Viliam Figuš-Bystrý (28 February 1875 – 11 May 1937) was a Slovak

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 composer, teacher and author of the first Slovak national opera Detvan.

Viliam Figuš was born in Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...

. He attended gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 from 1885 to 1889 and teacher's institute in Banská Štiavnica from 1889 to 1893. After graduating, he worked as a teacher in Pilis

Pilis

-History:It was inhabited in the prehistoric times, but later it was abandoned at the end of the Roman rule. The town was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during the ottoman rule in the 16th century, and was reestablished only in 1711, by János Beleznay, the local landlord. He brought...

, Ostrá Lúka

Ostrá Lúka

Ostrá Lúka is a village and municipality of the Zvolen District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia....

, Zvolenská Slatina

Zvolenská Slatina

Zvolenská Slatina is a village and municipality of the Zvolen District in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia.-Geography:The village lies at an altitude of 340 metres and covers an area of 45.938km². It has a population of 2,671 people....

, Padina

Padina (Kovacica)

Padina is a village in Serbia. Majority of the population are Slovaks.-Geography and climate:Padina lies in the middle of South Banat, at the border of Deliblato's shoal, on 52.75 km2, and in a southeast-northwest course. Geographical width of village is 45°7' N and 20°44' E. Altitude is...

. In 1907, he settled in Banská Bystrica, where he taught at Lutheran school. From 1911 to 1914, he studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music

Franz Liszt Academy of Music

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...

.

While teaching in various towns, he collected folksongs and published their adaptations in a few collections (Slovenské ľudové piesne z Veľkej Slatiny, 1000 slovenských ľudových piesní, Púchovské piesne, Zbojnícke piesne). Also in his compositions, he was inspired by folksongs from central Slovakia and in youth also from Hungary. Besides arranging folksongs, he composed orchestral works, chamber music, cantata, piano and violin pieces and songs. In 1926, he finished his opera Detvan, Op. 64, the first Slovak national opera, based on poem Detvan by Andrej Sládkovič

Andrej Sládkovic

Andrej Sládkovič was a Slovak poet, critic, publicist and translator.-Life:He was born to the teacher's family in Krupina...

.

Figuš-Bystrý was an important part of musical life in Banská Bystrica. He was one of the founding members of the Association of the Slovak Artists, being its chairman in 1925.

He died in Banská Bystrica.

Sources

• Biography and list of works at osobnosti.sk
• Slovak Wikipedia article
• Biography