After midnight on New Year’s Eve, a new version of the Slovak national anthem was broadcast on public television and radio. In the TV broadcast of STVR, the anthem was accompanied by a video clip with images of Slovakia in the first minutes of the new year. The national anthem will be played live for the first time on January 1 at 7:00 p.m. at the New Year’s concert of the Slovak Philharmonic, which will be broadcast live by STVR. The Ministry of Culture (MK) of the SR informed about it.
“The new version of the national anthem is recommended as the official national anthem of the Slovak Republic according to the guidelines of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) of the Slovak Republic, it can be played at all official events,” informed the spokeswoman of the department, Petra Bačinská.
Even after January 1, it will be possible to use older versions of the Slovak national anthem. “The new version will be gradually introduced, while the exact time horizon has not been determined. It is estimated that it will be within three to four months,” Bačinská added, adding that the use of the older version will not be sanctioned. She confirmed that even the new version will be able to be interpreted by singers and musicians at events, for example before hockey or football matches, as it was until now. “A special version of the new adaptation of the national anthem is also prepared for this variant, which can be used as a musical background“, she clarified. You can listen to the new anthem in the video above the article.
The adaptation of the national anthem was prepared by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Slovak Philharmonic. She received a new arrangement after 32 years, while the original text and melody remain unchanged. In the new version, the anthem should sound more solemn, it will contain a short prelude and a typically Slovak element, such as the fujara, will also be heard in it. The author of the arrangement is Slovak composer, conductor and producer Oskar Rózsa.
