Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
00:05 I. Haviarky zo Žarkoviec (Miners’ dance from Žakarovce village)
03:25 II. Pastiersky z Popradskej doliny (Pastorale from Poprad Valley)
07:14 III. Dievčenský zo Šariša (Girl’s dance from Šariš region)
14:18 IV. Do šaflíka (a couples’ dance)
Concert Orchestra Bratislava conducted by Vlastimír Horák
Narcisa Donátová (1928-1981) was a Czech-born Slovak composer, the first woman in Slovakia to complete a formal university education in composition. Even by the standards of this channel, Donátová is extremely obscure - there isn't a single picture of her that I can find on the Internet - and I am informed that she is practically never mentioned in Slovakian sources, let alone any international ones (besides the appearance of her name in some lists of women composers online.) She studied under the influential Slovak composer Alexander Moyzes at the State Conservatory in Bratislava, pursuing further studies at the Academy of Performing Arts which still exists in Slovakia's capital today.
Like those of her teacher Moyzes, several of Donátová's works focused on Slovak folk music as a source of inspiration. In addition to this piece from 1954 ("Tance z východného Slovenska" in Slovak) depicting four folk dances from eastern Slovakia, Donátová wrote two symphonies, a Scherzo for small orchestra, a cantata "Slovakia, my country", and an opera "Hájnik's Wife" based on a novel by Slovak writer Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, in addition to various arrangements of folk songs, art songs and choral works. As far as I know, none of these are commercially recorded, and this is the first time any of her works has been made available on YouTube.
00:05 I. Haviarky zo Žarkoviec (Miners’ dance from Žakarovce village)
03:25 II. Pastiersky z Popradskej doliny (Pastorale from Poprad Valley)
07:14 III. Dievčenský zo Šariša (Girl’s dance from Šariš region)
14:18 IV. Do šaflíka (a couples’ dance)
Concert Orchestra Bratislava conducted by Vlastimír Horák
Narcisa Donátová (1928-1981) was a Czech-born Slovak composer, the first woman in Slovakia to complete a formal university education in composition. Even by the standards of this channel, Donátová is extremely obscure - there isn't a single picture of her that I can find on the Internet - and I am informed that she is practically never mentioned in Slovakian sources, let alone any international ones (besides the appearance of her name in some lists of women composers online.) She studied under the influential Slovak composer Alexander Moyzes at the State Conservatory in Bratislava, pursuing further studies at the Academy of Performing Arts which still exists in Slovakia's capital today.
Like those of her teacher Moyzes, several of Donátová's works focused on Slovak folk music as a source of inspiration. In addition to this piece from 1954 ("Tance z východného Slovenska" in Slovak) depicting four folk dances from eastern Slovakia, Donátová wrote two symphonies, a Scherzo for small orchestra, a cantata "Slovakia, my country", and an opera "Hájnik's Wife" based on a novel by Slovak writer Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, in addition to various arrangements of folk songs, art songs and choral works. As far as I know, none of these are commercially recorded, and this is the first time any of her works has been made available on YouTube.
