Peter Michalica

Peter Michalica is devoted to performing solo violin music and chamber literature. He was a member of chamber duo with Helena Michalicová, pf, later also with other Slovak piano partners – Ivan Palovič, Miloš Starosta, Dana Šašinová-Satury, Tomáš Gál and Viera Bartošová. He was a member of Piano Trio in 1964 – 1973 (with Juraj Alexander, vc, Perla Čápová, pf, till 1966, then with Miloš Starosta, pf; since 1968 the ensemble has been called Slovak Piano Trio). He performed all over the world – in almost all European countries, in England, Ireland, Cuba, USA, Canada, Tunis, China, India, in former Soviet Union and others. Within these trips he was a guest of international music festivals, including domestic. He played with significant orchestras and conductors on four continents. In the 1980s he intensively performed Slovak violin works at the festival Week of New Slovak Music. He performs in concerts organized by various charity foundations.

He regularly records for Slovak Television and Radio as well as for other record companies at home and abroad (Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, and India). He is an author of many radio and television music shows, e. g. TV Soirée of Peter Michalica (1991 – 1993), and a radio cycle of 30 shows for students of elementary schools called Never Ending Story (some of them were awarded prizes Rozhlasová žatva / Radio Harvest).

After finishing his studies (1969) he became a pedagogue at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, but for ideological reasons had to leave in 1972. He was a scholarship holder – soloist of Slovak Fund and since 1973 soloist of artistic agency Slovkoncert. In 1982 – 1983 he was a guest professor at the University of Michigan, USA, and from 1985 – 1988 pedagogue at Wayne State University, Detroit, USA. Since 1989 he teaches at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (since 2004 full professor). Since 2002 he also teaches at Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno and at Conservatory in Bratislava. He is invited into juries of violin competitions at home and abroad (USA, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic and others) and was a member of jury at Central European Music Festival in Žilina, the head of jury ot National Competition of Slovak Republic (1991 – 1993), the head of competition Čírenie talentov, he is a member of the board of Slovak section of Musical Youth. His creative activity is manifested also in artistic-organizational work.

In 2000 he founded the concert cycle Music Under the Diamond Arch (Hudba pod diamantovou klenbou) organized in his birthplace in Kremnica. He was also member of the festival committee of the Bratislava Music Festival and he is the head of the Ján Cikker Foundation Board.