Zeljenka, IIja

Zeljenka, IIja, Slovak composer; b. Bratislava, Dec. 21, 1932. Following private training with Zimmer (harmony and counterpoint) and Macudzinski (piano), he studied with Cikker (composition) at the Bratislava Academy of Music and Drama (1951-56). He was a dramaturg with the Slovak Phil. (1957-61) and the Czechoslovak Radio (1961-68) in Bratislava, and later served as chairman of the Slovak Music Union (1990-91). Zeljenka has followed a varied course as a composer and has utilized various contemporary means of expression, ranging from post-Webern serialism to electronics.

Works

orch: 5 syms.: No. 1 (1954-55), No. 2 for Strings (1961), No. 3 (1972), No. 4, Ballet Symphony (1978), and No. 5 (1984); Dramatic Overture (1955); Revolution Overture (1962); Structures (1964); 2 piano concertos (1966, n.d.); Meditation (1969); Variations (1971); Concerto for Violin and Strings (1974); Music for Piano and Strings (1976); Epilogue to the Memory ofE. Spitz (1979); Ouvertura giocosa (1982); Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, Xylophone, and Kettledrum (1984); Dialogues for Cello and Chamber String Orch. (1984); Music (1987); Concertino for Chamber String Orch., Clarinet, Piano, and Percussion (1988); Enchanted Movement (1989); Violin Concerto (1989). CHAMBER: 2 piano quintets (1953, 1959); 5 string quartets (1965, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1988); Polymetric Music for 4 String Quintets (1969); Elegy for Strings (1973); Musica slovaca for Strings (1975; also for String Quartet, 1986); Piano Trio (1975); Quintet for Winds and Percussion (1977); Monologues for Cello (1982); 3 Pieces for Flute (1984); Trio for Flute, Oboe, and Bassoon (1985); Music for Cello and Piano (1986); Sonata-Ballad for Viola and Piano (1988). KEYBOARD: Piano: Bagatelles (1955); 4 sonatas (1958, 1974, 1985, 1989); Capriccio (1982); Little Suite (1987); 5 Etudes (1988); 3 Preludes and Fugues (1988). Organ: Ligatures (1972); 6 Studies (1976); Reliefs (1979); Letters to Friends (1984). VOCAL: Plays for 13 Singers and Percussion (1968); Metamorphoses XV for Narrator and Chamber Ensemble (1969); Caela Hebe for Chorus and 13 Instruments (1970); Galgenlieder for Soprano, String Quartet, Clarinet, Flute, and Piano (1975); Mutations for Soprano, Bass, Wind Quintet, and Percussion (1979); Music for Voices, Wind Quintet, and Percussion (1980); Musik für Morgenstern for Bass, Clarinet, and Chamber String Orch. (1983); Songs of Youth for Chorus, Trumpet, and Kettledrums (1985); Aztecian Songs for Soprano, Piano, and Percussion (1986); Magic Formulas for Alto and String Quartet (1988).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire