Martin Burlas
MARTIN BURLAS (1955, Bratislava) studied composition with Ján Cikker at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Bratislava, having taken private lessons of piano (Mária Masariková) and composition (Juraj Hatrík) earlier. After finishing school in 1980, he worked as a music supervisor in Opus Record Company and in Slovak Radio. Since 1995 he is a free-lance artist. His refusal to co-operate with the establishment (which halted the staging of the commissioned opera Sleeping Beauty) led him to create several ensembles (Maťkovia, Ospalý pohyb); later in the 90´s he co-founded the VENI ensemble, Transmusic Comp., Vitebsk Broken, Požoň sentimentál, VAPORI del CUORE. Martin Burlas is also active in the Slovak alternative rock scene. In 1999 co-founded, together with Ľubo Burgr, Zuzana Piussi and Daniel Salontay, the band Dogma and also the Association for contemporary opera (with Ľubo Burgr). Since January 2000 he has been employed in the Music Centre in Bratislava.