SzōllõSy, András

SzōllõSy, András, Hungarian composer and musicologist; b. Szászváros, Transylvania, Feb. 27, 1921. He studied with Kodály and Viski at the Budapest Academy of Music (1939-44) and took courses in musicology at the Univ. of Budapest (Ph.D., 1943); completed his training in composition with Petrassi at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome (1947-48). He was a prof, of music history and theory at the Budapest Academy of Music (from 1950). In 1971 he received the Erkel Prize, in 1985 the Kossuth Prize, and in 1986 the Bartók-Pásztory Award. He was made an Artist of Merit (1972) and an Outstanding Artist (1982) of the Hungarian People’s Republic; in 1987 the French government made him a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres. His music draws upon modern resources cast along traditional lines. He publ. a study on Honegger (Budapest, 1960) and ed. the writings of Bartók.

Works

dramatic: Ballet: Olykorban éltem (Improvisations on Fear; 1963); Pantomime (1965; based on Tre pezzi for Flute and Piano, 1964); Diminuendo (1977; based on Transfigurazione for Orch., 1972); A t&ubdlac;z fiai (Sons of Fire; 1977). ORCH.: 5 concertos: No. 1 for Strings, Brass, Piano, and Percussion (1959), No. 2 (destroyed), No. 3 for 16 Strings (1968; Vienna, Nov. 23, 1969), No. 4 for Small Orch. (Gyor, April 13, 1970), and No. 5, Lehellet (1975; Budapest, May 27, 1976); Musica per orchestra (In memoriam Zoltán Kodály) (1972; Vienna, Sept. 22, 1973); Transfigurazioni (Budapest, July 1, 1972); Musica concertante for Chamber Orch. (Zagreb, May 18, 1973); Preludio, Adagio e Fuga (1973); Sonorità (1974; Budapest, Sept. 29, 1975); Concerto for Harpsichord and 16 Strings (1978); Pro somno Igoris Stravinsky quieto for Chamber Orch. (Budapest, Nov. 17, 1978); Tristia (Maros Lament) for 16 Strings (1983); Canto d’autunno (1986; Swansea, Jan. 16, 1987); Violin Concerto (1994-95). CHAMBER: Tre pezzi for Flute and Piano (Darmstadt, July 18, 1964); Musiche per ottoni, 20 pieces for 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, and Tuba (1975); A Hundred Bars for Tom Everett for Bass Trombone and 3 Bongos (1980; Cambridge, Mass. Jan. 17, 1982); Suoni di tromba for Trumpet and Piano (1983; London, May 28, 1984); Trombone Quartet (1986); String Quartet (1988; Orlando, July 30, 1989); 4 Little Pieces for Recorder and Piano (1991); Elegia for Wind Quintet and String Quintet (1993; Berlin, May 30, 1994). Piano: Old Hungarian Dance for Piano Duet (1956); Paessag-gio con morti (1987; Orkney Islands, June 18, 1988). VOCAL: Night in Kolozsvár, elegy for Voice and Wind Quintet (1955); Restless Autumn, cantata for Baritone and Piano (1955); Fabula Phaedri for Vocal Sextet (Budapest, Nov. 23, 1982); In Pharisaeos for Chorus and Trumpet (1982); Planctus Mariae for Women’s Chorus (1982); Miserere for Vocal Sextet (1984; Brighton, May 10, 1985); Fragments for Mezzo-soprano, Flute, and Viola (Budapest, April 26, 1985).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire