Stephan Jaray-Janetschek

Stephan Jaray-Janetschek (born December 2, 1868 in Pest ; † February 9, 1945 Budapest ) was a Hungarian composer .

Life

Stephan Janetschek grew up in a musical family. His father Joseph Janetschek was a flautist at the Deutsches Theater in Budapest, his younger sister Aloisia (1871–1947) a concert pianist and his uncle Alois Janetschek church music director in Karlsbad, where he supported the sick Johannes Brahms in August 1896 .

He was married to Anna Stehlik.

Bela Ossietzky (Hungarian: Oszetzky), Janetschek's sponsor and journalist, advised him to Magyarize his name and to add the name 'Jaray'. When the Second World War began, he also changed his first name to István.

Musical career

He and his sister received their first piano lessons from a tutor named Koschier. After admission to the Budapest Music Academy in 1883, he took piano lessons with Henri Gobbi , switched to organ to Hans Koessler in 1884 , attended masterclasses in piano and organ with Franz Liszt , attended the choir class and also received composition lessons from Hans Koessler. He graduated as an organist in 1888.

He became choirmaster at the Greek Orthodox Church on Petöfi Square. Since the church did not have an organ, he arranged the liturgical chants for a four-part male choir.

He gave piano and organ lessons for Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt . There he wrote the Piano Concerto op. 44 and in 1924 the Chamber Concerto op. 46. The concerts were premiered by Emánuel Hegyi (1877–1944) and Jeanne-Marie Darré under Antal Fleischer (1891–1945). He taught as a private music teacher and from 1921 to 1934 was a minor piano teacher at the Budapest Music Academy.

He also taught his nephew, the composer Stephan Cosacchi , as a piano, organ, violin and flute teacher.

Jaray-Janetschek was primarily a composer throughout his life, who did not appear as an interpreter, not even of his own works.

Works (selection)

His works are largely forgotten today, only the recording of the toccata from 1931 by Jeanne-Marie Darré testifies to the virtuosity of his piano works.

As a composer, Jaray-Janetschek was an eclectic who made use of essential features from different directions, but not an innovator like Béla Bartók , who was only 13 years younger and whose music he did not appreciate.

Op. 44 piano concerto
Op. 46 Chamber Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, 1924
Op. 48 Sonata for violin and piano, 1922
Op. 49 Sonata for flute and piano
Op. 50 Sonata for violoncello and piano, 1923
Op. 53 Piano Trio, 1928
Op. 70 Toccata for piano, 1930

Bela Ossietzky wrote various libretti for Jaray-Janetschek, which Jaray-Janetschek set to music as operas or ballets. These works cannot be verified in print.

Web links

Sheet music and audio files by Stephan Jaray-Janetschek in the International Music Score Library Project

Individual evidence

↑ Rohr, Robert: Our sounding heritage. Contributions to the music history of the Germans and their neighbors in and from Southeast Europe with special consideration of the Danube Swabians, Volume I, 1988, p. 277.
^ Diary of nephew Stephan Cosacchi , privately owned. The details of life and musical career are taken from the diary, unless otherwise specified. In many music lexicons (e.g. Altmann, Tonkünstler-Lexikon) 1935 is given as the year of death. This is impossible because in 1939 he signed some of his sheet music for friends and acquaintances. An example is on the title page of Meditation, Op.86 . The details of his death during the siege of Budapest by the Red Army are also described in the diary.
↑ ^a ^b Rohr, Robert: Our sounding heritage. Contributions to the music history of the Germans and their neighbors in and from Southeast Europe with special consideration of the Danube Swabians, Volume III, 2001, p. 155.
^ Mother of the composer Stephan Cosacchi .
↑ Today: Hungarian Orthodox Cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
↑ Original title of the 143-page edition: A görög kathikus szent liturgia (szent mise) népénekei a házasságkötési és temetési énekekkel együtt férfinégyes karra [a cappella]. A copy is u. a. in the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
↑ Brief mention of the world premiere of the chamber concert in 1927 with Emánuel Hegyi in: Die Musik, 20th year, 1st half year, 1927/28, p. 73.
↑ The following titles are mentioned in the diary mentioned above: 'The Pearl of Venice', 'Pan' and 'Andre', a ballet about the missing North Pole balloonist Salomon August Andrée .

personal data
SURNAME	Jaray-Janetschek, Stephan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	István Jarai-Janetschek
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Hungarian composer
DATE OF BIRTH	December 2, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH	pest
DATE OF DEATH	February 9, 1945
Place of death	Budapest

[1] Rohr, Robert: Our sounding heritage. Contributions to the music history of the Germans and their neighbors in and from Southeast Europe with special consideration of the Danube Swabians, Volume I, 1988, p. 277.

[2] Diary of nephew Stephan Cosacchi , privately owned. The details of life and musical career are taken from the diary, unless otherwise specified. In many music lexicons (e.g. Altmann, Tonkünstler-Lexikon) 1935 is given as the year of death. This is impossible because in 1939 he signed some of his sheet music for friends and acquaintances. An example is on the title page of Meditation, Op.86 . The details of his death during the siege of Budapest by the Red Army are also described in the diary.

[Rohr-3] Rohr, Robert: Our sounding heritage. Contributions to the music history of the Germans and their neighbors in and from Southeast Europe with special consideration of the Danube Swabians, Volume III, 2001, p. 155.

[4] Mother of the composer Stephan Cosacchi .

[5] Today: Hungarian Orthodox Cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

[6] Original title of the 143-page edition: A görög kathikus szent liturgia (szent mise) népénekei a házasságkötési és temetési énekekkel együtt férfinégyes karra [a cappella]. A copy is u. a. in the Liszt Academy in Budapest.

[7] Brief mention of the world premiere of the chamber concert in 1927 with Emánuel Hegyi in: Die Musik, 20th year, 1st half year, 1927/28, p. 73.

[8] The following titles are mentioned in the diary mentioned above: 'The Pearl of Venice', 'Pan' and 'Andre', a ballet about the missing North Pole balloonist Salomon August Andrée .