Juraj Kušnierik dies in Iceland
A regular visitor to Iceland and a good friend of the Icelandic music scene.
Slovak radio broadcaster and journalist and friend of Iceland Juraj Kušnierik died last Friday at the age of 51, after suffering a heart attack at the Iceland Airwaves music festival.
Kušnierik was one of the most influential music journalists in Slovakia and was highly instrumental in introducing Eastern Europe to Icelandic music. In 2013, he published a book on the Icelandic music scene called Hudba ostrova and made a short film on the same subject called Reykjavik Revisited.
He was culture editor for .týždeň magazine in Slovakia, which often features pieces on Icelandic musicians. Icelanders were also regulars at the Pohoda music festival, at Kušnierik‘s instigation.
Kušnierik was a regular visitor to Iceland and became a good friend of the Icelandic music scene. He attended Iceland Airwaves every year. During his visit to this year’s festival, he suffered a heart attack, later dying in hospital.
Icelandic musicians and friends of Kušnierik have organised a concert in his memory at Húrra in Reykjavik, at 7pm. All proceeds go directly to Kušnierik’s family.
