Festival Artists

Maria Bugova was born in 1953 into a musical family in the small town of Nové Zámky, Slovakia. Already as a young girl, she developed a passion for music and dedicated her life to playing the piano. The talented artist graduated from the Bratislava Conservatory with honors, making her one of the best pianists of her time in Bratislava and former Czechoslovakia. She embarked on an international solo career, aspiring to achieve even greater perfection. However, her plans took a sharp turn when she decided to become a ballet accompanist. This marked the beginning of her illustrious career, taking her to many significant locations in Europe, Asia and Central America.

After 25 years as a ballet accompanist at the National Theatre of Slovakia, she moved to Switzerland with her family in 1996, where she continues to reside and work as a ballet and piano accompanist. From 1994 to 2003, she worked as a guest lecturer at the Ballet School in Zurich (under Mr. Nicolas Beriozoff and Mrs. Doris Catana). At the same time she accompanied performances at the Colombo Ballet School in Zurich until 2003.

In 1994, Ms. Bugova met Professor Katarina Hardy, whose violin class she also accompanied as a pianist. Bugova participated in numerous summer courses including the Goppisberg Music Festival.

In 2002, she played for the Ballet Company Basel under the direction of R. Wherlock, and for 18 years Maria Bugova was the ballet accompanist for Ballet Basel. Throughout her career of many years, she collaborated with prominent figures in the ballet world such as J. Kylian, J. Inger and others. Since 2015 Maria Bugova has been working as a ballet accompanist for the “Arts Center Basel” founded by A. Braswell.