Ján Levoslav Bella

Ján Levoslav Bella (September 4, 1843 Liptovský Mikuláš - May 25, 1936 Bratislava) was a Slovak composer and conductor, generally classified in the Nationalist Romantic movement of the 19th Century. Bella was ordained a priest in 1866 but left the priesthood in 1881 to become director of music in Hermannstadt, now Sibiu in modern Romania. In his day Bella was respected both as a composer and conductor by such important musical figures as Johannes Brahms, Hans von Bülow, Joseph Joachim and Ernst von Dohnányi. Bella wrote a number of different types of music including an opera called "Wieland der Schmied" ("Wieland the Blacksmith"), based on a German legend. In recent times, his music and reputation have been revived by the Slovak composer and scholar Vladimír Godár.

External links

* [http://www.hc.sk/src/skladatel.php?lg=en&oid=993 short biography and photo]
* [http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/82.htm brief biography]
* [http://editionsilvertrust.com/music-books-a-to-g.htm Bella String Quartet Nos.2 and 4 sound-bites and short biography]