Jozef Tvrdoň

PhDr. Jozef Tvrdoň, CSc. was a Slovak musicologist, music publicist, and university lecturer. He studied history, philosophy, and musicology in Brno, and defended his dissertation Slovak Opera after Bella in Bratislava. His teaching activities were closely intertwined with his work as a publicist and professional musicologist. His research focused on music history, the history of Czechoslovak musical relations, and music pedagogy. He had a particular interest in Leoš Janáček and his connection to Slovakia. Jozef Tvrdoň was also an avid violin player.

He worked as a teacher at various elementary schools in Slovakia and Moravia, at the Pedagogical College in Bratislava, but his most significant academic position was at the Department of Musicology at the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava.

Jozef Tvrdoň wrote numerous university textbooks and theoretical music texts, as well as several popular publications, such as Hudba okolo nás (Music Around Us, 1962). He also published articles in academic journals and the daily press. In addition, he contributed texts on liturgical music for the Katolícke noviny (Catholic Newspaper). He was the author of various educational music programs broadcast by Czechoslovak Radio in Bratislava and also contributed to television programs.

He co-authored the university textbook Dejiny hudby (History of Music, 1973), as well as works such as Dejiny poľskej hudby (History of Polish Music, 1967), Ruská hudba encyklopedicky (Russian Music in Encyclopedic Form, 1974), Úvod do štúdia hudobnej pedagogiky a hudobnovýchovnej praxe (Introduction to the Study of Music Pedagogy and Music Education Practice, 1973), Dejiny slovenskej hudby (History of Slovak Music, 1964), and Kapitoly z dejín hudobných vzťahov česko-slovenských (Chapters from the History of Czech-Slovak Musical Relations, 1975).