Stanislav Bachleda

PhDr. Stanislav Bachleda is a Slovak musicologist, music publicist, critic, dramaturge, and organizer of musical life. For a long time, he has focused primarily on Slovak musical theatre and, as a co-author, has contributed to several publications issued by the Theatre Institute in Bratislava.

Stanislav Bachleda studied accordion performance at the Conservatory in Košice, music history under Prof. Mária Potemrová, and in 1967 graduated in musicology from the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava.

He began his journalistic activity while still a university student, publishing concert reports and reviews in the daily newspapers Pravda and Smena, and in the magazine Hudební rozhledy. He also worked briefly as a music editor for Czechoslovak Radio in Bratislava.

From 1968 to 1975 he worked as an editor in the culture department of the daily Smena, focusing mainly on musical theatre, concert life, and music festivals. As an editor, he systematically strengthened the presence of music-related topics in the cultural section. Later he worked as an editor and head of the culture department of the daily Národná obroda.

He has published in many professional and cultural periodicals at home and abroad, including Film a divadlo, Hudobný život, Nové slovo, Populár, Republika, Hospodárske noviny, and Večerník. He is the author of hundreds of reviews, reports, interviews, scripts, and other journalistic works.

A significant part of Stanislav Bachleda’s professional career consists of organizational work in the field of musical culture. For many years he devoted himself to building regular musical life outside subscription concert cycles.

He worked as head of department at the Municipal House of Culture and Education in Bratislava (MDKO), later at the Union of Slovak Composers and Concert Artists, the Slovak Music Union, and the Association of Musical Folklore (from 1990).

From 2003 to 2007 he worked in the Bratislava–Staré Mesto borough as head of the Department of Cultural and Social Affairs and subsequently as director of the Staré Mesto Cultural Center. From 2010 to 2012 he worked at the Directorate of the Opera of the Slovak National Theatre.

During his time at MDKO he created a system of chamber concerts in the Mirror Hall of the Primate’s Palace, a series of educational concerts for students, organ concerts, and concerts by the Symphony Orchestra of Czechoslovak Radio.

In 1990 he founded the artistic agency ABA, through which he has participated in the preparation of musical and partly also dance and other cultural events.

He founded and actively worked as dramaturge and moderator of the 14-year discussion series Staromestský salón at the Zichy Palace (2004 – 2007), Salón u Liszta at the University Library (2007 – 2016), Salón in V-club (2016 – 2019), and a series of 12 discussions within the exhibition Ako sme žili (How We Lived) at the Slovak National Museum (2000).

Stanislav Bachleda founded the festival Bratislava Cultural Summer (BKL), which has been held annually since 1976 and was the first event of its kind in former Czechoslovakia. The festival included opera and operetta performances, folklore programs, jazz and classical concerts, theatre productions, and programs for children. He also contributed to creating the unified visual identity of the entire BKL festival (posters, bulletins, tickets).

Within this project, in cooperation with organist Prof. Ferdinand Klinda, he dramaturgically and organizationally led for 33 years the international festival Days of Organ Music of Ján Levoslav Bella at Bratislava Castle. In 1992 he participated in founding the festival Slovak Historical Organs, which he organized for many years.

During the reconstruction of the Baroque Courtyard of the University Library in Bratislava, he initiated its use as a permanent concert venue. At his initiative, a monthly information bulletin on cultural events in Bratislava entitled Kam v Bratislave (Where to Go in Bratislava) was created. 

In his scholarly and professional work, Bachleda focuses primarily on Slovak musical culture and the personalities of musical and theatrical life. He is the author and co-author of several publications, including Lúčnica, spevácky zbor (1978), Lúčnica: Spevácky zbor 1948–1998 (1998), Rozhovory s Dr. Štefanom Klimom ( Interviews with Dr. Štefan Klíma, 2019), History of Slovak Theatre II (2020), and Divadelný mág Jozef Bednárik (2024).