Ján Cikker

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.

[1] 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.

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.

Óda na radosť (1982, Ode to Joy; oratorio for speaker, soloists, choir and orchestra on words by Milan Rúfus.