Twentieth Century Music: An Introduction
by Eric Salzman
Period: Early 20th
Century
Born: Friday, July 27, 1877 in Pozsony, Hungary
Died: Tuesday, February 9, 1960 in New York, New York
(USA)
Nation of Origin: Hungary
Major Works:
Opera:
Tante Simona (1913)
The Tower of Voivod (1922)
The Tenor (1929)
Orchestral:
Symphony in D Minor (1901)
Symphony in E (1944, revised 1956)
Piano Concerto No. 1 (1898)
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1947)
Violin Concerto No. 1 (1915)
Violin Concerto No. 2 (1950)
Suite in F-Sharp Minor (1909)
Variations on a Nursery Song for piano and orchestra
(1913)
He also wrote piano music and chamber music.
Other Information:
Please note: Dohnányi's birthplace, Pozsony (known in German
as Pressburg) is now called Bratislava and is part of Slovakia.
After World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory and 60%
of its population as the result of the Trianon Treaty of 1920. In a
recent article, entitled "Bad Treaty That Won't Go Away," concert
pianist Dr. Balint Vazsonyi wrote "Of Hungary's four greatest
composers, all born in Hungary of course, only Zoltan Kodaly's
birthplace remains [in Hungary]. On today's maps, it appears as if
Franz Liszt had been born in Austria,Erno Dohnanyi in Slovakia, and
Bela Bartok in Romania. On Bartok's birthday, the Hungarian
delegation, wishing to lay a wreath, was turned back at the
Romanian border." Many thanks to D.K. Bognar, editor of
Hungarians in America, for contributing the valuable
information above.
Dohnányi was a composer, pianist, conductor, and educator.
He was well regarded in his lifetime and exerted much influence on
the musical life of Hungary. He held official positions in Hungary
such as Director of Hungarian Radio. Unlike Bartok, Dohnányi
was able to navigate the turbulent political waters of World War II
Hungary to his own advantage. He left Hungary and moved to the USA
in 1949 where he taught piano and composition at Florida State
University in Tallahassee.
General Bibliography:
Kennedy, Michael, The Oxford Dictionary of
Music, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition, 1997, ISBN:
0198691629
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc.,
January 2001, ISBN: 1561592390
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors,
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group,
December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Slonimsky, Nicolas, Music Since 1900,
Schirmer Books, July 1994, ISBN: 0028724186
Links to essays at other sites:
Twentieth Century Music: An Introduction by Eric Salzman |
Please note: These links will open in a new window.
Biographical essay at the Karadar site
If the Karadar link does not work, try searching karadar.com
directly.
Biographical essay at the Naxos site
If this link does not work, try searching naxos.com directly.
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