Thank You Marián
Many say that Marián Varga is “theirs”, and it is natural they say that, as he connected the worlds of pop, alternative, as well as classical music in the role of an exceptional composer and observer. We, too, think of him as of a person who belongs to Pohoda. In a certain way, he is its embodiment. He would play on all sorts of stages, starting from small stages in the literary tent, through church services on Sunday mornings, to the main stage. He would play alone, in a duet with Jozef Luptak, with the Moyzes Quartet, Nonet, Collegium Musicum, and with the whole symphonic orchestra. Many of his performances are legendary, such as Welcoming the Sun with Arvo Pärt’s Fratres. Each of his performances was a special moment. Every meeting with him was a special moment.
10. August 2017
He was shy and modest, yet musically on the highest level, straightforward and always noble. There were sparkles in his eyes, miracles in his head, and playfulness in his fingers. His visit this year, which he kept perfectly secret, reveals much about him. The genius silently entered a tiny tent where his works and works by Bélo Bartók were being played. He occasionally coordinated the musicians, listening carefully and following the notes. Then he again silently got into the car and departed modesty. It seemed like a tiny unimportant thing, yet it became the story of the festival. Marian, we are honoured and proud that you are part of the face of Pohoda.
Marian Varga would celebrate his seventieth birthday. However, actually, it is us to celebrate. The charm of a small country is that we are richer than let’s say Brits or Americans. Honestly, how many Americans know Marian Varga? We kind of have an idea of their music, but how about them of ours? Their musical vastness hinders them from a greater view, so they miss such great treasures as our dear fellow.
When, as a child, I saw him for the first time on the TV, I felt strangely terrified by him: he was playing odd things and he had an expression of a wizard. We met at the Certovo kolo concert and my feeling was similar, I felt like music was flowing through his fingers into the keys and the keys obeyed absolutely; in some ways, he resembled a crazy scientist who discovered something we had no knowledge of. Then came the important moment for me, it was the concert dedicated to Dezo Ursiny in Zrkadlovy haj, where Marian was also a guest. He was sitting on the side, watching the crazy-focused musicians with his typical expression, and, resembling a brat, he was throwing pebbles in that peaceful Dezoʼs river...
It was then that my opinion of him changed and I think of him so also nowadays—Marian Varga, for me, is a boy standing on the shore of a lake and throwing his pebbles. It is obvious, I think, that the pebbles are his musical diamonds... the surface of the lake is ruffled and we can smile and allow to be rocked by the waves. It is true that our music scene is not the English Channel or Lake Huron, yet Marianʼs pebbles would certainly fit there too. Now we have them, it is a gift for which, Marian, at the occasion of your birthday, I thank you very much.