Lýdia Urbančíková

PhDr. Lýdia Urbančíková is a Slovak musicologist, music journalist, and dramaturge. She studied piano at the Conservatory in Košice and musicology at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague. She worked as a guest dramaturge for the Opera of the State Theatre in Košice and the Opera of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava (notably for Ján Cikker’s opera Mister Scrooge, 2011).

She served as a music producer, author, and editor of music and spoken-word radio programs at Czechoslovak, later Slovak Radio in Košice. She was the author of numerous radio programs such as Hudobné zrkadlo (Musical Mirror), Hudobné spravodajstvo (Music News), Akcenty a rezonancie (Accents and Resonances), Musica Slovaca, Prelúdium (Prelude), Organová hudba (Organ Music), Opera, and Ars muzika, as well as other music and spoken-word broadcasts with a focus on musical history, particularly in series like Slovensko v hudobnej Európe (Slovakia in Musical Europe).

She contributed to the live broadcast of concerts from Košice, including from the Košická hudobná jar (Košice Music Spring Festival) and the concert of world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti in Košice. From several international work trips, she brought broadcast reports, for example, about Anna Poláková from Austria, Štefan Margita from the Czech Republic, and Vladimír Čuchran from Finland.

Urbančíková focused on the young generation of performers and dedicated attention to recording and promoting the State Philharmonic Košice, the Košice Quartet, and local artists and composers. She encouraged composers to create new works. She collaborated with prominent figures of Slovak musical culture, including conductors Ľudovít Rajter, Ladislav Slovák, and Bystrík Režucha; soloists Ivan Sokol, Peter Toperczer, and Marián Lapšanský; and composers Ladislav Holoubek, Jozef Grešák, Jozef Podprocký, Gejza Toperczer, among others.

Lýdia Urbančíková also worked as a music critic, reviewer, and journalist for Slovak professional journals (Hudobný život, Slovak music) and national media outlets (SME, Pravda, Večer, Korzár). She participated in international musicological conferences, seminars, and meetings, and served as a juror in various music competitions.

She received significant awards at international radio competitions in the Czech Republic and Italy. In 2002, she was awarded the Prize for the Development of Radio Broadcasting on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of broadcasting from Košice. In 2007 and 2012, she received letters of appreciation from the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic. In 2013, she was awarded the Plaque of the Mayor of Košice for her passionate documentation of musical life in Košice and her outstanding contributions to music journalism, musicology, and radio music broadcasting. In 2022, she received the Music Fund Award for her lifelong contribution.