Eckhardt Mária

Berlioz Visiting Hungary in 1846
Maria Eckhardt

The only year Berlioz visited Hungary was 1846 when he conducted two concerts from his own compositions on 15 and 20 february in the Hungarian National Theatre in Pest. The most important element of this visit was the orchestration of the Rákóczi March, an emblematic Hungarian national musical piece of the time. Birth, reception and further fate of Berlioz’s Marche hongroise had been amply discussed by other authors, the present study focused on the general reception of Berlioz by the Hungarian audience as reflected in the local press of the time (8 Hungarian and 3 German-language newspapers and journals). Berlioz was controversially received everywhere, and Hungary was no exception in this respect. However, here politics had a greater weight in the judgement than in most countries, and while Austrian-oriented critics in Hungary were mostly ultra-conservative and ill-disposed to Berlioz’s highly innovative music, reviewers symphatizing with the upcoming Hungarian national direction proved to be much more open and sensitive to it. Although this was the first occasion that symphonical programme music in romantic style was performed in Pest (a city prepared well for this by Beethoven’s orchestral music), the programmatic orchestral pieces: the Carnaval romain, the selected movements from Harold en Italie and Symphonie fantastique were much better received than the songs (Le chasseur danois and Zaїde - Boléro). But it was only the Rákóczi which evoked an extraordinary enthousiasm: this Hungarian march, ingeniously orchestrated by Berlioz, even in the conventional form Marcia – Trio – Marcia – Coda was interpreted as a programmatic description of a victoriously ending battle. The political element of the reception was most explicitly described by the Hungarian correspondent of the Allgemeine Wiener Musikzeitung whose ironical review expressed the anxiety of the Viennese authorities more and more recognizing that national music was for Hungarians an important tool to achieve political independence, and Berlioz’s Marche hongroise was a milestone on this way.

The Appearance of Edward Grieg’s Works in Hungarian Musical Life (1877-1907)
Mária Eckhardt

This article deals with the history of the appearance and spread of Grieg’s works in Hungary in Grieg’s life-time. The first Grieg composition performed publicly in Hungary was op. 20 Foran Sydens kloster (by the Association of Music Lovers in Budapest, 6^th April 1877). This cantata is dedicated to Franz Liszt, whose support for the young Grieg and their various encounters are briefly surveyed in the introduction. Further Grieg compositions appeared on the concert programmes of the National Conservatory (from 1878 on) and the Academy of Music (from 1882 on). At the latter, some of Grieg’s music became officially part of the curriculum in 1890/91. (Appendices 1 and 2 give a survey of the Grieg performances at these two institutions, including first Hungarian orchestral performances of the Piano Concerto op. 16, the Holberg Suite op. 40 and the To elegiske melodien op.34.) Grieg’s chamber music reached Hungary early: in addition to performances of the violin sonatas op. 8 and op. 13 by students at the National Conservatory and the Academy of Music, where professors Jenõ Hubay and David Popper were especially committed to Grieg, the String Quartet op. 27 was premiered in 1882 by a professional ensemble.
After the first Budapest performance of the Ballade op. 24 on 25^th January 1889 by Liszt’s pupil Eugène d’Albert, this major piano work became extremely popular among young Hungarian musicians. At about the same time, some of the Lyriske stykker op. 12 and other easier piano pieces were popularized by musical supplements in Hungarian journals. Grieg’s lieder, frequent items in student concerts at the Academy of Music, entered Hungarian homes in the Peters editions (together with Grieg’s piano music). A characteristic example is the library of Emma Schlesinger, later the wife of Kodály, now in the Kodály estate. The Orchestra of the Philharmonic Society began relatively late to include Grieg’s music in its programmes, but after the overwhelming success of the 1st Peer Gynt suite (on 14^th January 1891) they performed the 2nd Peer Gynt suite op. 55 scarcely two months after its publication (23^rd March 1893).
In 1894 Artur Nikisch and in 1897 Hans Richter, who was especially appreciated as a conductor by Grieg, also gave Hungarian first performances with this orchestra (op. 42 Bergliot and op. 32 Den Bergtekne). In the mid 1890’s there was a „Grieg boom” in Hungary, as part of the special interest in Scandinavian culture. Some letters written by Hungarians to Grieg are quoted as examples from the Eduard Grieg Archives of the Bergen Public Library, among them letters from the composers Ede (Eduard) Poldini and Ernõ (Ernst von) Dohnányi, Grieg’s personal friend. As a conclusion, the relation of the young Kodály and Bartók to Grieg’s music is discussed. Although the young Bartók knew a considerable number of Grieg pieces, the Norwegian composer became important for him only around Grieg’s death (1907) and afterwards when he began to study folk music intensively. For a detailed discussion of this topic, a recent summary by Vera Lampert is referred to.

An Organ Repertory from the 19th Century
Mária Eckhardt

The topic of the study written in honour of the Hungarian musicologist and composer Imre Sulyok is Gottschlag’s Repertorium für Orgel, Harmonium oder Pedal-Flügel. Bearbeitet unter Revision und mit Beiträgen von Franz Liszt, a 3-volume collection published by J. Schuberth (Leipzig New York) in 1869, 1873 and ca 1877, a non-liturgical collection in which several works and transcriptions by Liszt were first published, and also some of his principles to select and edit other composers’ works can be studied. After describing the relationship of the chief editor Alexander Wilhelm Gottschalg and the publisher Julius Schuberth to Liszt, and the history of the series originally planned for 5 volumes (5x12 fascicles), each volume is analysed according to its contents, publication methods and Liszt’s participation. Volume 1 contains transcriptions, mainly from classical composers’ works with J. S. Bach in the centre, transcribed by Gottschalg, Liszt and Carl Müller-Hartung, the only contemporary composers being Liszt and J. Raff. In this volume, Liszt’s role can be traced mainly in his own works and transcriptions. Volume 2, of which the proofs corrected by Liszt have survived, has some 40% original works by contemporary composers, some of them being programmatic pieces for organ. Volume 3 (with Gottschalg’s Preface from 1875 relating also to the planned but never published volumes 4 and 5) has even more original pieces, the authors’ range is expanded towards less-known early and contemporary music, and Liszt’s principles of the clear and practical notation (the new “Pedal-Applicatur”) are exemplified in Bernhard Sulze’s works and transcriptions. The latter, with detailed instructions according to the possibilities of the Weimar Stadtkirche, also allow to reconstruct the ideal sound of the German organ in the late 19th century. – The last section of the study calls attention to the 3 volumes of Gottschalg’s Repertorium with Liszt’s numerous handwritten corrections and additions which have survived in Liszt’s Budapest Library. The annotations are probably due to the fact that Liszt let the volumes being used at the Budapest Academy of Music.

Ferenc Liszt and his Godson Ferenc Korbay : New Documents in the Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum, Budapest
Mária Eckhardt

This study examines the relationship between Liszt and his Hungarian godson Ferenc (Francis) Korbay, a singer, pianist and composer who spent the major part of his life abroad, in New York City and in London. In connection with new documents bought recently by the Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum (Budapest), the narrative clarifies the genesis of the Korbay/Liszt transcriptions “Le Matin” and “Gebet”, titles that have eluded much of Liszt scholarship through most of the 20th century. The article includes Liszt’s new version of “Gebet” for voice and organ or harmonium (an orchestrated version has never existed) and a letter from Korbay to Liszt, in which Korbay’s later wife, the Liszt pupil Ilona Ravasz is also mentioned.
A shorter English version of this study was published in the “Journal of the American Liszt Society”, Volume LIV/LV/LVI (2003-2005), 85-101.