István Szelényi

István Szelényi [ ˈiʃtvaːn ˈsɛleːɲi ] (born August 8, 1904 in Altsohl, Austria-Hungary , today Zvolen , Slovakia ; † January 31, 1972 in Budapest ) was a Hungarian pianist and composer .

István Szelényi studied composition with Zoltán Kodály and later taught himself at the Budapest Music Academy. From his work, the works for music lessons have become known worldwide, including works for youth orchestras, for violin ensembles, as well as chamber and piano music. Numerous works by him have been included in the repertoire of the German Schott publishing house (Mainz), for example his “Musical Picture Book” for piano, one of the most imaginative and educationally stimulating piano collections of the 20th century.

Pianist, composer, researcher

István Szelényi was an excellent pianist with a university degree and, as an artist performing throughout Europe, an excellent interpreter, above all of the works of Franz Liszt, Béla Bartók and his own contemporaries.

In the mid-1950s, István Szelényi received international attention as a Liszt researcher and musicologist through his first publications of Liszt works ("Bagatelle without key", "Csardás macabre", Historical Hungarian Portraits ").

István Szelényi's first compositional career was dominated by an experimental, expressionistic style. After the end of the Second World War, a "middle creative period" followed with the endeavor to write a tonal, generally understandable, and at the same time contemporary music. On this basis, his expressive, free tonal, sometimes somewhat sparse late style developed in the 1960s, as it were as a synthesis of early and middle creative phases, whereby a peculiar humor is not neglected in his music.

From the rich life work of István Szelényi, which encompasses almost all musical genres, they were published posthumously in the 1990s. a. the “Sonata for flute and piano” (Editio Musica Budapest, EMB), the “Colorit” suite for piano four hands, and the “Improvisation for violin or flute with piano” published by Schott-Verlag (Mainz). His last completed work, a four-hand piano sonata from 1970, has also been published by Schott. The posthumous premiere of the work took place on November 14, 1997 in the Residenzschloss Bad Urach (Germany, Baden-Württemberg). The German GrauSchumacher Piano Duo played . The two pianists, whose excellent interpretation was recorded live by the SWR Studio Tübingen, also oversaw the first edition of this three-movement piano sonata. The most recent publication: for the Frankfurt Music Fair 2001 the new edition of twelve easy little pieces for flute with piano accompaniment appeared. The young Hungarian flautist Gyula Szeloth-Csetényi worked on this selection together with Laszló Szelényi (born October 3, 1935 in Budapest; † March 30, 2008 in Vienna), the son of István Szelényi, from the 24 easy, short performance pieces for violin and piano .

Recordings and recordings

The following works (as studio productions or live in concert from the "Empire Hall" of the Esterházy Castle in Eisenstadt) have been recorded on Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF): "Aria" and Sonata for Violoncello and Piano ", the" Sonata for Flute and Piano ”(all published by EMB in Hungary), as well as the piano pieces“ Hommage à Bartók ”and“ Nocturne ”and the song cycle“ New Hungarian Poetry. ”This, as well as CD recordings of his piano works in Japan, testify to the lasting quality of the music by István Szelényi and a lively, worldwide appreciation of his overall work.

(Source: Foreword to the “Music in Autumn - Pannonian Concert Series” of the “István Szelényi Foundation” founded by his son, Laszló Szelényi, in 1996 in Eisenstadt, autumn 2007 edition)

Works

István Szelényi composed an operetta , three oratorios , two pantomimes , a symphony , an overture , a string suite , two violin concertos , a piano concerto and a triple concerto for violin, viola, piano and wind orchestra, chamber music works, piano pieces and choral music.

Web links

• Short biography and works at Schott Music (English)