Juraj Velčovský

Juraj Velčovský was a Slovak bandleader, wind-instrument player (clarinet, tenor saxophone), composer, arranger, and conductor. In 1963, he founded his own ensemble, the Juraj Velčovský Orchestra, which—especially during the 1970s—significantly influenced the mainstream Slovak popular music scene.

Velčovský began his career as a musician in amateur orchestras, in the folk ensemble Olšava, and in the chamber orchestra of the Municipal Music School in Uherský Brod. In 1953, he founded the vocal quintet Akord 54, and during his university studies in Bratislava he formed several ensembles focused on swing and traditional jazz (Štúdio klub, Elektro klub, etc.). He performed with some of the best Bratislava amateur musicians of the time, such as Laco Déczi, Jaromír Hnilička, Miloš Jurkovič, and others. Later, he was a member of the Gustav Offermann Group, the orchestra of Mirko Foret—which was the first to record Velčovský’s own compositions (Päť je nás v rodine, Rozmar)—as well as the Dance Orchestra of Czechoslovak Radio Bratislava.

From 1963, Velčovský devoted himself fully to the Juraj Velčovský Orchestra, for which he arranged, composed, and which he led artistically. Initially, it functioned as the Juraj Velčovský Sextet and later as the Juraj Velčovský Orchestra; however, it was essentially the same or an associated ensemble.

A number of prominent musicians and singers passed through the ensemble, including Oľga Szabová, Zdeňek Sychra, Dušan Grúň, Ján Kajzar, Peter Vašek, Ľudovít Nosko, Sally Salingová, and—after the vocal group was expanded in 1970—also Karol Duchoň and Jana Kocianová. The latter two were considered among Juraj Velčovský’s greatest vocal discoveries.

With his ensemble, Velčovský performed in exclusive nightclubs in Scandinavia, Switzerland, and the former GDR and FRG (today’s Germany). He also organized concert tours throughout Slovakia and occasionally abroad.

In the early 1970s, the orchestra was also very popular in the former USSR, where they recorded Velčovský’s song Malenkaja ptička with lyrics by Leonid Kuks, as well as many other compositions for Moscow Radio and the Melodiya record label.

Under the name Juraj Velčovský Sextet, the ensemble consisted of Ivan “Dido” Lieskovský, Dušan Grúň, Alois Bouda, Ján Kajzar, Juraj Velčovský, and Juraj Lehotský. In 1964, they became the first ensemble of their kind to travel to Western Europe, performing in Switzerland. They also played at dance events in university dormitory clubs and appeared in television programs, for example in the music-comedy show Veni, vidi, vici by Milan Lasica and Július Satinský. In 1970, they performed as representatives of Slovak culture at the jubilee Moscow exhibition Czechoslovakia 1970, held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.

As a composer and arranger, Juraj Velčovský initially focused on instrumental music influenced by swing (Hojdačka, Na križovatke, Nech tancuje, kto stačí, Slzy, Vítame vás rytmom), but later he also composed popular songs in a beat (big-beat) style (Karolína, Keď ma pobozkáš, Reminiscencia, Mária, S vetrom opreteky). Velčovský’s composition Mária, performed by Dušan Grúň at the Bratislavská lýra festival in 1966, achieved perhaps his greatest success.

Velčovský also took part in the Bratislavská lýra festival in 1973 with the song S vetrom opreteky, performed by Oľga Szabová. Noteworthy were also his recordings from the early 1960s, in which he used multi-part vocal harmonies, such as the song Dážď with lyrics by Milan Lasica. Velčovský was also the author of all the compositions on the profile album of his wife, singer Oľga Szabová (1979). As a lyricist, he collaborated mainly with Alojz Čobej, Tibor Grünner, Alexander Karšay, Emil Kunovič, Milan Lasica, and Alojz Luknár.

Even during his lifetime, Juraj Velčovský’s work was regarded by critics as retrospective and aimed at a less demanding audience (Ako si ustelieš, Bim Bam Bom, Nevydám, nevydám sa, Posledný sneh, etc.). Nevertheless, his influence on Slovak popular music is undeniable. He contributed significantly to raising the standard of Slovak vocal-instrumental groups during the 1960s, to the development of popular dance music, and to the discovery of several major figures in Slovak music history.