The 20^th anniversary of the death of the Slovak composer Ján Cikker is marked by Bärenreiter. Cikker, born in 1905 in Banska Bystricá, enjoyed international success in the 1960s and 70s, particularly with his operas, first and foremost his gripping Vzkriesenie (Auferstehung/ Resurrection) after Tolstoy; after its premiere in Prague in 1962, it received many successful performances in European opera houses. Following on from this, Hra o láske a smrti (Das Spiel von Liebe und Tod/ Play on love and death) after Romain Rolland, Coriolanus after William Shakespeare and Roszudok (Das Urteil / The Judgement) after Kleist were amongst his most popular works.

The Martinů Foundation and Martinů Institute are planning a major series of activities for 2009 and 2010 in honour of the Czech composer. This will be an excellent opportunity to engage with both well-known works and unknown works worth discovering.