For more than half a century the Bratislava Music Festival has represented the most significant feast of music taking place in our capital. The year 2016 has been proclaimed the Year of Slovak Music by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, what opened the way for joining the feast of music with the idea of a closer contemplation of the achievements of both the domestic music creation and performing mastership.

The festival begins shortly after the festivals Epoché 2016 and New Slovak Music 2016 are finished. The dramaturgy of this year’s BMF partly complements these two events and opens space for the values which did not get into their programme.

The traditional character of the BMF blends with the accentuation of such values which often have not found (or only with difficulties) their way to our stages. Let us mention in this relation the symphonic work by Bratislava native Ernő Dohnányi, fully unknown albeit superior Evangelical church music by Ján Levoslav Bella, rarely played but paramount symphonic creation by Alexander Moyzes. Similarly the vocal music by Štefan Németh Šamorínsky, Ján Móry, and Ladislav Stanček is fully unknown, likewise the opera-melodrama by Marek Piaček, and chamber music of composers of all generations. The traditional focus of the festival is guaranteed through presentation of time-tested titles delivered by both Slovak and European musicians.

I wish for all music lovers to find in our offer just what they are looking for.

Vladimír Godár
Chairman of the Festival Committee of the Bratislava Music Festival