Photo: Alajos Györgyi Giergl · Public domain · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Ferenc Erkel
Person · male · Hungary · Gyula · born 1810 · died 1893 · recording since 1991
Hungarian composer, conductor and pianist (1810–1893)
Also known as Franz Erkel · F. Erkel · Ferenc Erkel · 艾凯尔·费伦茨
Timeline
8 events▣ Album 3✦ Award 2◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1810s
1860s
1880s
1890s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Opera Transcriptions: Bátori Mária / Hunyadi László / Erzsébet / Bánk bán / Sarolta / Dózsa György / Brankovics
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Opera Transcriptions: Bátori Mária / Hunyadi László / Erzsébet / Bánk bán / Sarolta / Dózsa György / Brankovics
Album
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Bánk Bán (Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra & Hungarian State Opera Chorus feat. conductor: Ferencsik János)
Album
source: musicbrainz
Biography
English biography448 words · 5 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1375439407
Biography
Ferenc Erkel (Hungarian: Erkel Ferenc Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈɛrkɛl ˈfɛrɛnt͡s], German: Franz Erkel; November 7, 1810 – June 15, 1893) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and pianist. He was the father of Hungarian grand opera, written mainly on historical themes, which are still often performed in Hungary. He also composed the music of "Himnusz", the national anthem of Hungary, which was adopted in 1844. He died in Budapest.
Biography
Erkel was born in Gyula to an originally Danube Swabian Erkel family, a son of Joseph Erkel who was a musician. His mother was the Hungarian Klára Ruttkay. The libretti of his first three operas were written by Béni Egressy. Beside his operas, for which he is best known, he wrote pieces for piano and chorus, and a majestic Festival Overture. He acquainted Hector Berlioz with the tune of the Rákóczi March, which Berlioz used in The Damnation of Faust.
He headed the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (founded in 1853). He was also the director and piano teacher of the Hungarian Academy of Music until 1886. The Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest was opened in 1884, of which he was the musical director.
In 1839, he married Adél Adlers. Four of his sons participated in the composing of his later operas:Nyíregyháza (July 4, 1842, Pest – March 22, 1909, Újpest), Elek (November 2, 1843, Pest – June 10, 1893, Budapest), László (April 9, 1844, Pest – December 3, 1896, Pozsony / Bratislava) and Sándor (January 2, 1846, Pest – October 14, 1900, Nyíregyháza).
In popular culture
Erkel was an internationally acknowledged chess player as well, and a founder of Pesti Sakk-kör (Budapest Chess Club).
A department of the Opera House was established in 1911 in Budapest which also performs operas, named Erkel Színház (Erkel Theatre) since 1953.
He was commemorated on gold and silver coins issued by the Hungarian National Bank for the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Operas
Bátori Mária (1840, two acts; Mária Bátori is the lover of István, son of Coloman of Hungary)
Hunyadi László (1844, four acts)
Erzsébet (1857, three acts, only the second is by Erkel)
Bánk bán (1861, three acts; Bánk bán is a palatine of Andrew II) – this opera is often thought of as the national opera of Hungary
Sarolta (1862, three acts)
Dózsa György (1867, five acts)
Brankovics György (1874, four acts)
Névtelen hősök (1880, "Nameless heroes", four acts)
István király (1885, "King Stephen", four acts)
Kemény Simon (remained in fragments; planned to be of three acts)
Chamber Music
Duo brillant for Violin and Piano (1837) - ˙˙(Duo brillant en forme de Fantaisie sur des airs hongrois concertant pour piano et violon... par F. Erkel et H. Vieuxtemps.) IK.4.
Verbunkos Fantasy for Viola and Piano (1890) IK. 47.
