Ladislav Burlas


Ladislav Burlas was a Slovak composer and musicologist. He worked at the institute of musicology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava from 1951 to 1990, as director of the institution from 1964 to 1974. The focus of his studies was the music history of Slovakia, especially of the 20th century. He was dean of the faculty of performing arts at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica from 2001 to 2005. He composed music in many genres with a focus on choral music and educational pieces.

Life and career

Born in Trnava on 3 April 1927, he completed school there in 1946 and studied from 1946 to 1951, composition with Alexander Moyzes and conducting at the and musicology at the Comenius University. He gained a PhD with a dissertation, "Cantus Catholici – prispevok k analýze hudby feudálnej spoločnosti na Slovensku". From 1951 he studied composition further with Moyzes, then at the Academy of [Performing Arts in Bratislava]. He worked at the Institute of Musicology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava from 1951 to 1990, serving as director from 1964 to 1974. He also lectured music history and music theory at the university, the Academy of Performing Arts and other universities. He wrote his habilitation in 1966, becoming associate professor in 1967, and was appointed professor in 1993. He was dean of the faculty of performing arts at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica from 2001 to 2005.
Burlas composed in many genres, for orchestra, chamber music, piano music and other works for solo instruments, with a focus on choral music and educational pieces. He also wrote music for documentaries and arrangements of folk songs.
His musicological publications covered topics such as older and younger Slovak music history, music theory, and the founders of Slovak contemporary music in the 20th century including Eugen Suchoň, Alexander Moyzes and Ján Cikker. He authored more than 150 books, monographs, scientific texts, articles and reflections. In 1998 he created an audio record of his memories. It was used for a 2017 book, then titled The Coordinates of my Life.
Burlas died in Bratislava on 11 February 2024, at the age of 96.

Awards

Burlas received awards including:
  • 1966: Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský-Preis, for children's choral works Padá lístie zlaté
  • 1998: Prize of Trnava
  • 2002: Memorial Plaque
  • 2006: Gold medal of Matej Bel-Universität Banská Bystrica
  • 2008: Pribina Cross for contributions of the cultural development of Slovakia
  • 2010: Pavel Strauss Award, for merits in culture and art
  • 2018: Prize of the ministry of culture of Slovakia for his life's work for Slovak music culture
  • 2021: Jozef Kresánek Prize for his musicological work

    Publications

Musicology

Musicological publications by Burlas include:
  • Realistické tradície slovenskej hudby, Martin, 1952
  • Alexander Moyzes, Bratislava, 1956
  • Slovenská hudobná moderna, Obzor, Bratislava, 1983
  • Pohľady na súčasnú slovenskú hudobnú kultúru, Bratislava, 1987
  • Teória hudobnej pedagogiky, Prešov, 1997
  • Hudba – komunikatívny dynamizmus, Bratislava, 1998
  • Hudba – želania a rezultáty: zobrané muzikologické spisy z rokov 1957–1999, Bratislava, 2000
  • A History of Slovak Music: From the Earliest Times to the Present, VEDA, 2003
  • Slávka Kopćáková : Ladislav Burlas and the Slovak Music Culture University of Presov Press, 2017

    Compositions

Compositions by Burlas include:

Ballet

  • Čertoviny. Dance fairy tale for children in six scenes after a folk fairy tale in the version by Pavol Dobšinský

    Solo voices, choir and orchestra

  • Banická kantátá for mezzo-soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra
  • Stretnúť človeka. Vokal symphony, text by, for mezzo-soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra-

    Choir and orchestra

  • Svadobné spevy z Horehronia for mixed choir and orchestra
  • Four Military Folk Songs for mixed choir and orchestra

    Orchestra

  • Symphonic Triptych, Op. 2
  • Epitaph, Op. 3
  • Horehronský tanec
  • Concertino for wind instruments and percussion
  • Symphony No. 2

    String orchestra

  • Malá serenáda
  • Bagatelles
  • Planctus
  • To Matici slovenskej
  • ''In memoriam''

    Concertante

  • Hudba for violin and orchestra
  • Organ Concerto

    Chamber music

  • Spievajúce srdce for string sextet, Op. 4
  • Hudba for string quartet, dedicated to Béla Bartók
  • String Quartet No. 2 "pamiatke S. S. Prokofieva"
  • String Quartet No. 3 "In memoriam D. D. Schostakowitsch"
  • Poetická hudba for wind quintet
  • Sonata a tre for clarinet, vibraphone and piano

    Piano

  • Ciaconna a fúga
  • Fantasia
  • Sonatina
  • Lyrická hudba
  • ''To Matici slovenskej''

    Solo instrument

  • Sonatina for violin
  • Concert Sonata for violin
  • Cadenza for violin
  • Violin Sonata
  • Poetická hudba for organ
  • Cadenza No. 2 for violin
  • Fantasia for flute

    Choir

  • Metamorfózy krás after for mixed choir and violin
  • Zvony after Milan Rúfus for mixed choir
  • Je ticho už after Rúfus for mixed choir
  • Slovenské partizánske ľudové piesne for men's choir
  • Prvomájová after Vladimír Reisel for women's choir
  • Šesť básní lásky! after Reisel for mixed choir
  • Hymnus času after Ján Kostra for men's choir
  • Dobrý deň!. Choral cycle after poems by for mixed choir
  • Tararam for children's choir
  • Súčasníkom after Tadeusz Różewicz, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Ján Stacho for three men's choirs
  • Z knihy žalmov for men's choir

    Voice and instruments

  • Zbojníkova žena for voice, harp and clarinet

    Recordings

Recordings of music by Burlas, as part of collections, include:
  • Planctus – Slovak Chamber Orchestra, cond. Bohdan Warchal – Musica Slovaca 1992
  • Organ Concerto – Ferdinand Klinda, Slovak Radio Orchestra, cond. Ondrej Lenárd – in: Organ Compositions, with music by Eugen Suchoň
  • Sonata for violin solo – Dalibor Karvay
  • Padá lístie zlaté – children's choir Bratislava, cond. Ondrej Šaray – in: Bratislavský Detský Zbor
  • Svadobné spevy z Horehronia – Lúčnica Choir, cond. Miroslav Šmíd – in: The Best of Lúčnica Chorus
  • Metamorfózy krás – Peter Michalica, Lúčnica Choir, cond. Štefan Klimo – in: Dr. Štefan Klimo: Za tou mojou milou
  • Kadenz, Sonatina, Kadenz Nr. 2, Sonata, Konzertsonate – Milan Paľa – Violin Solo 1 – Milan Paľa
  • Sonata for violin solo – Koji Morishita – in: Suite Buenos Aires
  • String Quartet No. 3 – Moyzes Quartett –
  • Cadenza – Dalibor Karvay – in: ''Souvenirs''