Zoltán Kodály
Encyclopedia
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian
composer
, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue
, linguist
, and philosopher
. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method
.
, Kodály learned to play the violin
as a child.
In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs, recording them on phonograph cylinders. In 1906 he wrote the thesis on Hungarian folk song ("Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong"). Around this time Kodály met fellow composer Béla Bartók
, whom he took under his wing and introduced to some of the methods involved in folk song collecting. The two became lifelong friends and champions of each other's music.
All these works show a great originality of form and content, a very interesting blend of highly sophisticated mastery in the Western-European style of music, including classical, late-romantic, impressionistic and modernist tradition and at the other hand profound knowledge and respect for the folk music on Hungary
, Slovakia
, Bulgaria
, Albania
and other Eastern-European countries. Due to the outbreak of the First World War and subsequent major geopolitical changes in the region and partly because of the personal shyness Kodály had no major public success until 1923 when his Psalmus Hungaricus premiered at a concert to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the union of Buda
and Pest
(Bartók's Dance Suite
premiered on the same occasion.)
Kodály was very interested in the problems of music education, and he wrote a large amount of material on music education methods as well as composing a large amount of music for children. Beginning in 1935, along with colleague Jenö Ádám
, he embarked on a long term project to reform music teaching in the lower and middle schools. His work resulted in the publication of several highly influential books. The Hungarian music education method that developed in the 1940s became the basis for what is called the "Kodály Method
". Kodaly himself did not write a comprehensive method, but he did establish a set of principles to follow in music education. See also: Kodály Hand Signs.
His notable students include Anne Lauber
and John Verrall
.
In the motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind
a visual learning aid distributed to members of a conference of UFOlogist was named "Zoltan Kodaly" and referenced musical notes as hand signals.
His wife was Emma Gruber, the dedicatee of Ernő Dohnányi
's Waltz for piano four-hands, Op. 3, and Variations and Fugue on a theme by E.G., Op. 4 (1897).
Orchestral
Chamber/instrumental
Choral
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...
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...
, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
, linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, and philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He is best known internationally as the creator 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...
.
Life
Born in KecskemétKecskemét
Kecskemét is a city in the central part of Hungary. It is the 8th largest city of the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third-largest city, Szeged, 86 kilometres from both of them and almost equal distance from the two...
, Kodály learned to play the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
as a child.
In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs, recording them on phonograph cylinders. In 1906 he wrote the thesis on Hungarian folk song ("Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong"). Around this time Kodály met fellow composer Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, whom he took under his wing and introduced to some of the methods involved in folk song collecting. The two became lifelong friends and champions of each other's music.
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...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and other Eastern-European countries. Due to the outbreak of the First World War and subsequent major geopolitical changes in the region and partly because of the personal shyness Kodály had no major public success until 1923 when his Psalmus Hungaricus premiered at a concert to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the union of Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
and Pest
Pest (city)
Pest is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two thirds of the city's territory. It is divided from Buda, the other part of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable parts are the Inner City, including the Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and...
(Bartók's Dance Suite
Dance Suite (Bartók)
Dance Suite, Sz. 77, BB 86 , sometimes also called Tanz Suite, Sz. 77, BB 86, is an orchestral suite composed in 1923 by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. In 1925, the composer himself wrote a reduction of this piece for piano, which has become also as well-known as the original...
premiered on the same occasion.)
Kodály was very interested in the problems of music education, and he wrote a large amount of material on music education methods as well as composing a large amount of music for children. Beginning in 1935, along with colleague Jenö Ádám
Jenö Ádám
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...
, he embarked on a long term project to reform music teaching in the lower and middle schools. His work resulted in the publication of several highly influential books. The Hungarian music education method that developed in the 1940s became the basis for what is called 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...
". Kodaly himself did not write a comprehensive method, but he did establish a set of principles to follow in music education. See also: Kodály Hand Signs.
Anne Lauber
Anne Lauber is a Canadian composer, conductor, and music educator of Swiss birth. A member of the Canadian League of Composers and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, she has been commissioned to write works by the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian...
and John Verrall
John Verrall
John Weedon Verrall was an American composer of contemporary classical music.-Life:Prior to his University studies, Verrall studied composition with Donald Ferguson, followed by studies with R. O. Morris in London and Zoltán Kodály in Budapest. He obtained a B.M. degree from the Minneapolis School...
.
In the motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
a visual learning aid distributed to members of a conference of UFOlogist was named "Zoltan Kodaly" and referenced musical notes as hand signals.
His wife was Emma Gruber, the dedicatee of Ernő Dohnányi
Erno Dohnányi
Ernő Dohnányi was a Hungarian conductor, composer, and pianist. He used the German form of his name Ernst von Dohnányi for most of his published compositions....
's Waltz for piano four-hands, Op. 3, and Variations and Fugue on a theme by E.G., Op. 4 (1897).
Selected works
Operas- Háry JánosHáry JánosHáry János is a "Hungarian folk opera" in four acts by Zoltán Kodály to a Hungarian libretto by Béla Paulini and Zsolt Harsányi, based on the comic epic The Veteran by János Garay. The first performance was at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, Budapest, 1926...
, Op. 15 (1926) - SzékelyfonóSzékelyfonóSzékelyfonó is a one-act theatre piece with music by Zoltán Kodály from Hungarian folk songs. The work is described as ‘Daljáték egy felvonásban’, folk songs in one act...
(The Spinning Room) (1924–1932)
Orchestral
- Summer Evening (1906, revised 1929)
- Háry János Suite (1926)
- Dances of Marosszék (1930)
- Dances of Galánta (1933)
- Peacock Variations (1939)
- Concerto for Orchestra (1939–1940)
- Symphony (1930s–1961)
Chamber/instrumental
- Adagio for violin (or viola, or cello) and piano (1905)
- Intermezzo for string trio (1905)
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 2 (1908–1909)
- Cello Sonata, Op. 4 (1909–1910)
- Duo for violin and cello, Op. 7 (1914)
- Sonata for solo cello, Op. 8 (1915)
- String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 (1916–1918)
- Szerenád (Serenade) for 2 violins and viola, Op. 12 (1919–1920)
- Pange lingua, Praeludium for organ (1931)
- Organoeida ad missam lectam (Csendes mise) (1944)
- Epigrammak (1954)
Choral
- Este (1904)
- Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13 (1923)
- Matrai kepek (1931)
- Jézus és a kufárok (1934)
- Te Deum (1939)
- Missa Brevis for soloists, chorus and organ (1942, 1948)
- Laudes organiLaudes organiLaudes Organi is a piece of music for organ and choir by Zoltan Kodaly. It was composed in 1966 for the National Convention of The American Guild of Organists.The text for Laudes Organi can be found...
for chorus and organ (1966) - Adventi ének (Veni, Veni Emmanuel) for mixed choir a cappella
Further reading
- Breuer, János (1990) A Guide to Kodály. Budapest: Corvina Books
- Kodály, Zoltán (1971) Folk Music of Hungary. New York: Praeger
- Lendvai, Erno (1983) The Workshop of Bartók and Kodály. Budapest: Editio Musica Budapest