Maros, Rudolf

Maros, Rudolf, Hungarian composer, father of Miklós Maros; b. Stachy, Jan. 19, 1917; d. Budapest, Aug. 3, 1982. He studied at the Györ teachers’ training college (graduated, 1937), and then took courses in composition with Kodály and Siklós and viola with Temesváry at the Budapest Academy of Music (1938–42); later attended A. Hába’s master class there (1949). He played viola in the Budapest Concert Orch. (1942–49); from 1949 to 1978 he was on the faculty of the Budapest Academy of Music. In 1971–72 he held a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst scholarship in West Berlin. In 1954,1955, and 1957 he received Erkel prizes. In 1973 he was made a Merited Artist and in 1980 an Outstanding Artist by the Hungarian government. The early period of his music is marked by nationalistic tendencies; later he adopted serial techniques and began to explore the field of “sonorism,” or sound for sound’s sake, making use of all available sonorous resources, such as tone clusters and microtones.

Works

dramatic: ballet: The Wedding at Ecser (1950); Bányászballada (Miner’s Ballad; 1961); Cinque studi (1967; after the orch. set of the same title); Quadros soltos (Musica da ballo) (1968); Reflexionen (1970); Dance Pictures (1971); Metropolis (1972); The Poltroon (1972). orch.:Puppet Show Overture (1944); 2 sinfoniettas (1944, 1948); Bassoon Concertino (1954); Symphony for Strings (1956); Ricercare (1959); Musica da ballo, suite (1962; based on the ballet Bányászballada)’, Cinque studi (1960; as a ballet, 1967); 3 Eufonias: I for Strings, 2 Harps, and Percussion (1963), II for 24 Winds, 2 Harps, and Percussion (1964), and III for Orch. (1965); Gemma (In Memoriam Kodály) (1968); Monumentum (1969); Notices for Strings (1972); Landscapes for Strings (1974); Fragment (1977). chamber: String Quartet (1948); Serenade for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1952); Musica leggiera for Wind Quintet (1956); String Trio (1957); Musica da camera per 11 (1966; Hanover, N.H., July 12,1967); Trio for Violin, Viola, and Harp (1967); Consort for Wind Quintet (1970); Albumblätter for Double Bass (1973); Kaleidoscope for 15 Instruments (1976); 4 Studies for 4 Percussionists (1977); Contrasts for Chamber Ensemble (1979). vocal: 2 Laments for Soprano, Alto Flute, Harp, Piano, and Percussion (1962); Lament for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (1967); Messzésegek (Remoteness) for Chorus (1975); Strophen for Soprano, Harp, and Percussion (1975); Nyúlfarkkantáta (Tiny Cantata) for Voices, Strings, and Piano (1976); Cheremiss Folksongs for Chorus (1977).

Bibliography

P. Várnai, M. R.(Budapest, 1967).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire