progress according to their point of view and their opportunities to get abroad. And finally, there was a reactionary scene of underground alternative genres (Ivan Hoffman) which became one of the sources of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

The conflict between practice and ideology got bigger in the eighties. Real problems of the pop scene in Slovakia were concealed owing to the ideological reasons and the interests of lobbying groups as well. These maintained their positions in the state institutions (the state radio, television, the music publisher Opus, the artistic agency Slovkoncert). Their monopolistic position coupled with a simple working mechanism of greedy “mutual assistance”, which broke out to corrupt relationships and unclear organization in other parts of Slovakia, corresponded with their needs. These problems were not mentioned, they were disguised by demagogics transfering to different areas, e.g. neverending polemics and the pseudo-problems of the lyrics. They were blamed for superficiality, their topics, content, style, insufficient artistic character, and a deficiency of elementary poetic requirements such as ”composition, rhyme, rhythm, methaforical system”.^⁴⁹ Many theoretical papers relating to this topic appeared in several journals and newspapers such as Pravda, Ľud, Večerník, Nedeľa, Romboid, and Populár in the eighties.^⁵⁰ Moreover, the topic became the subject of the speech of the prime minister of the Slovak Republic: Peter Colotka^⁵¹. When evaluating lyrics, the ideologically problematic parts of the lyrics were emphasized. “In the lyrics by Lanny Jánoš, we face the ideologically problematic elements. In the lyrics of ´Zabalím fľašu slivovice´ (I pack the bottle of whisky), the author describes false illusions about the world, chiefly about the capitalist world, about the way a charismatic man easily becomes successful.”^⁵² The next area of demagogic disguise of the real problems of the organization of musical life and the deficient functioning of the market mechanism is found in the area of musical critique. It is mentioned that musical critique is bad, non-constructive, and non-professional. Gorbachev`s “perestroika” and “glasnost” in the sense of listening to the voice of the public did not help either. Thus, the communist system internally destroyed itself and the artists of the minor genres of jazz, alternative rock (punk rock), folk, and blues. All of this contributed to its disintegration.

After 1989, Slovakia was ready to accept the world`s trends in pop music and mainly the global music market which fairly endangered the existence of authentic Slovak works. Two festivals with international response were organized – the country and western festival “Dobrofest” in Trnava (1992) and the international festival of rock, folk, and pop music “Pohoda” in Trenčín (1997). This period ends in 1997 when plenty of domestic festivals of local significance appeared and regional culture became much more important. However, the new competition of commercial media against organized concerts showed up and limited the development of Slovak pop music. At the beginning, it started with the awards given through television or radio, awards like “Zlatý slávik” which were based on the votes of the audiences starting in 1996. From 2002 it was “Aurel” – awards of the critics, then charity events recorded by the television and radio, or awards of “OTO – Osobnosť televíznej obrazovky” (a celebrity of telescreen). After 2005, some reality shows also took place in the media (Super Star, Big Brother, Let`s Dance). Unfortunately, these programs brought into an already consumer based manner of life a superficiality of style and an inability to understand deeper musical values. Most of the ideals of the Velvet Revolution such as freedom and a better quality of life turned to the striving for profit. For many people a better quality of life means luxurious lifestyles. Seeking internal ideas, ideals of humanism, and deeper musical values became a part of the minor genres, much like before the Velvet Revolution. The genres of jazz, folk, and alternative rock did not attract a large number of audiences, they rather moved to the fringes of the common interest of society.

A Draft of Periodization

Our periodization springs out of the existence of a main stream of pop music in which particular genres are integrated according to their origination and internal development.

A draft of the periodization (summary):

from the 1890s to 1918: a general propagation of the new harmonic song (a transition from the fifth-tonal musical culture to the harmonic musical imagination) and a Neo-Hungarian song; salon music – polkas, mazurkas, and quadrilles^⁵³;
1918 – 1934: the formation of the entertainment culture of the urban type; reception of the imported modern dance genres (shimmy, two-step, Charleston, Rumba, English waltz); foreign hits; the influence of movie music; salon music of the nineteenth century (operetta, waltz, popular pieces by European masters) are mixed with the new genre-stylistic area of the Anglo-American provenance;
1934 – 1939: in 1934 − the beginning of the first authentic Slovak popular song Nepovedz dievčatko nikomu (Dušan Pálka and Štefan Hoza), Dita (tango, Alexander Aranyos – Štefan Hoza); the beginning of new authentic Slovak dances – tango, waltz, foxtrot, from which the hybrid genres ensued at the dividing line between folk songs, waltzes, polkas, and fox by mixing with the elements of urban folklore; these genres are introduced at the etiquettes SP as cheerful fox, Slovak folk fox, czardas foxtrot, and fox-polka;
1939 – 1945: repressive interventions in the development of music and constraints due to war time events, and directives and restrictions towards the national minorities;^⁵⁴ Jews could not be the editors according to the “Decree of the government defining the term Jew and regulating the number of the Jews in some freelance occupations from April, 18 in 1939” [“Vládne nariadenia zo dňa 18. 4. 1939 o vymedzení pojmu Žid a usmernení počtu židov v niektorých slobodných povolaniach”]^⁵⁵; Czech musicians were forced to leave the country; restrictions of the broadcasting of foreign songs on the radio of Bratislava (mostly the songs of the enemy countries, meaning American and British songs as well); a ban on conducting night club business after 9:00 pm; these factors led to the first indications of discontinuity;
1945 − 48: the development of dance music continues in a short, three-year democratic period as it was before World War Two; the features of the big-band swing markedly appear;
1948 – 1955: in 1948 − centralization of musical life came along with the abolition of all business activities in the cooperatives and small publishing houses; in 1955 – general reception of Slovak popular music came through the songs Marína (tango, Gejza Dusík – Andrej Braxatoris, Prečo sa máme rozísť (Dušan Pálka), Tak nekonečne krásna (Gejza Dusík – Andrej Braxatoris);
1954: the beginning of modern jazz as a genre-stylistic area (The Quintet of Juraj Henter, 1954 – 56, U5 – the band of Karol Ondreička, 1954; The Quintet of Karol Ondreička 1956 – 57) began and continued^⁵⁶;
1957: The Tatra Revue Orchestra of Juraj Berczeller; the beginning of chanson as a genre within variety programs; Hana Hegerová was the first chanson singer;
1955 – 1966: a process starting with the ideological mass revolutionary song, through the swing model of popular song to the beginning of festivals, international festivals of popular song named “Bratislavská lýra” from 1966;
1966 – 1977: formation of the author`s background on the new generation of lyricists and composers; in 1974 – the new members of the band “Modus” and their triumph at Bratislavská lýra 1977 with the song Úsmev (music by Ján Lehotský, lyrics by Kamil Peteraj) pointed out that the audience was ready to accept a new type of pop music; the end of the the era of “Tin Pan Alley” – separation of composer, lyricist, performer, and singer, when the author of the music and the performer is the same person;
1963: the beginning of Slovak rock - the band “Prúdy” (of Pavol Hammel), in 1964 the band “The Beatmen” (of Dežo Ursiny); country and western music penetrates pop music culture; in 1965 – the first recording of the Slovak rock by the band The Beatmen: Break It/Lets’ Make a Summer, SP Supraphon, Supraphon – Artia (for foreign countries)^⁵⁷;
1967: the first Czechoslovak beat festival in Lucerna, Prague in December 1967 where Dežo Ursiny had his performance with the band Soulmen; they won the main award of the festival along with the opportunity to record an EP disc for the publisher Panton (Prague) and the prize for the best songs composed by them;
1967: formation of the first blues band “Blues Five” (Peter Lipa is a co-founder), the beginnings of blues in Slovakia;
1967: a program by Milan Lasica and Július Satinský: “Večer pre dvoch” in the Divadlo na Korze theatre in Bratislava (1967 – 71), the performers are: the band Prúdy with Marian Varga (1967), Zora Kolínska, and Peter Smékal;
1975: festival “Bratislavské jazzové dni” (The Bratislava Jazz Days); festival for highly specialized listeners with the distinctive aristic taste of a “demanding” listener;
1977 – 89: the beginning of musical bands which were influenced by rock, disco sound, jazz rock, which understood their production as a creative workshop for composing a song and its performance; composer and performer blend together; a new singer star with “aura” and popularity, as perceived by Western society, becomes an idol, a sex-symbol for teenagers; after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 – a democratic environment for the new organization of musical life was created; a transition from centralization to decentralization;
1979: the official birth of the folk genre; foundation of the Slovak folk movement “Slnovrat” which gathered together various singers of protest songs with the guitar;
1989: professionalization of the Slovak country and western music scene through management; as well as professionalization and legalization of the gospel music scene
1989 – 1997: Slovak bands penetrate foreign countries; an immense fascination with the foreign music scene; Americanization of the culture starts after many years of a deficit of information; many local, domestic and international festivals appear; private agencies and publishers are established; a competitive environment is created; after 1997 the taste of the listener is deformed by the mass media;
1992: the beginning of the international country and western festival “Dobrofest” in Trnava
1997: the international festival of rock, folk, and pop music “Pohoda” starts in Trenčín
1997: the beginning of Slovak electronic dance music (rap, house music, hip hop, drum and bass)
1997: attention of the audiences – consumers is transferred from the concert activities to the commercial media of radio and television

A Concluding Evaluation of Progressiveness

The questions of isolation and underdevelopment of Slovak pop music behind the world`s trends, as mentioned by Igor Wasserberger, Ladislav Šoltýs, and Július Kinček in their first works, were reasonable in the Slovak music scene only in the beginning of the twentieth century when the delayed industrialization of Slovakia caused an extended existence of folk music as the dance and entertainment genres. The natural assimilation of a new type of dance music “from the outside” was interrupted by the fascist and nationalistic cultural-political ideology in its first phase. After 1948, discontinuity was caused by the ideological interventions of the Communist dictatorship when forming socialist realism, and later in the period of consolidation after 1969. The biggest mistakes of the contemporary ideology of communism penetrated the mainstream where the sequence to a certain model suitable for assimilation in the Slovak environment was sought for a long time – a Soviet variety in the fifties, Italian popular songs at the festivals in San Remo in the late fifties, hits of the French chanson in the early sixties, modern contemporary dances, e.g. (lektiss) letkiss^⁵⁸ of a Finnish origin, a Greek politically engaged song^⁵⁹ in 1962, Austrian production of Udo Jürgens in the sixties, etc.

Rock and roll first appeared in Slovakia as a part of the dance production within the swing model of pop music in the early sixties. Moreover, the features of a trendy wave of twist were also apparent in the early sixties. When dealing with the beginnings of modern jazz in 1954 (“The Quintet of Juraj Henter”, “U2” of Karol Ondreička), we cannot talk about underdevelopment if we take into consideration the beginning of the modern jazz in the USA is tied with the beginnings of bepop as late as in 1942. If it is regarded that “The Quintet of Juraj Henter” brought cool jazz to Slovakia and the band of Karol Ondreička (later in 1956 The Quintet of Karol Ondreička) brought west coast jazz, it was almost in line with the beginnings of these genres in the world. The problem was in the reception of the audience which was probably not ready to accept these genres and remained minor. The position of jazz was similar in the world as well.

Slovak rock music was probably widely accepted by the youth in 1965. Regarding the year 1954 as the official beginning of Rock and Roll, and the first expressive accomplishments of the English band “The Beatles” were experienced in 1962 – 63, then the year 1965 does not represent a historical deficit in connection with world development. On the contrary, records of “The Beatles” were played on the Slovak radio in Bratislava regularly from December 1964 and their success started with the hit A Hard Day`s Night.^⁶⁰

The Blues music scene was problematic. Professional qualified personalities appeared as late as in the second half of the sixties (foundation of the blues band “Blues Five”). The authentic forms of blues and a wave of revivalism got into jazz and rock only through the British rock music scene. The insufficiently developed environment of the musical industry and later ideological interventions were reflected in so called small theatre forms in which the lyrics, social critique or political satire played an important part. In 1961, the first singer celebrity of Slovak chanson left for Prague (Hana Hegerová), other singers joined the mainstream (Zora Kolínska after 1971) or an engaged political song in light of the contemporary cultural policy after the “Prague Spring” [Pražská jar] in 1968 (Milka Došeková, Zoro Laurinc).

Musical amateurism and insufficient professional qualities were reportedly long apparent in country and western music. This was why the first records of the country singers were issued as late as 1989 and after. The beginnings of this genre were projected to the mainstream in 1963. However, according to secondary sources the tramp movement existed in Slovakia in the fifties and came to Slovakia chiefly from the Czech state. Regarding the insufficient research in this field, it is not possible to set a year important for the development of the country and western genre in Slovakia.

We may clearly say that the problem of jazz and rock was generally well-known because these genres were of Western character, regarding their presentation and the usage of musical and extra-musical means. Jazz as an artistic form emphasizes the freedom of improvisation, rock tends to express tension and aggressivity. The government perceived jazz, folk, country, and blues as minor genres but did not intervene in their development, only in the case of direct conflicts, which went without government support. The music of these genres was neither recorded nor performed on television.

Ideological influences were expressed mainly in dance productions, the mainstream, the hit productions in which the interventions were reflected as a preference of non-topical trends in the world. The audiences, “the people”, so often emphasized in the governmental documents and orders, refused mass songs. Revolutionary, youth, and pioneer songs were disguised by the preference of folk music. Folk music, salon music, and dances popular in the first half of the twentieth century – polka, waltz, czardas, tango etc. – are played at the dances of a rural character even today. However, an attitude to the preference of the folk song in dance music in Slovakia from 1934 to 1955 has to be re-evaluated under the influence of the modern trend in today`s world music.

The post-modern techniques of parody and irony were ideal for expressing the paradoxical situation in which the pop music in Slovakia was situated. On the one hand in management, it was an orientation toward the music of socialistic and befriended countries, on the other hand regarding progress, the dominance of those genres whose birthplace was the USA and Great Britain–enemy countries, according to the ideology of the Cold War. In a historical view, the experiment of František Tugendlieb in his free jazz parodic conception of youth songs “musica iugens” in 1954 was unique. However, a real era of parody started in 1982 in the bands “Demikát”, “300 HR”, “Maťkovia” – Martin Burlas, Robo Grigorov, “Ventil RG”, and “Vidiek”. The essence of jazz and rock issued from the freedom of thought, creativity, and the opportunity to express one`s own opinion even at the price of the error. When jazz and rock came into the system of a controlled police-state where everyone was allowed to think only what was officially proclaimed following the dictatorship of the proletariat, atheism, and politics of the Cold War against imperialism; ideology represented the basic conflict in internal development of Slovak jazz, rock and other genres as well. Ideology became the primary barrier for accepting the typical features of new music.^⁶¹

1 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), nos. 1 – 5, pp. 15 – 18, vol. 7 (1975), nos. 6 – 12, pp. 18 – 21, vol. 8 (1976), nos. 1 – 3, pp. 34 – 36; Ladislav Šoltýs, Hudobné križovatky – Polstoročie so slovenskou populárnou piesňou [Musical Crossroads – A Half-Century with the Slovak Pop Song], in: Populár, vol. 15 (1983), nos. 1 – 12, pp. 22 – 23, vol. 16 (1984), no. 1, pp. 22 – 23; Igor Wasserberger, 30 rokov slovenskej populárnej hudby [Thirty Years of Slovak Pop Music], in: Hudobný život, vol. 7 (1975), nos. 10 – 15, p. 5; Igor Wasserberger, Slovenský džez [Slovak Jazz], in: Populár, vol. 13 (1981), nos. 3 – 8; Igor Wasserberger, Desať rokov slovenského jazzu [Ten Years of Slovak Jazz], in: Melodie, vol. 3 (1965), no. 8, p. 9; Július Kinček, Kapitolky z teórie modernej populárnej hudby 1 − 12. [Chapters on the Theory of Modern Pop Music 1 − 12.], in: Populár, vol. 14 (1982), nos. 1 – 12, pp. 22 – 23.

2 Igor Wasserberger, Jazzový slovník [The Jazz Dictionary], ŠHV, Bratislava − Praha 1965, a dictionary entry História – E/Slovensko [History − E/Slovakia], pp. 279 – 281, the next entries of personalities are Gustáv Brom, Helena Blehárová, Igor Čelko, Laco Déczi, Ivan Dominák, Ladislav Gerhardt, Juraj Henter, Ivan Horváth, Branislav Hronec, Zuzana Lonská, Karol Ondreička, Síloš Pohanka, Pavol Polanský, Gustáv Riška, Ján Siváček. Jazzový slovník [The Jazz Dictionary] contains a personal and a subjective part.

3 Antonín Matzner, Ivan Poledňák, Igor Wasserberger et al., Encyklopedie jazzu a moderní populární hudby [Encyclopedia of Jazz and Modern Pop Music], Supraphon, Praha 1980, 1983, the entries Jazz V. – dějiny, Slovensko [Jazz V. – history, Slovakia], pp. 188 – 190, (I. Wasserberger is the author of the entry.), the entry Moderní populární hudba V. – dějiny, Slovensko [Modern Pop Music V – history, Slovakia], pp. 277 – 281 (Igor Wasserberger is the author of the entry.).

4 Ladislav Burlas, Hudobná teória a súčasnosť [Musicology and Present Times], Tatran, Bratislava 1978, pp. 160 – 181.

5 Ibidem, p. 174.

6 “Our bands Gattch and Collegium Musicum also belong to the bands with the moderate expression.” Ibidem, p. 175.

7 Lubomír Dorůžka, Anmerkungen zur musikalischen Analyse von Jazz und Rock, in: Jazzforschung, vol. 7 (1977), no. 8, Graz, pp. 67 – 82.

8 Igor Wasserberger, Vývoj slovenskej populárnej hudby v rokoch 1920 −1944 [Development of Slovak Pop Music in 1920 – 1944], in: Slovenská hudba, vol. 20 (1994), no. 2, pp. 203 – 216.

9 Ľubomír Chalupka, Hudba 20. storočia – Vývoj po roku 1945 [Music of the Twentieth Century – Development after 1945], in: Dejiny slovenskej hudby [A History of Slovak Music] (ed. Oskár Elschek), ASCO, Bratislava 1996, pp. 274 − 341; English edition A History of Slovak Music, (ed. Oskár Elschek), ASCO, Bratislava 2003, pp. 315 − 398; Ľubomír Chalupka, Fenomén recepcie ako súčasť vývoja slovenskej hudobnej kultúry [The Phenomenon of Reception as a Part of the Development of Slovak Musical Culture], in: Recepcia súčasnej európskej hudobnej tvorby v slovenskej hudobnej kultúre 1. polovice 20. storočia [Reception of the Present European Musical Production in Slovak Musical Culture of the First Half of the Twentieth Century], (ed. Ľubomír Chalupka), Stimul, Bratislava 2003, pp. 9 − 27.

10 František Turák, Moderná populárna hudba a jazz [Modern Pop Music and Jazz], in: Dejiny slovenskej hudby [History of Slovak Music], (ed. Oskár Elschek), Ústav hudobnej vedy SAV, Asco Art and Science, Bratislava 1996.

11 Dejiny slovenskej hudby [History of Slovak Music], (ed. Oskár Elschek), Asco, Art and Science, Bratislava 1996, pp. 195 − 258.

12 Ibidem, pp. 259 – 393.

13 Ibidem, pp. 342 – 359.

14 František Turák, Moderná populárna hudba a džez na Slovensku: vývojové tendencie a kritické reflexie [Modern Pop Music and Jazz in Slovakia: Developmental Tendencies and Critical Reflections], Univerzita Mateja Bela, Banská Bystrica 2003.

15 The following contemporary document shows evidence of a conflict between two different political-economic systems. The speech of the president of the USA, John Kennedy, was quoted by Šoltýs in the journal Populár. It was published in the Slovak contemporary press. “The president of the USA, John Kennedy, made his speech at American university on June 10, 1963: The total war is senseless in the age when a single hydrogen bomb represents tenfold greater juggernaut than the whole allied Air Force during World War II. …it is necessary to investigate relation to the very essence of the question of peace as well as our relationship with the Soviet Union. …Contrary to the fact that we do not associate ourselves with the Communist ideology we may still congratulate the Russian nation on its great achievements in sciences and cosmos, economy and industrial development, as well as in culture.” Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 9, p. 20.

16 Igor Wasserberger, Vývoj slovenskej populárnej hudby… (footnote 8), pp. 203 – 216.

17 Juraj Lexmann, Slovenská filmová hudba 1896 – 1996 [Slovak Movie Music 1896 – 1996], Asco Art and Science, Bratislava 1996, p. 14.

18 Ibidem.

19 Alica Elscheková – Oskár Elschek, Úvod do štúdia slovenskej ľudovej hudby [Introduction to the Study of Slovak Folk Music], Národné osvetové centrum, Bratislava 1996, p. 102.

20 Ibidem, p. 109.

21 LP Antológia slovenskej populárnej hudby [LP Anthology of Slovak Popular Music], Opus, Bratislava 1991; CD Antológia slovenskej populárnej hudby, “ešte raz ku tebe prídem…” [CD Anthology of Slovak Popular Music, “I will visit You once more...”], 501 833 2, Gibon s.r.o. Bratislava 2000, a dramaturgist Pavol Zelenay, remastering Alexander Soldán.

22 Ladislav Šoltýs, Polstoročie slovenskej populárnej hudby. Hudobné križovatky, časť 9 [A Half-Century of Slovak Pop Music. Musical Crossroads, Part 9], in: Populár, vol. 15 (1983), no. 9, p. 23.

23 Juraj Ruttkay, Metamorfózy hudobnej kultúry vo Vrútkach [Metamorphoses of Musical Culture in Vrútky], [Dissertation thesis], Ostrava 2006; Ema Kurajdová, Koncertný život Bratislavy v rokoch 1918 – 1938 [The Concert Life of Bratislava in 1918 – 1938], [Dissertation thesis], Bratislava 2005.

24 Ladislav Šoltýs, Polstoročie slovenskej populárnej hudby. Hudobné križovatky, časť 12. [A Half-Century of Slovak Pop Music. Musical Crossroads, Part 12.], in: Populár, vol. 15 (1983), no. 12, p. 22.

25 Yvetta Kajanová, Slovník slovenského jazzu [Dictionary of Slovak Jazz], Hudobné centrum, Bratislava 1999, p. 8. The U5 of Karol Ondreička was popular only in university circles in 1954. The Quintet of Juraj Henter gained wider popularity.

26 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 1, p. 17.

27 “Elder composers preferred lyrical motives with a dominating melody based on national background and with a traditional rhythmic background. The next group of the composers, mostly younger composers, considered it necessary to continue the folk dance tradition along with the emphasis on the expression of a new form of the aborning socialist entertainment.” Ladislav Šoltýs, Polstoročie slovenskej populárnej hudby. Hudobné križovatky, časť 12 [A Half-Century of Slovak Pop Music. Musical Crossroads, Part 12], in: Populár, vol. 15 (1983), no. 12, p. 22.

28 Ibidem.

29 Igor Wasserberger, 30 rokov slovenskej populárnej hudby [Thirty Years of Slovak Pop Music] , in: Hudobný život [Musical Life], vol. 7 (1975), no.13, p. 5.

30 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 6, p. 18.

31 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 8 (1976), no. 2, p. 38. “Big beat” was the special term for rock and was used mainly in Central Europe.

32 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. VII (1975), no. 10, p. 23.

33 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár vol. VII (1975), no. 11, p. 22.

34 Vladimír Brožík − František Hora, Beatová horúčka 1965 – 70 [A Beat Spree 1965 – 70], (accompanying text on the LP) Opus 1989.

