Zoltán Gárdonyi

Biography

Zoltán Gárdonyi (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈzoltaːn ˈɡaːrdoɲi]; 25 April 1906 – 27 June 1986) was a Hungarian composer and musicologist. He taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music for 26 years.

Life and work

Gárdonyi was born in Budapest. His mother, the pianist Maria Weigl, studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Liszt's pupil, István Thomán, at the same time and in the same class as Béla Bartók. At the age of 17, Gárdonyi began his studies in composition with Zoltán Kodály at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. After studying with Paul Hindemith and Arnold Schering in Berlin, he taught as a professor at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest from 1941 until 1967. He also led the faculty for Protestant sacred music until it was closed by the communists in 1949.
His oeuvre includes sacred music, orchestral works and chamber music. Three of his motets for choir a cappella were published in German by Schott, "Finnisches Busslied", "Der Herr ist mein Hirte" (Psalm 23) and "Singet dem Herren" (Psalm 96). Gárdonyi's musicological research yielded findings related to Bach and Liszt. His works were published in Germany, Hungary, Sweden and the United States. Gárdonyi lived in Germany with his family beginning in 1972. He died in Westfalian Herford a few weeks after his 80th birthday.
His son is the composer and concert organist Zsolt Gárdonyi.

Performances and recordings

Some of Gárdonyi's works were recorded, including his three organ sonatas and the Partita sopra Veni Creator Spiritus, played by Dezső Karasszon, as well as several further organ works and German motets. The Partita is a symphonic organ composition, consisting of the following mouvements: introduction (Largo), theme (Lento), four variations and finale (Allegro maestoso), based on Martin Luther's hymn for Pentecost "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist".

Editions

Zoltán Gárdonyi edited the Etudes and the Hungarian Rhapsodies by Franz Liszt for the Editio Musica Budapest.

Literature

Lavonne Harris: "A biography of Zoltán Gárdonyi and analyses of organ, string, and choral works", 356 pages, University of Oklahoma, 1992
Anne Beloncik Schantz: "An examination of text reflection and imaginery in Zoltán Gárdonyi´s FÜNF LIEDER NACH GEDICHTEN VON RAINER MARIA RILKE", 37 pages, University of North Texas, 2014
Dezső Karasszon: "Zoltán Gárdonyi", 32 pages with complete work list, Budapest 2001, Mágus Publishing