Jozef Kolkovič’s First Piano Sonata is an extensive five-movement work in which explosive expressiveness meets rigorous structural discipline. The technical demands here are not an end in themselves – they become an essential means of musical expression, which oscillates on the border between elation and madness, yet never loses its inner architectural integrity.
The composition was inspired by the tragic events in Argentina during the military dictatorship of the 1970s. The three movements – The Disappeared, The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo and The Persistence of Memory – refer to the victims of political violence, the courage of those who refused to accept their disappearance, and the importance of memory as a form of resistance against forgetting. Between these dramatically charged sections, the composer interweaves contrasting dance episodes, ranging from the rumba and the waltz to rock and techno, as if to remind us that whilst tragedy unfolds in one part of the world, life continues carefree elsewhere.
The pianist Magdaléna Bajuszová, who has long been dedicated to Kolkovič’s work, perceives his music as intellectually demanding, expressively intense and uncompromising. The sonata is thus not only a test of the limits of interpretation, but also a poignant musical gesture of remembrance and perseverance.
Tickets are available in advance via the Ticketportal network:
https://www.ticketportal.sk/event/Melos-Etos-2026
or one hour before the concert at the venue.
Programme:
Kolkovich, Joseph: Piano Sonata No. 1
Performers:
Bajuszová, Magdaléna (piano)
