Jenö Ádám
Encyclopedia
Jenö Ádám was a Hungarian
music educator, composer
, and conductor
.
He studied composition and conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music
where he was a pupil of Zoltán Kodály
. He later became a longtime teacher at the school and developed a close working relationship with Kodály. Beginning in 1935, the two collaborated on a long term project to reform music teaching in the lower and middle schools. Many of Ádám's teaching methods and curriculums developed during that project were adopted by Kodály and are now a part of the Kodály Method
. Ádám was the author of several books on music education that were published in Hungary during the 1940s, two of which were co-authored with Kodály. His methodology has had a profound impact on music education internationally and is still studied today by students of the Kodaly Method. The Organization of American Kodály Educators has established an academic scholarship in his name.
Jenö Ádám was responsible for the first performances in Hungary of the Dettingen Te Deum
and other oratorios by George Frideric Handel
, L'enfance du Christ
by Hector Berlioz
, and Dido and Aeneas
by Henry Purcell
.
As a composer, he is best known for his three operas, Ez a mi földünk (1923), Magyar karácsony (1931) and Mária Veronika (1938), of which the latter two premiered in Budapest
at the Royal Hungarian Opera House. He was also the conductor of choirs at the Academy of Music, the chorus master at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, and the conductor of numerous other choirs during his career.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
music educator, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
He studied composition and conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...
where he was a pupil of Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
. He later became a longtime teacher at the school and developed a close working relationship with Kodály. Beginning in 1935, the two collaborated on a long term project to reform music teaching in the lower and middle schools. Many of Ádám's teaching methods and curriculums developed during that project were adopted by Kodály and are now a part of the Kodály Method
Kodály Method
The Kodály Method, also referred to as the Kodály Concept, is an approach to music education developed in Hungary during the mid-twentieth century by Zoltán Kodály...
. Ádám was the author of several books on music education that were published in Hungary during the 1940s, two of which were co-authored with Kodály. His methodology has had a profound impact on music education internationally and is still studied today by students of the Kodaly Method. The Organization of American Kodály Educators has established an academic scholarship in his name.
Jenö Ádám was responsible for the first performances in Hungary of the Dettingen Te Deum
Dettingen Te Deum
The Dettingen Te Deum is a canticle in D major composed by George Frideric Handel in 1743.-Background:On 27 June 1743, the British army and its allies, under the command of King George II and Lord Stair, won a victory at the Battle of Dettingen, over the French army, commanded by the Maréchal de...
and other oratorios by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, L'enfance du Christ
L'enfance du Christ
L'enfance du Christ , Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it was composed in 1853 and 1854, but it also incorporates an earlier work La fuite en Egypte...
by Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, and Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
by Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
.
As a composer, he is best known for his three operas, Ez a mi földünk (1923), Magyar karácsony (1931) and Mária Veronika (1938), of which the latter two premiered in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
at the Royal Hungarian Opera House. He was also the conductor of choirs at the Academy of Music, the chorus master at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, and the conductor of numerous other choirs during his career.
Books by Ádám
- A skálától a szimfóniáig (From the Scale to the Symphony, BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 1943) - Szó-mi (Singing Textbooks for Elementary Schools, Budapest, 1943, with Zoltán Kodály)
- Módszeres énektanítás a relatív szolmizáció alapján (Systematic Singing Teaching Based on the Tonic Sol-fa, Budapest, 1944; Eng. trans., 1971 as Growing in Music with Movable Do)
- Énekeskönyv (Singing Book, Budapest, 1947, republished in English in March 1998 as Series for elementary schools, with Zoltán Kodály).