About

From the heart of Slovakia
to the stages of Europe

A multi-genre pianist, composer, singer and simply a "musician". Audiences took to my unusual pairings - Ed Sheeran with Mozart, AC/DC with Beethoven. Those unexpected turns between genres are exactly what I love, and I enjoy being a crossover pianist.

The story

Music as a mother tongue

I grew up in a house where someone played and sang every day. The piano was my way of saying things before I had the words for them.

After the conservatory came the years abroad. I played in spa orchestras in Germany, on ocean liners, and as a soloist in Switzerland. It taught me one thing that still holds: an audience does not always care what a virtuoso you are, but it always cares whether you are in the room with them.

Since then I have built my Piano Show from the ground up, released ten albums and played hundreds of concerts to full halls. The finest feeling is sensing that the audience and I are on the same wave of emotion.

Jozef Holly
Photo: Jozef Holly archive

Milestones

The road in dates

1977

Ružomberok

I was born into a family of musicians. My father - a versatile musician and singer - spotted the talent before I did.

1982

First piano lessons

I sat down at the piano at five. Years of practice followed that were not always fun at the time - and that I now know made sense. My first teacher was the wonderful Mrs Irenka Šimerková. The foundations she gave me are still in my fingers today.

1991 - 1995

Žilina Conservatory

Piano studies in the class of Mgr. art. Darina Švárna. Alongside the classical repertoire came a big band, a jazz trio and the first solo appearances.

The years after

Germany and Switzerland

Spa orchestras, ocean liners, solo engagements in Switzerland. The kind of schooling no classroom offers - playing to an audience every single night.

2011

First album

“The world I live in” - twelve tracks, and the start of a discography that now runs to ten titles.

2020

LIVE at Bratislava

A concert recording on DVD and CD. Nineteen pieces, from Zimmer through Beethoven to Lady Gaga.

2023

Connections

The album that best captures the road I have travelled - Queen, Prince, Morricone and Barber side by side, unapologetically.

2025

Symphonic Piano Show

A dream fulfilled: a sixty-piece symphony orchestra and my band on one stage.

2026

Piano Show 2026

Seventeen cities, one tour. We set off soon :-)

An audience does not always care what a virtuoso you are, but it always cares whether you are in the room with them.

Jozef Holly

Booking

Bring Piano Show
to your stage

Concert halls, festivals, corporate evenings, balls and private events - in Slovakia and abroad.

Next concert28. NOV 2026 · ZvolenTickets