Marián Varga is a Slovak musician, composer and organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

 player.

Biography

He has played piano since the age of six. He studied piano and composition at the conservatory in Bratislava. He left the conservatory after three years to become a member of the group Prúdy

Prúdy

Prúdy is a rock band formed in the former Czechoslovakia in 1962.The band consists of Marián Varga on organ and piano, Pavol Hammel on guitar and vocal, Vlado Mallý on drums, Peter Saller on guitar and Fedor Frešo on bass guitar.- External links :*...

, and contributed to the legendary album Zvoňte zvonky. He left Prúdy as suddenly as he had left conservatory only to establish the first Czechoslovak art rock

Art rock

Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...

 band Collegium Musicum.

The repertoire of Collegium Musicum, comprising mostly instrumental pieces, included reinterpretations of the themes of classics such as Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

, Béla Bartók

Béla Bartók

Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...

 and Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

, complemented by original compositions. Already at this stage his work bore signs of postmodernism (Eufónia of the album Konvergencie), which later became the basic principle of his work.

When Collegium Musicum disbanded in 1979, Varga started a solo career. Among other achievements, he became a pioneer of absolute improvisation (real-time composition) in Slovakia. In the meantime he continued to contribute to popular music. His ongoing collaboration with Pavol Hammel

Pavol Hammel

Pavol Hammel is a Slovak musician, singer and producer.Pavol Hammel was born to a family of musicians. His father played violin in the Slovak National Theatre, and influenced Pavol to become a promising violin player too....

 led to five successful albums and to the first rock musical in Slovakia.

Collegium Musicum

Collegium Musicum (Marián Varga)

Collegium Musicum is a Slovak art rock band formed by Marián Varga in Czechoslovakia in late 1969.-Discography:* 1970 Collegium Musicum* 1970 EP Hommage à J.S.Bach/Ulica plná plášťov do dažďa* 1971 Konvergencie* 1973 Live...

 

• [7"] Hommage à J.S.Bach
  Hommage à J.S.Bach
  Hommage à J.S.Bach is the first record of the Slovak art rock band Collegium Musicum. The music composed by organist Marián Varga is based on theme from Johann Sebastian Bach's Sarabande con Partite in C major .- External links :* * * *...
  
   / Ulica plná plášťov do dažďa 1970
• Collegium Musicum 1971
• Konvergencie 1971
• Collegium Musicum Live [live] 1973
• Marián Varga & Collegium Musicum 1975
• Continuo 1978
• Cyrano z predmestia
• On a ona 1979
• Divergencie 1981
• Collegium Musicum '97 [live] 1997

with Pavol Hammel

Pavol Hammel

Pavol Hammel is a Slovak musician, singer and producer.Pavol Hammel was born to a family of musicians. His father played violin in the Slovak National Theatre, and influenced Pavol to become a promising violin player too....

 

• Zelená pošta 1972
• Na II. programe sna (with Radim Hladik) 1976
• Cyrano z predmestia 1978
• Všetko je inak 1989
• Labutie piesne 1993

Solo albums

• Stále tie dni 1984
• Solo In Concert [live] 2003
• Marián Varga & Moyzesovo kvarteto 2006

External links

• www.marianvarga.sk