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Music of Slovakia

Polish mazurka and oberek, Hungarian táncház and csárdás, Romanian doina and taraf lăutari bands, Klezmer, Ukrainian bandura and Russian byliny.

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From Wikipedia

The music of Slovakia has been influenced both by the country's native Slovak peoples and the music of neighbouring regions. Whilst there are traces of pre-historic musical instruments, the country has a rich heritage of folk music and mediaeval liturgical music, and from the 18th century onwards, in particular, musical life was influenced by that of Austria-Hungary. In the 19th century, composers such as Ján Levoslav Bella began to write romantic music with a Slovak character. In the twentieth century, there were a number of composers who identified with Slovak culture. After the fall of communism in 1989–90 the country also began to develop its own popular music scene in Western style.

Music of Slovakia on Wikipedia Text under CC BY-SA 4.0

A brief history

History of music in Slovakia

The term Slovak music is slightly confusing; many peoples lived over the ages in the territory now represented by the state of Slovakia, and the history of the region's music is therefore not merely the history of the music of the Slovaks

Bone pipes dating from the Early Bronze Age (about 3000 BC) have been found in the Nitra region, testifying to the early role of music in the Celtic 'Nitra Culture'. Such instruments were produced continuously, albeit with more sophistication, up to the mediaeval period. Other early instruments found include drums dating back to the Palaeolithic period, iron and bronze bells from the 3rd or 4th century AD. Other folk instruments of the region whose early development must remain largely conjectural include the fujara and the Slovak versions of bagpipes and the jaw harp. They certainly existed in the 15th century.

Popular music

Modern times

Well-known works from the 20th century include the compositions of Eugen Suchoň, Alexander Moyzes, Alexander Albrecht and the operas of Ján Cikker. The internationally most acknowledged composers of the 21st century are Vladimír Godár, Peter Breiner, Peter Machajdík and Iris Szeghy. Operatic soprano Lucia Popp was born in Záhorská Ves.

Read the full article: Music of Slovakia Text under CC BY-SA 4.0

Playing now

What Slovakia is listening to in 2026

This year's hits on YouTube YouTube's trending chart for Slovakia 10 radio stations

Articles

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Live radio

Radio from Slovakia

Music only, no news or talk. Stations that play the local tradition come first, then the most listened. They play in the corner of the page.

Station directory by Radio Browser Streams come from each station's own server.