Hungarian composer and musicologist Zoltán
Kodály is being celebrated with memorial concert, its programme
mainly consisting of instrumental or vocal chamber works. Influenced by German
romanticism, Adagio was originally composed for violin and piano
in 1905, but five years later Kodály replaced the violin parts with the viola
and cello. After his first musical research trip in 1905 in search of Hungary’s
folk roots, he then studied in Berlin and Paris, where he learned about Debussy.
These experiences had a decisive impact on his development as a composer. Part
of his song cycle Énekszó (‘Singing’), the piano
composition Meditation on a Motif by Debussy is a variation on
the opening theme of Debussy's string quartet, and Sonata for Cello and
Piano, whose first movement was originally intended to be the first
version of Sonatina published in 1922. Following his folk opera Háry
János, Kodály compiled a six-movement orchestral suite from its most
characteristic melodies. A good decade later, Andor Földes rearranged three
excerpts from the suite for piano, the best-known being performed at this
concert.
Programme:
- Kodály: Adagio
- Kodály: Sonatina
- Kodály: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 4
- Kodály: Meditation on a Motif by Debussy
- Kodály-Földes: Háry János Suite – Intermezzo
- Kodály: Énekszó, Op. 1
