Mikuláš Moyzes (1872 Zvolenská Slatina – 1944 Prešov), a graduate of the Hungarian Royal Academy in Budapest, was a prominent composer, organist, choirmaster, music teacher, and author of music textbooks. He worked in various places in Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, spending the longest period in Prešov, where his gravestone, ornamented with a lyre motif, stands in the cemetery. Experts consider this versatile composer to have been a pioneer of modern music. His son Alexander, an outstanding composer and organiser of musical events, continued his legacy.  

The body of the monument comprises a large concrete structure formed as a musical note that is divided horizontally by an imaginary stave line. On its face is an asymmetrically mounted bust of the composer; it is a highly stylised likeness typical of Karol Lacko’s work from that period. Beneath the bust is the inscription: COMPOSER MIKULÁŠ MOYZES 1872–1944. 

The Mikuláš Moyzes Monument was erected in Janko Kráľ Park in 1972. This oldest public park in Europe was at that time in a state of neglect, and plans were underway for its restoration and for the revitalisation of its greenery. The comprehensive project was designed in 1975 by the landscape architect Alfonz Torma, and included a new fountain, other works of art, decorative architecture, and new plantings. The monument fits well with the new design, but has been targeted by vandals and thieves on several occasions. The bronze bust was stolen in 1989; later, vandals toppled and damaged the five-ton body of the sculpture. In 2001, the then PAMING organisation relocated it to a repository in Čierny Les. 

In 2014, the General Investment Body of Bratislava had the monument restored. The architect Marek Varga collaborated on the project, and the restoration work was carried out by Mgr. art. Ladislav Chamuti. The bust and inscription are currently formed of synthetic material. A new location was found for the monument on the Danube embankment, where it is in harmony with the pantheon of prominent figures from science, technology, and culture. Although easier to monitor in its new position, vandals have already managed to damage the inscription.

ZD

Research status as of 2023.