Denes Agay

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Denes Agay (apparently also under the pseudonym Gerald Martin ; born June 10, 1911 near Budapest , † January 24, 2007 in Los Altos ) was an American composer and arranger of Hungarian origin.

Life

Coming from a small town near Budapest, Agay began playing the piano at the age of three. In 1934 he graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with a doctorate in music (at the request of his father, he also studied at the law faculty of the University of Budapest ). As a result, a symphony Agays was successfully performed by the Budapest Philharmonic under the direction of the composer. Denes Agay also worked as a film composer.

After Hungary came closer to Germany's National Socialist regime , Agay emigrated to New York in 1939 as a Jew whose parents were later murdered in Auschwitz and became a US citizen. From 1942 he did military service. After the Second World War he worked as a teacher, composer and editor, as well as a conductor and arranger for NBC . He is particularly known for his multi-volume collection of piano arrangements The Young Pianist's Library and the anthology Best Loved Songs of the American People , published in 1975 and sold millions of times in the USA .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Where was Gerald Martin the composer born? In: answers.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016 .
  2. VIAF entry, s. u. "Name variants" section. In: viaf.org. Retrieved January 14, 2016 .