Ilja Zeljenka (21 December 1932 – 13 July 2007) was a Slovak composer.
Born in Bratislava, Zeljenka studied music with Ján Cikker from 1951-1956.Jurík and Zagar (1998), 289. During the 1970s his more experimental idiom was suppressed by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, and he produced music based on folk music and neoromantic styles.Jurík and Zagar (1998), 290. His very large output includes three operas (including Bátoryčka (1994), based on the story of Elizabeth Báthory and Posledné dni Veľkej Moravy [The Last Days of Greater Moravia] (1996)), film music, piano works (including two pieces for piano and bongos), fourteen string quartets, nine symphonies, theatre music and electronic music. Among his vocal compositions is the cantata Oświęcim (1959), about the Auschwitz concentration camp.Jurík and Zagar (1998), 290-295.Ilja Zeljenka (1932-2007): A Worklist, Art-Music Forum website, accessed 7 March 2014
References Notes
Sources Jurík, Marián, and Peter Zagar (1998). 100 slovenských skladateľov (in Slovak). Bratislava: Národné hudobné centrum. .