Other languages
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 35 | 92.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 3 | 77.1th |
| Studio albums | 3 | 80.9th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 8 | 84.1th |
| Recording span (years) | -98 | 5th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (3 release groups · 3 studio albums)
Albums · 3
1991 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:02:39
1Bátori Mária: March. Maestoso3:232Hunyadi László: Hunyadi’s “Swan‐Song” (second version). Andante sostenuto6:403Hunyadi László: Hunyadi’s March2:194Erzsébet: March of the Hungarian People. Introduction – Marcia3:145Bánk bán: Introduction. Andante4:156Sarolta: Introduction. Andantino – Allegro6:387Sarolta, Finale to Act I – Ensemble. Andante – Allegro4:158Sarolta: Dance. Allegro2:489Dózsa György: Rozsa’s Death‐Song. Allegro tempestoso – Andante – Tempo I7:0810Potpourri sur des motifs de l’Opera “Brankovics” de Ferenc Erkel: Marcia. Allegro marciale3:0911Potpourri sur des motifs de l’Opera “Brankovics” de Ferenc Erkel: Finale I. Kolo. Allegro3:4512Potpourri sur des motifs de l’Opera “Brankovics” de Ferenc Erkel: Romanza “Mióta láttam őt”. Andantino5:0313Potpourri sur des motifs de l’Opera “Brankovics” de Ferenc Erkel: Finale II. Ensemble “Aldjon meg Isten’”. Moderato quasi andantino4:1614Potpourri sur des motifs de l’Opera “Brankovics” de Ferenc Erkel: Arioso “De te sirez, atyám”. Andantino3:3115Potpourri sur des motifs de l’Opera “Brankovics” de Ferenc Erkel: Coro. Allegretto2:151994 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 31 tracks · 2:34:02
Disc 11Hunyadi László: Overture12:382Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 1. “Nem leszünk mi hű kutyái”3:083Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 1. “Halljátok most jó hívek” / “Csak az, mit fájlal szívem”4:424Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 1. “Légy üdvöz, nemes barátunk”4:495Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 1. “Látlak végre, te hős Nándorfehérvár”6:576Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 1. “Kik vagytok? László király kísérete”2:227Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 2. “Kizárni a király kíséretét?”4:018Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 2. “Van végre egy pár nyugodt pillanat!” / “Ó, szállj hozzám”4:459Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 2. “Üdvözöllek, szívem hű barátja”4:0710Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 2. “Királyom nevében üdvözöllek”3:5311Hunyadi László: Act I, Scene 2. “Mi rémületes zaj” / “Meghalt a cselszövő”5:22Disc 21Hunyadi László: Act II. “Nyári est” / “Jó így egyes-egyedül”3:202Hunyadi László: Act II. “Mint a tenger”8:123Hunyadi László: Act II. “Éljen László király!” / “Lásd, térdre hull”5:324Hunyadi László: Act II. “Az égen csillagom”4:225Hunyadi László: Act II. “Ím, újra nálam vagytok” / “Mily édes, jó vagy”3:586Hunyadi László: Act II. “Nagy ég, remegek!” / “Szép reménysugár”6:167Hunyadi László: Act II. “Mily boldogság, hogy mellettem vagy” / “Mily szép vagy, édesem”7:208Hunyadi László: Act II. “Ím halljátok most, jó magyarjaink”8:26Disc 31Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 1. “Hosszú az éj” / “Én, bábja vad kezeknek” / “Ég kincse, drága, szép Mária!”4:352Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 1. “Mily jókor jössz”3:573Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 2. “Szép dalra zendülj”2:554Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 2. “Ah, szememben mámor s öröm ragyog”3:565Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 2. Ballet4:196Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 2. “Hát keblemen lész mindörökre”1:187Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 3. Intermezzo5:078Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 3. “Sötét börtön” / “Miért is botlottam ily csapdába én?”3:349Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 3. “Szabadság angyala!” / “Áldjon meg Isten”7:4310Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 4. Funeral march3:1511Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 4. “Hol van ő?”2:3412Hunyadi László: Act III, Scene 4. “Ó, ég és föld irgalmas Istene” / “Magyarok! Halljátok búcsúmat”6:391994 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 27 tracks · 2:06:05
