Music
FERENC LISZT
(Doborján, 1811 - Bayreuth, 1886)
Dream of the greatest artist of Romanticism
A virtuosic piano player, already as a child noticed by Beethoven, later he becomes a close friend of Chopin and Berlioz, he supports Wagner to achieve success (and let him marry his daughter!). Several nations - Germany, Austria - claim him as their son, but Liszt was Hungarian, although he spent most of his life in Weimar. He wrote the greatest pieces of romanticism, his works are constantly on the repertoire of the most noted concert halls, and all ambitious musicians consider it a challenge to play a Liszt piece. His Les Preludes and the Hungarian Rhapsodies are leading works in the top list of classical music.
BÉLA BARTÓK
(Nagyszentmiklós, March 25, 1881 - New York, September 26, 1945)
A cosmopolitan of music
A world-famous innovator of classical music: his opera, Bluebeard's Castle and his theatre pieces, The Wooden Prince and The Miraculous Mandarin are on the repertoire of all noted opera houses in the world. In the early 20th century he was collecting folk music of Hungarians and other ethnics together with Zoltán Kodály, and he later used these motives in his famous chorus and orchestra pieces. He emigrated to the United States in 1940, where he wrote one of his most popular works, the Concerto.
ZOLTÁN KODÁLY
(Kecskemét, December 16, 1882 - Budapest, March 6, 1967)
The composer of Psalmus Hungaricus
He studied music composition, he attended the faculty of arts, but his interest soon turned towards collecting folk music and the Hungarian folklore in general. He spent all his life teaching and collecting; his so-called 'Kodály method' became popular worldwide, since it gave a chance for everybody to study music and not just the talented ones.
He was a popular composer and performer in Europe and America as well. His most significant pieces are the string-quartets, Psalmus Hungaricus, Dances from Galanta, János Háry, the Spinning Room.
GYÖRGY KURTÁG
(Lugos [Romania], February 19, 1926- )
The world-famous pope of modern music
He is better known internationally than in Hungary, though it is impossible to get tickets for his concerts in his home country, too. He is considered as the greatest innovator of 20th century music composition. He resettled in Hungary after World War II, where he was teaching chamber music in the Academy of Music for a long time. He used to live in Paris, but he spends most of his time in Berlin and the Netherlands nowadays. His compositions are performed by the most famous conductors and soloists of the world.
ZOLTÁN KOCSIS
(Budapest, 1952 - )
A renowned piano virtuoso
At the age of eighteen, he won the Beethoven contest of the Hungarian Radio, making a great entry into the international music life. He has been invited to the leading centers of music in Europe, America and the Far East as well, he has performed with the most famous orchestras and recorded for the leading music publishers. Richter himself played four-hands with him in concert tour. Currently he is the exclusive artist of Philips Classics. He founded the Festival Orchestra and helped the National Philharmonic Orchestra gain international renown. He also conducts, preferring modern composers - e.g. Schönberg.
