Listy Matke by Ján Cikker

The book Listy Matke / Letters to Mother, published by Varštak / Ladislav Tkáčik studio in partnership with the Museum of Ján Cikker, presents a unique collection of personal letters by the Slovak composer Ján Cikker (1911–1989) who wrote and sent them to his mother during the period 1917–1963. The collection is an important source of deeper insight into his creation as well as an explanation of several events related to composer’s life and the reflection of the wider context of capturing the contemporary cultural and social conditions in Slovakia.

The publication was designed by Ladislav Tkáčik, using Xavier Dupré’s Garalda throughout the book: “I was looking for a script that would be suitable for extensive texts, complex, with musical finesse, traditional, Renaissance and also modern, like the modernist compositions of Ján Cikker, who tried to redefine the musical tradition … Both the layout and the chosen font do not want to dominate and push over the text, on the contrary they want to retreat to the background and let it sound without obstacles… I chose Garalda just because of that.”