Franz Liszt, the other child of the century (1811-1886)
This citizen of the world left his mark on Europe from the 1830s to 1840 with his exceptional qualities as a composer and pianist. Proud of his origins, he worked throughout his life for the development of Hungarian musical life. Born in Doborján in 1811, he embodies the essence of musical romanticism. An intelligent and influential virtuoso, Liszt's curiosity led him to take an interest in all forms of music in particular and in art in general. In 1842, he was appointed conductor of the Weimar court orchestra and began a period of fifteen years during which the composer travelled throughout Europe on several occasions. It was in Weimar that Liszt composed many of his major works, such as the Messe de Gran and the Faust-Symphony. He became close to Richard Wagner, whose work he admired, and then directed Tannhauser and Lohengrin at the Weimar Theatre. In 1864, Franz Liszt made an unexpected decision and joined the Franciscan order, becoming Abbot Liszt. The Franciscan church along the Danube, near the Freedom Bridge, was his refuge for prayer and organ playing. In 1886, feeling death approaching, he set out on the road one last time, crossing Italy, Belgium and France before ending his journey in Bayreuth, where he is buried. Through his conception of harmony, Liszt opened a new path. The pages for piano, composed for the nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies, are inspired works, in which the composer was able to perfectly transcribe his sensations and emotions. To rediscover a bit of the musician's spirit, visit the Franz Liszt Museum, housed in the apartment that Liszt lived in at the end of his life, on the first floor of the former Academy of Music. The museum's collection contains original musical instruments, but also period furniture and paintings, books and scores by Liszt. You are bound to feel a certain emotion about the Bösendorfer piano, the composer's favourite instrument.
Founded by Franz Liszt in 1875, the Academy of Music is a place where the Hungarian musical heritage is showcased. It is a place for learning music, which includes an international university, but also performance halls. While remaining faithful to its original credo, the defence of national music and the interpretation of the great works of Hungarian composers, the academy focuses its development on creativity and innovation. Some also argue that the Grand Gallery has the best acoustics in the world. If you come to pick up your ticket early enough in the day, take the opportunity to check whether a rehearsal is in progress in the Great Hall and thus discover the work of the conductor, which is so important for the success of a performance. The academy also houses the Kodály Museum and Institute as well as the Franz Liszt Research Centre.
Béla Bartók, the modern folklorist (1881-1945)
With his synthesis of modern music and Hungarian musical traditions, Béla Bartók is considered one of the greatest figures in the history of music. At a young age, he began his career as a virtuoso pianist with precocious talent. Two influences clearly mark this first creative period of the musician: that of the verbunkos
and that of Richard Strauss. His interest quickly turned to folk music, which prompted him to undertake voyages of exploration. The challenge of this period was to find a way to integrate these contributions into his movement towards the avant-garde. He thus created a unique style by drawing on the themes and rhythms of popular traditions. He is now considered as one of the founding fathers of ethnomusicology. Each period will enrich Bartók's musical thought with complementary elements. The third period led him to dodecaphonism, then he tried his hand at contrapuntal writing. In reality Bartók respects and follows the traditional forms of scholarly music in each of his works (sonata, rondo, rhapsody, lied...), but he always brings them various nuances. As a world-renowned pianist, he has toured not only in Hungary, but also throughout Europe and even in the United States. This genius, with an incredible capacity for work, found the time to compile the popular melodies of the Hungarian countryside, eight to ten hours a week, to perform regularly in concert, but also to compose important works. Thanks to the rhythmic patterns of folk songs, he found new principles of musical arrangement. Among his most famous compositions are three pieces for the stage (an opera entitled Bluebeard's Castle, which would have inspired John Williams when he composed the music for the film Star Wars, the ballet The Wooden Prince and a Pantomime, The Marvelous Mandarin), symphonic cycles, six string quartets, the Cantata profana, three piano concertos, a violin concerto, a Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, the Microcosm series of piano exercises and the Divertimento for string orchestra. The house that the musician occupied from 1932 to 1940, before his exile in the United States, has been transformed into the Béla Bartók Museum, which has two floors displaying photographs, furniture and objects that belonged to the composer. It also traces the musician's life and work.Zoltán Kodály, an original musical thought (1882-1967)
"To form a nation, one must first become a people again," Kodály said in one of his books. Kodály will look back to the Hungarian past to bring it to life in his music. In contrast to Bartók, who turned to the avant-garde, Kodály insisted a lot in his career on the importance of music in education and is known for his teaching methods. He had noticed that, despite the existence of an opera house and world-class musicians in his country, this was not accompanied by an adequate number of qualified music teachers in schools, especially in the provinces. He would endeavour to remedy this by proselytizing music throughout the country, while at the same time working to collect and study Hungary's folklore heritage. As a composer, Kodály combines the post-romantic tradition with the repertoire of folk songs. He composed mainly vocal works, as well as two oratorios(Psalmus Hungaricus, Te Deum de Buda), two operas(János Háry, Veillée sicule) and numerous pieces for soloists. The Zoltán Kodály Museum, located in the composer's apartment in Budapest, offers an insight into the creative environment of the musician.
Opened in 1894, the Farkasrét cemetery in Budapest contains many tombs of Hungarian personalities. This is where Zoltán Kodály is buried and where Béla Bartók's remains were transferred in 1988. Bartók was originally buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, near New York. A walk through Farkasrét Cemetery will also allow you to enjoy a magnificent view of the city.
György Ligeti, the seeker of the absolute (1923-2006)
György Ligeti's works are a synthesis of the most elaborate acoustic research and a perfectly traditional musical universe. Starting from the influence of Bartók, whose "chromatic tonality" he inherited, and the language of the most diverse folklore, he sought his own path. He explained his vision of music perfectly: "I imagine music as something far away in space, which has always existed and will always exist, and of which we hear only a small fragment. "Considered one of the pioneers of 20th-century music, Ligeti was born in 1923 to a Hungarian Jewish family from Transylvania. His father and brother were murdered by the Nazis, and from 1943 to 1945 he himself was forced to work as a labourer. While his early works were largely censored by the Hungarian Stalinist regime, his departure for Vienna in 1956, where he met representatives of the Western musical avant-garde, opened new horizons for him. He thus developed a technique that belongs only to him, "micropolyphony", as he called it, which interweaves colours and musical textures into compositions that transcend the traditional boundaries of melody, harmony and rhythm. Ligeti became world-renowned for his opera Le Grand Macabre in 1978, as well as for his contribution to the soundtracks of Stanley Kubrick's films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey.