35 Iveta Pospíšilová, Skupina Prúdy – jej miesto v kontexte slovenskej populárnej hudby a jej prínos [The Band Prúdy –Its Place and Contribution in the Context of Slovak Pop Music], in: Slovenská hudba, vol. 20 (1994), no. 2, pp. 247 – 257.

36 Marian Jaslovský, Dežo Ursiny a jeho výstupy na Modrý vrch [Dežo Ursiny and his Climb up the Blue Hill], in: Slovenská hudba, vol. 20 (1994), no. 2, pp. 217 − 226. Jiří Černý, Lepší než Olympic [Better than Olympic], in: Mladý svět, vol. 7 (May 1965), no. 18, p. 30; http://www.popmuseum.cz/projects/projects.php?q=tvb0000&l=cz#content.

37 Ján Litecký- Šveda et al., Blues na Slovensku [Blues in Slovakia], Hudobné centrum, Bratislava 2003.

38Ľubomír Gregor, Astorka: divadlo, ktoré nikto nechcel [Astorka, The Theatre Nobody Wanted], List, Bratislava 2000.

39 Anastasia Mitrofanova: Resistance Songs: The Subculture of Russian Extreme Nationalism, ICCEES – Regional European Congress, Berlin 2. – 4. August 2007. (http://www.iccees-europe.de/) The Communist regime preferred the singing of loyal “political songs” to the protest songs of the dissidents. They tried to change the resistance songs for their own benefit.

40 Miloš Janoušek − Hana Daubnerová − Juraj Drobný et al., Folk na Slovensku [Folk in Slovakia], Hudobné centrum, Bratislava 2007.

41 Antonín Matzner − Ivan Poledňák − Igor Wasserberger et al., Encyklopedie jazzu a moderní populární hudby [Encyclopedia of Jazz and Modern Pop Music], Supraphon, Praha 1980, 1983, the entry word Moderní populární hudba V. – dějiny, Slovensko [Modern Pop Music V – history, Slovakia], pp. 277 − 281 (written by Igor Wasserberger).

42 It was already mentioned by Jozef Kresánek although he did not name particular personalities and bands. Jozef Kresánek, Sociálna funkcia hudby [The Social Function of Music], Bratislava 1961.

43 (vm): Country and western. in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 2, p. 19.

44 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 10, p. 23.

45 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 8 (1976), no. 1, p. 35.

46 “Dokument Predsedníctva Ústredného výboru Komunistickej strany Slovenska o malých hudobných formách z roku 1962.” [Document of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia about small musical forms, 1962.]

47 Josef Kotek – Ivan Poledňák, Teorie a dějiny tzv. bytové hudby jako samostatná muzikologická disciplina [Theory and History of “Room Music” as an Individual Musicological Discipline], in: Hudební věda, vol. 11 (1974), no. 4, pp. 335 – 355; Jiří Fukač – Ivan Poledňák, K typologickým polarizacím hudby, zejména polarizaci hudby artificiální a nonartificiální [Typological Polarizations of Music, especially the Polarization of Artificial and Non-Artificial Music], in: Hudební věda, vol. 14 (1977), no.4, pp. 316 − 335.

48 Melodie und Rhythmus A. K. in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 10, p. 23.

49 Braňo Hochel, Poetologické problémy textov populárnej piesne [The Poetic Problems of Lyrics in Popular Song], in: Problémy súčasnej slovenskej populárnej piesne [Problems of the Current Slovak Popular Song], Ústav umeleckej kritiky a divadelnej dokumentácie, Bratislava 1985, p. 61. (Other authors of the lyrics include: Pavol Števček, Pavol Plutko, Ján Zambor, Peter Zajac, Igor Wasserberger, Július Kinček, Braňo Hochel, Ján Štrasser, Ladislav Šimon).