Disc 11Bánk Bán: Prelude3:012Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 1. Scena "Ah, Biberach örvendj!" (Ottó, Biberach, Petúr, Chorus)3:203Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 1. Drinking Song "Bordalt, Petúr" - "Ha férfilelkedet" (Chorus, Petúr)2:354Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 1. Scena "A királyné!" - "Szép oromkonny" (Courtier, Chorus, Ottó, Melinda, Gertrúd)2:495Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 1. Duet "Hívtál, Petúr bán!" (Bánk, Petúr, Biberach)7:136Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 1. Scena and ballet "Jöjjetek barátaim!" (Petúr, Chorus, Courtier)4:467Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 1. Scena "Gyengéd szíved nem örül" (Ottó, Melinda, Gertrúd, Biberach, Chorus)5:578Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 2. Scena, Aria and Duet "Melinda, csak egy szóra!" (Ottó, Melinda, Biberach)6:489Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 2. Romance "Lett volna vak e szem" - "Melinda! te égi név" (Bánk)3:4910Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 2. Scena "Oh, szégyen, ím az elsõ lény" (Ottó, Biberach)2:1711Bánk Bán: Act I, Scene 3. Finale "Most Gertrúd elbocsát" (Gertrúd, Chorus, Melinda, Ottó, Petúr)7:3412Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Prelude0:5313Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Aria "Mint számûzött, ki vándorol" (Bánk)2:3814Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Duet "A békétlenek terveit" (Bánk, Tiborc)7:5015Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Duet "Sebhely díszíti homlokod" (Bánk, Tiborc)1:54Disc 21Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Scena "Gyászhírt hozok" (Biberach, Bánk, Melinda)2:542Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Aria "Ölj meg engemet, Bánk" (Melinda)3:333Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. Duet "Hol van fehér homlokod liljom virága?" (Bánk, Melinda)3:564Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 1. The Farewell "Hûséges Tiborcom" (Bánk, Melinda)8:145Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 2. Duet "Bánk bán! Te itt?" (Gertrúd, Bánk)6:306Bánk Bán: Act II, Scene 2. "Magyar hazámnak falvait bejártam" (Bánk, Gertrúd, Ottó)5:447Bánk Bán: Act III, Scene 1. Scena "Szegény gyermekem" (Melinda, Tiborc, Chorus)6:108Bánk Bán: Act III, Scene 1. Aria "Élt régen, egyszer" (Melinda)3:539Bánk Bán: Act III, Scene 1. Recitative and Lullaby "A csónak készen vár" (Tiborc, Melinda)4:5210Bánk Bán: Act III, Scene 1. Scena "Ne üljetek most a ladikra fel!" (Chorus, Tiborc, Melinda)2:0611Bánk Bán: Act III, Scene 2. Scena "Isten, a holtnak adj örök nyugalmat" (Chorus, King Endre, Knight, Bánk)10:0712Bánk Bán: Act III, Scene 2. Finale "Oh, jaj nekem, Tiborc!" (Bánk, Tiborc, Chorus)4:42
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Ferenc Erkel head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 35 | 92.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 3 | 77.1th |
| Studio albums | 3 | 80.9th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 8 | 84.1th |
| Recording span (years) | -98 | 5th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1867 | Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph | won | |
| 1888 | Order of the Iron Crown (Austria) | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erkel_Ferenc_Gy%C3%B6rgyi_Alajos.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/645d98aa-7568-4399-bda9-d5f47aa7e8dfdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/645d98aa-7568-4399-bda9-d5f47aa7e8dfcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q316820genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q316820seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferenc_Erkelbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferenc_Erkelbiography—wikipedia-hu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erkel_Ferenc
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: historic figure (35 language versions, career ended)
Image: Alajos Györgyi Giergl · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q316820 · MusicBrainz: 645d98aa-7568-4399-bda9-d5f47aa7e8df
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