Jozef Podprocký
JOZEF PODPROCKÝ (1944–2021) was a Slovak composer and educator. He studied piano with Irena Koreňová and composition with Juraj Hatrík at the Conservatory in Košice, before continuing his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU) in the classes of Ján Cikker and Alexander Moyzes. He worked for many years as a teacher of composition and music theory. Podprocký's compositional style was influenced by the post-war avant-garde of Western Europe and the aesthetics of so-called New Objectivity. However, folk music, particularly the folk songs of his native eastern Slovakia, as well as the music of Béla Bartók, also played an essential role in shaping his artistic inspiration. The foundation of his musical thinking lies in linearity, with clearly articulated intervallic relationships and thematic development of material that often has a dodecaphonic character. Despite the rational nature of his compositional approach, this material retains its musicality, wit and, at times, humour, while occasionally opening up space for intense emotional expression, as in his Symphony No. 2 “Ecce homo”. Among the highlights of Podprocký's oeuvre, alongside his four symphonies and six string quartets, are his concertos for solo instruments and symphony orchestra: the Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto, Viola Concerto and Trumpet Concerto. All four concertos were released in 2025 as a double album entitled Jozef Podprocký: Concertos, produced by Pavlík Records and featuring leading Slovak soloists and the Košice State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marián Lejava.