Zuzana Godárová – (not only) a musical guide to Bratislava
On 19.3.2023 I had the honour to represent the Bratislava Tourist Board and the Association of Bratislava Tourist Guides at the Ferien-Messe in Vienna
Foto: Jana Gregor-Rogler
Online Guided Tour in German: On a great journey and yet so close - Bratislava with the AlpineFoxes
VIDEO OF CLAUDIA AND ME ON FACEBOOK
In times of corona, Claudia from AlpineFoxes has not only kept me afloat online with her incredible optimism and knowledge. Last June we strolled around the Central Cemetery in 35 degree weather and it was great to actually meet her. For the second time we met at my lecture on Hummel. Now we briefly touched on my favourite topic together: what our two great cities Bratislava and Vienna have in common❤❤
Thanks to Jana Liptáková for this new article about Mozart 😊 Finally, my English-speaking followers can also find the information I summarized in the Slovak podcast and in the Slovak and German articles about Mozart's visit to Pressburg in 1762.
Guided Tours
Bratislava – City of Music
- Bratislava – City of Music
- The Viennese Classics and their Contemporaries in the Musical Life of Bratislava + Noble Orchestras in Bratislava
- Piano Virtuosos and Bratislava
- Famous Musicians Born in Bratislava
- The world of domestic music-making in Bratislava
- Musical Love Affairs of Bratislava
- Composing Habsburgs Crowned in Bratislava
- Music and Gardens
- In the Footsteps of Musicians in the Villa District around Bratislava Castle
- Musicians Buried in the Cemetery near the Goat Gate (Kozia brána)
- Conductors of the Church Music Society of St. Martin and other Musicians Buried in St. Andrew's Cemetery
- The Albrecht family and their cultural footprint in Bratislava + Albrecht House
- In the footsteps of Bratislava native J. N. Hummel + Memorial House of J. N. Hummel
- Redoute - Seat of the Slovak Philharmonic
- When the Composers were still small
Bratislava
- Bratislava City Centre
- Bratislava Castle
- Devín Castle
- St. Martin's Cathedral
- Primatial Palace
- Fountains in Bratislava through the Ages
- Coronation City Bratislava
- Maria Theresa and Bratislava
- Myths and Legends of Bratislava
- Jewish Bratislava
- Famous Visitors and Love Affairs of Bratislava
- Traces of Recent History in the Old Town
- In the Footsteps of the Unsung Heroes - Victims of Communism
- Forest Park
- Bratislava and Vienna – Connections
- Traces of German Culture in Bratislava
- Evangelical Bratislava
- Small Carpathian Wine Route
- Trnava
- Piešťany
- Nitra
Vienna
- Vienna – City of Music
- Vienna City Centre
- Schönbrunn Palace Gardens
- Vienna and Bratislava - Connections
Publications
A Musical Guide to Bratislava
in three language versions:
The book aims to map the places, people, ensembles and events in Bratislava – also called the "city of music" – that are particularly related to classical music, but also includes other music genres.
The chapters "Musical Walking Tours" and "Musicians' Places of Eternal Rest" look to the past: those who wish to can trace the footsteps of the famous and less famous personalities who worked in our city, improving the quality of its musical life, or visited it even for a short time, thereby leaving a permanent imprint of their presence here. The past flows into the present in the chapter "Concert Venues of Bratislava" – the halls, palaces, galleries, churches and theatres, resonating with the echoes of music from times past, invite visitors to drink from the well of music of today. "Orchestras, Ensembles and Choirs" presents a selection of twenty music ensembles with a short description of their past and current work. The book also maps Bratislava's musical life today: its festivals and concert series, clubs, music shops and other music institutions.
The authors Zuzana Godárová and Ján Vyhnánek, active tourist guides in Bratislava who specialize in its musical life, offer their knowledge both to the inhabitants of Bratislava and the visitors of our city.
