Juraj Hatrík

"In the spectrum of the 20th century Slovak professional music culture forming, the  polypersonal creativity of Juraj Hatrík (1941) stands at notable position. Composer, pedagogue, publicist, organizer. A graduate of the Alexander Moyzes composition class at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava (1963), Juraj Hatrík since his youth activities has appeared as an artist sensitive to plenty of stimuli and values, not only to the music of past and present, which shaped his composing experience, but also stimuli and values connected to literature, philosophy, arts, psychology, theory of music.  If we have a look at his numerous works of art, the dominant aspect is represented by   the author’s intention to point at life complexities, which surround contemporary artist,  as well as his ability to resist shocking by bizarreness composing-technical fashion or its simplifying tendencies. In his artistic message, inseparably related to his opuses, there prevails the creative-intellectual intention to put on the pedestal mainly the ethical qualities of human pursuit - good, love, beauty, prospect of the truth, honesty, faith. Hatrík always takes, much like he has been always taking, his composing not as a selfstylization, but also as a matter of worthwhile aspiration to contribute the higher cultural awareness and deeper delicacy. Apart from many Slovak composers, he managed to involve almost all vocal and vocal-instrumental music kinds and genres - from the miniature instructive pieces, over various chamber and symphonic works, to the opera form and inventive scenic projects. An outstanding role in his creative catalogue is played by compositions for children - Hatrík leans towards a child with full understanding of its psychic, he builds on child’s musicality and its peculiar creativity. This sphere of Hatrík’s productivity comes from the syncretic concept he follows - the composer is supposed  to think about interpreter and listener of his work who need to get an education. Thus, since the  1970‘s, Hatrík has been intensely engaged in work with children, from the contacts in Children townlet Trenčín-Zlatovce to the nonpareil projects, in which the child’s creative partnership is taken to account. From such experience was drawn Hatrík’s noteworthy artistic-pedagogical unconventional conception he developed within his pedagogical position at VŠMU from 1989. Hatrík’s thinking potential, interfaced with his critical approach to number of Slovak music-cultural community infirmities, is subscribed under several texts published in various periodicals from the 60s of the 20th century until today. The advancement of music as the art which is able to intervene diverse dimensions of human mind is associated with the name of Juraj Hatrík. His music tends to particular ideas receptiveness, which oscillates between the depth and seriousness of the contemplation or concentration - and playfulness or jolly gestures. Both, his creative poetics together with activities included, reveal the sheer signs of responsibility and professionalism."

(CHALUPKA, Ľubomír, In: CD booklet "Stopy", H Plus, 2011)