50 Ladislav Burlas, Spoločenský význam populárnej hudby [A Social Sense of Pop Music], in: Pravda, 11. 9. 1982, p. 10; Ladislav Snopko − Daniel Mikletič, K poslaniu populárnej hudby, anketa [The Mission of Pop Music, Inquiry], in: Ľud, 7. 3. 1985, p. 3; Július Kinček, Problémy populárnej hudby [Problems of Pop Music], in: Nedeľa, 7. 3. 1985, other documents: Peter Brhlovič, K problémom textu a hudby v politickej piesni [Problems of Lyrics and Music in Political Song], in: Zborník prác zo VII. Seminára mladých muzikológov a kritikov [A Collection of the Works of the Seventh Seminary of Young Musicologists and Critics], Zväz slovenských skladateľov, Bratislava 1978; Peter Brhlovič, O textech ve slovenské populární hudbě [Lyrics in Slovak Pop Music], in: Melodie, vol. 18 (1980), no. 7, p. 193, no. 8, p. 225; Daniela Kovářová, Tentoraz o kritike [This Time about Critique], in: Populár, vol. 13 (1981), no. 8, p. 6; Poznatky Petra Brhloviča [The Findings of Peter Brhlovič], in: Populár, vol. 4 (1972), no. 12, p. 7; Elena Ťapajová, Slovo o slove [A Word about Word], in: Populár, vol. 10 (1978), no. 3, p. 12.

51 In: Populár, vol. 14 (1982), no. 7, p.22.

52 Pavol Števček − Pavol Plutko − Ján Zambor, Analýza textov slovenskej populárnej hudby [Analysis of the Lyrics of Slovak Pop Music], in: Problémy súčasnej slovenskej populárnej piesne [Problems of the Contemporary Slovak Pop Song], Ústav umeleckej kritiky a divadelnej dokumentácie, Bratislava 1985, p. 26.

53 Alena Kručayová, Klavírna tvorba predstaviteľov slovenskej hudobnej kultúry v 19. a na začiatku 20. storočia [The Piano Works of the Personalities of Slovak Musical Culture in the Nineteenth Century and at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century], in: Hudobný život na Slovensku. Kontinuita či diskontinuita? [Musical Life in Slovakia. Continuity or Discontinuity?], Katedra hudby FPŽU, Žilina 2007, pp. 85 − 93.

54 http://www.upn.gov.sk

55 http://www.upn.gov.sk It was one of the first “Jewish Acts” adopted from 1939 to May 1942 in the Slovak Republic. Limitations on the number of Jews were related to the occupations in “advocacy”, “notary`s office”, and “editor`s”. “A Jew can be an editor only of a Jewish magazine which is expressly labelled as Jewish and it follows interests of the Jewish confession and Jewish culture.” in: Slovenský zákonník [Slovak Code of Law], Part 14, issued on April, 20 in 1939, volume 1939. §4 of the act from March, 14 in 1939, no. 1, about independent Slovak state. §10 was related to the profession of an editor`s office.

56 Yvetta Kajanová, Slovník slovenského jazzu [Dictionary of Slovak Jazz], Hudobné centrum, Bratislava 1999, p. 8. The U5 of Karol Ondreička was popular only in university circles in 1954. The Quintet of Juraj Henter gained wider popularity.

57 Miroslav Balák – Josef Kytnar, Československý rock na gramofonových deskách, Rocková diskografie 1960 – 1997 [Czechoslovak Rock on Gramophonic Discs. Rock Discography 1960 – 1997], Indies Rec., Brno 1998, p. B-44. pzo Artia (company of foreign trade) was a company providing export of the discs abroad. It had separated from Supraphon in the sixties.

58 Music and lyrics by Zdeněk Cón “Dáš mi šatôčku cez oči”, vocals Zdeněk Kratochvíl, Zuzka Lonská, 1964. Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 8 (1976), no. 1, p. 36.

59 The song Strose de stroma by Mikis Theodorakis in 1962, English translation Below Acropolis. Mikis Theodorakis was the chairman of the organization of democratic youth of Greece and a member of parliament representing the party of the democratic left EDA. “Several of his songs became an important part of a national process in a fight against the Greek military junta.” Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 9, p. 19.

60 Ladislav Šoltýs, Piesne nášho storočia [Songs of Our Century], in: Populár, vol. 7 (1975), no. 11, p. 21.

61 This paper is a part of the project APVV no. 20 – 062305.

Yvetta Kajanová

The Periodization of Slovak Pop Music and Jazz

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