Hommage à Marián Varga in Bratislava

Marián Varga (1947-2017) was a composer, pianist and Hammond organ player. He was active in rock music, autonomous, so-called classical music and improvisational and experimental music. In 1969, Varga and the band Prúdy released the essential album of the Slovak big beat era entitled Zvoňte, zvonky (Ring the Bells, Ring!,1969). In 1969 he founded the band Collegium musicum, whose albums Konvergencie (Convergences, 1971), Zelená pošta (Green Mail, 1972), Collegium musicum Live (1973) and Divergencie (Divergences, 1982) represent the main pillars of Czecho-Slovak rock music. In the early 1980s, he became a pioneer in experimental live electronic music. In his solo projects, while exploring experimenting and “composing on the spur of the moment” he freely and intentionally combined the principles of written and improvised composition (Stále tie dni, The Same Days Again, 1984; Solo in Concert, 2003). He also composed background music for film and theater and contributed to the creation of the first rock musical in Slovakia.

Marián Varga – musician and composer, one of the most important figures of the Czech and Slovak musical scene for over half a century. Prominent representative of rock with daring crossovers into the sphere of classical music; pioneer of experimental, live electronic improvisation from the 1980s. Founder and leader of iconic art rock band Collegium musicum, and rebel with excellent musical education who burst onto the music scene and was successful for many decades.

Every composition, concert and record opened space for new, ever more difficult challenges. Varga dedicated his life to music; it was his passion and mission, an unforgiving calling, to which he devoted himself with unusual enthusiasm while disregarding the pitfalls. He continually came up with new, timeless concepts in which he involved the most significant figures of art life: musicians, men of letters, film makers and visual artists. He was a phenomenon of the time and a living legend due to his music, unconventional appearance, manner of speech, gestures and the inimitable finger work of a new world keyboard magician, but most of all, his ability to transform every concert into an exceptional auditory experience.

Marián Varga was an inspiration for the world of music, but his appearance and performances were also an inspiration for many visual artists and photographers. Today’s exhibition at the Danubiana, which is part of the Month of Photography, is convincing evidence of that. It features the work of 75 Czech and Slovak photographers; many of the photos are the result of intention, expectation but also coincidence. The exhibition includes suggestive shots from concerts, recording sessions and the artist’s private life. They are proof of the fact that Marián Varga was not only an ephemeral comet, blazing across the sky and quickly fading, but a fixed star in our musical sky. Its radiance and mysterious aura, which we can feel even today, reaches out to other galaxies.

Mária Horváthová

Venue: Danubiana, Čunovo, Slovakia
Date: from 29.10.2022 – 29.01.2023
Opening hours: 10:00 – 18:00
Admission:
Adults – 10 €
Family (2 adults and 2 students) – 20 €
Pensioners (over 62 years old) – 5 €
Students – 5 €
Children (under 6 years old) – Free
Danubiana Club Members – Free
Disabled persons, persons over 75 years of age – Free

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