Michal Palovčík

PhDr. Michal Palovčík, CSc. was a Slovak musicologist, music publicist, critic, editor, and cultural life organizer. In his research and publicistic work, he focused on the reflection of Slovak composers and Slovak musical theatre. He studied singing and piano at the Conservatory in Bratislava and simultaneously completed his studies in musicology at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava.

He worked as a radio editor at Czechoslovak Radio in Bratislava, as a dramaturge and head of the concert music department at the former Slovkoncert, and later as a cultural editor at the daily newspaper Pravda. He also worked as a vocal coach with SĽUK (Slovak Folk Art Collective) and VUS (University Artistic Ensemble). For many years, he was an active member of the Union of Dramatic Artists.

Through his publicistic activity, Michal Palovčík contributed to shaping theatre and music criticism in Slovakia. In both daily and specialized press, he published a large number of commentaries, analyses, reviews, and articles on opera and concert events, contemporary composition, festivals, and figures of musical life.

He was the author of the books Andrej Očenáš (2002), Priekopníci slovenského operného divadelníctva: Helena Bartošová a Dr. Ján Blaho (Pioneers of Slovak Opera Theatre: Helena Bartošová and Dr. Ján Blaho, 2001), Umenie v tónoch a farbách (Art in Tones and Colours) about the life and work of composer Július Kowalski (2001), Ján Cikker v spomienkach a tvorbe (Ján Cikker in Memories and Work, 1995), Frico Kafenda – život a dielo (Frico Kafenda – Life and Work, 1957), Štefan Németh-Šamorínsky (1974), and others.

He also authored entries on Slovak composers for the dictionary 100 slovenských skladateľov (100 Slovak Composers, 1998), including Ján Cikker, Frico Kafenda, Ladislav Holoubek, Šimon Jurovský, Július Kowalski, Štefan Németh-Šamorínsky, and Andrej Očenáš.