German Articles and Interviews
- AUF DEN SPUREN DER KLASSISCHEN MUSIK - 28.9.2023 rbbKultur
- Johann Nepomuk Hummel - der berühmte Sohn unserer Stadt - 9.3.2023 Pressburger Kipferl
- Georg Druschetzky - virtuoser Oboist und Pauker - 21.2.2023 Pressburger Kipferl
- Doppelter runder Jahrestag von Anton Zimmermann - Kapellmeister von Kardinal Joseph Batthyány - 18.1.2023 Pressburger Kipferl
- Zum 260. Jahrestag des Besuchs von W. A. Mozart und seiner Familie in Pressburg - 17.12.2022 Pressburger Kipferl
- Johann Matthias Sperger - virtuoser Kontrabassist und Komponist - 30.10.2022 Pressburger Kipferl
- 2021 - Bratislava und Jubiläen berühmter Komponisten / 2021 - Bratislava a jubileá slávnych skladateľov - 06.05.2021 E-BULLETIN Slowakisches Institut in Wien / Slovenský inštitút vo Viedni, S. 3-4
- Das Albrechthaus - ehemaliges und zukünftiges Zentrum der Künste - 2.4.2019 Pressburger Kipferl
- Großes Interesse an der Präsentation des Buches Musikführer Bratislava - 2.4.2019 Pressburger Kipferl
- Auf der Spur von Ľudovít Štúr - 05.05.2015 Radio Slovakia International
- Adolf Frankl - Kunst gegen das Vergessen - 28.02.2015 Pressburger Zeitung 03-04/2015, s. 32
English Articles
Did Mozart perform in Bratislava, or not? - 7.3.2023 The Slovak Spectator
Bratislava now has a musical guide - 2.6.2017 The Slovak Spectator
About me
In my profession as a tourist guide, I have found what I was meant to do in life. It combines my love of beautiful buildings, fountains and statues with my love of people's stories and my love of music. I always imagine the people I talk about and realise that they were no different from us today. Yet there is a veil of something mysterious that I try to lift. I want to repopulate the buildings and places and trace the stories of their former inhabitants. To continue to explore and discover. And to share all this with other people walking the streets of the city today.
A special chapter is the Albrecht House. The flow of history and music is reflected there, which cannot exist without time. And the music returns there more and more often. And those who visited the Albrecht family there pass on their impressions and knowledge to others, who in turn pass it on to others. And the endless circle of good energy closes.
My dearest hometown Bratislava and the most charming city in the world, Vienna, are both equally represented in my thoughts and feelings. There are many connections and parallels between them, but also many differences, which I try to bring closer to the people on both sides.
After many years in university administration, my hobbies – history, sightseeing, travelling, music, foreign languages – gradually became my profession. I have been working as a tourist guide since 2008 and have gradually specialised in the music history of Bratislava and Vienna, focusing especially on the composers of the Viennese Classical period and other composers whose lives were connected with the two cities. Since 2009 I have been giving lectures on composers and taking part in radio broadcasts about Musical Bratislava.
Together with my colleague Ján Vyhnánek, I wrote the book A Musical Guide to Bratislava in three language versions: SK/DE 2016, SK/EN 2016, SK/FR 2018. During the pandemic, I published "Interviews (not only about music) with Zuzana Godárová" on YouTube and Facebook and made several short videos. My specialisation is connected with frequent concert visits. I had the opportunity to host concerts as part of the Bratislava Culture and Information Centre's project "Music History of Bratislava", I also hosted concerts by the eminent pianists Elena Letňanová and Ladislav Fančovič, among others. It was a rare experience for me to be able to speak about the extraordinary Slovak composer Ilja Zeljenka directly in the place where he created many of his compositions - in the cottage in Modra-Harmónia as part of the "Music to Modra" event. As well as, in the presence of the Rajter and Štilicha families, to bring groups of enthusiasts to the places where their famous family members Ľudovít Rajter and Eugen Suchoň lived and worked, as part of the Open Parks and Gardens Weekend.
I promote events on culture and local history through the Newsletter and on Facebook. In cooperation with intercultural coach Eva Gáboríková, I conduct trainings for foreign workers about Slovakia, its history, monuments, culture, customs and everyday life.