During its second year of operation, the Ernő Dohnányi Archives devoted a significant portion of its energies and resources to the initiation of several large-scale research projects, most of which are the result of inter-institutional cooperative efforts. These include long-term undertakings such as the systematic collection, documentation, and republishing of newspaper articles relevant to Dohnányi’s career; an examination of Dohnányi’s twenty-year association with Hungarian Radio based on journals and nonpublished sources in the Radio’s Archives; and research into Dohnányi’s directorial and pedagogical work through a compilation of extant documents in the archives and library of the Liszt Ferenc University of Music. The first fruits of these endeavors comprise a substantial portion of this volume, while their continuation is planned for future publications. The year began on a sad note, however, with the passing away in January of Dohnányi’s first biographer, Bálint Vázsonyi, whose contributions to Dohnányi research were instrumental in launching a worldwide reassessment of the composer’s place in music history. Following the anniversary year of 2002, the number of performances of Dohnányi’s works did not wane. Several major opuses were revived with due ceremony (opp. 30 and 35), while others that unfortunately still remain unpublished and had been largely forgotten or altogether unknown were premiered and released on commercial recordings. Meanwhile, the holdings of the Archives increased dramatically through a combination of major gifts and purchases. The interest in the first yearbook expressed both in Hungary and abroad is reflected in the fact that contributions from three foreign-based authors are featured in this volume. Among these are the first part in a series of source studies on Dohnányi’s opera, “Iva’s Tower” and a chapter which traces the lineage of composition teaching inherited by Dohnányi through his studies with Hans Koessler. Restoration work of unique sources in compromised condition remains an ongoing commitment of the Archives.
Alan Walker’s memorial speech was presented at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on 22 April 2003. This tribute to late pianist and Dohnányi biographer Bálint Vázsonyi reflects the deep friendship of the two men, who first met in the 1960’s when Vázsonyi sent Walker a recording of Dohnányi’s last piano recital (24 March 1959, Tallahassee) in the hopes that Walker would arrange for its broadcast on the BBC, where he was musical director. This introduction to Dohnányi’s recording, which featured Beethoven’s Sonata in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1 and Schubert’s Sonata in G Major, Op. 78, inspired Walker to produce a ninety-minute documentary devoted to Dohnányi’s legacy as a pianist and featuring interviews by eight former students and colleagues. Soon after, it was Walker who suggested to Vázsonyi that he should write Dohnányi’s biography in English, whereupon Vázsonyi undertook the task wholeheartedly. But only the Hungarian version was completed (Vázsonyi Bálint: Dohnányi Ernő. Budapest, Zeneműkiadó, 1971; sec. ed. Budapest, Nap Kiadó, 2002). Walker describes Vázsonyi as a man with intense convictions who utilized his extraordinary communicative skills to express his keen insights on a wide variety of subjects. Motivated by his innate perfectionism, his love and mastery of the English language were among the qualities that set him apart. Vázsonyi will be remembered as the father of Dohnányi research.
Dohnányi’s reading of his own memoirs on 30 January 1944 represented his verbal farewell to Hungarian Radio audiences. In addition to providing a firsthand portrait of the rich cultural history of late 19th century Pozsony (Preßburg), it gives voice to the pain shared by so many who had become strangers in their own homeland in a war-weary, hopeless Hungary. It is perhaps ironic, perhaps only his realistic assessment of world events that Dohnányi concluded his presentation by asserting that his hometown, now in another country, would never again be the same as the city he had known in his childhood. But beyond this, from a musical point of view this presentation bears a unique significance: it was the only known time in his adult life when Dohnányi actually performed works from his childhood. The composer who had previously so clearly excluded his youthful output from his opus-numbered list of works now gave audiences a glimpse of his creative origins. Works originally heard within the context of this program included: one of his first compositions, No. 3 (B Major) of Six Short Untitled Pieces for violin and piano (1885); No. 6 (F# Major) of Sechs Fantasiestücke for piano (1890); three variations from Heda (Six Piano Pieces, 1891); the first movement of the Piano Quartet in F# minor (1891–93), for which the composer was joined by violinist Imre Waldbauer, violist Tivadar Országh, and cellist Jenő Kerpely; and Romance (F# Major, 1894) for piano. Dohnányi’s youthful world emerges for the reader as a kind of idyllic paradise with a lively concert life enriched by regular visits from great artists such as Ferenc Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, and Eugen d’Albert, and where the local theatre companies and choral societies combined efforts to create inspiring renditions of a surprising number of masterpieces from the operatic and oratorio repertoire.
This study examines the introduction into Hungary of the 19th century German school of music theory represented by Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721–83), as perpetuated by, among other theorists, Josef Rheinberger (1839–1901), the teacher of Hans Koessler (1853–1926). Hans Koessler in turn taught many of the outstanding Hungarian composers of the 20th century, including Béla Bartók, Ernő Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály, Leó Weiner, and Imre Kálmán. A comparison of the counterpoint exercises of Bartók and Dohnányi, although not within the scope of this chapter, nonetheless reveals that the two composers had a similar approach to the realization of assignments utilizing a cantus firmus. Very few differences exist between the pencil sketches and fair copies of Dohnányi’s counterpoint exercises, an indication that he completed them with relative ease. Several facsimiles of his composition assignments found in the Dohnányi estate, Music Collection of the National Széchényi Library, Budapest are published here for the first time. These include a variation for string quartet on the tune of Ferenc Erkel’s National Anthem, as well as a selection of counterpoint exercises that reveal how the composer treated the descending scale in the various voices of a four-part harmonic structure. Examples of similar counterpoint exercises by Rheinberger students Engelbert Humperdinck and Cyrill Kistler and corresponding assignments from the music theory textbooks of Moritz Hauptmann and Ernst Friedrich Richter are also presented.
The origin history of Dohnányi’s romantic opera in three acts, “Iva’s Tower”, composed during the period between 1914 and 1922, is problematic for a number of reasons. The librettists Hanns Heinz Ewers and Marc Henry had initially based their work “Der Turm von Kroja” [The Tower of Kroja] (1913–14) on a popular Albanian folk ballad, which shared common origins with the folklore traditions of many other Eastern European countries, including with the Transylvanian ballad, “Kőműves Kelemen”. Conceived from the outset as a musical stage work, the authors’ search for a composer led them to Dohnányi, who accepted the commission early in 1914 on the grounds that the setting be changed to Hungary. Because the librettists did not deem themselves qualified to effect the requested changes, help was sought from a variety of other persons. Simultaneously, but completely independently of one another, Henrik Horváth and József Albert worked out details, including potential names of characters and places, for the transplantation of the locale to Transylvania. Dohnányi himself was committed to assuring the historical accuracy and realisticness of the changes, which motivated him to seek help from his sister and brother-in-law, who in turn sought source material and advice from knowledgeable persons. At Mária Dohnányi’s request, Dr. Brunó Schwicker provided additional historical information and made further recommendations. Viktor Lányi later expanded the first scene and translated the entire libretto into Hungarian. This first of a planned two-part series of source studies about the opera is devoted to the libretto, the Hungarianization of the setting, and the resultant revisions to the plot. The author utilizes letters and other primary sources from the Hanns Heinz Ewers Institute in Düsseldorf, the library of the Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the National Széchényi Library, and the Dohnányi Archives to document the development of the work and to clarify misconceptions, often perpetuated by the contemporary press or by the persons involved, surrounding the issues of the roles played by each.
The variation form played a central role in Dohnányi’s oeuvre: indeed, the composer consistently utilized it more often than any other single form and in each of the major genres, from his earliest years until his last opus. Of the five movements of the Symphonic Minutes for Orchestra (op. 36), movements three, “Scherzo” and four, a theme and set of variations on a seventeenth-century sacred song, were composed approximately a year later than the other three movements. It is this variation movement which comprises the focus of the chapter, in which the author seeks to explore and define the major hallmarks of Dohnányi’s variation style. Citations from the composer’s other opuses are interspersed with the analysis to illustrate the seemingly inexhaustible wealth of variation techniques he employed. Among these he particularly favored the “theme-head” variation method, or use of the opening motive of the theme as a building element that is continually developed and transformed. The fourth movement of the Op. 36 is unique in that it lacks this Dohnányi trademark. Two distinct types of harmonization can be found in the composer’s variation themes: one is functionally tonal but characterized by chromaticism, passing tonicizations, and unexpected harmonic turns which are further exploited and developed within the variations, while the other is modal and features plagal cadences and other chorale-like elements. The theme under discussion belongs to the second type, and in addition to its archaic quality, it bears a strong resemblance to at least two Hungarian folk songs by virtue of the opening ascending fifth interval, the Dorian tonality, and the repetitive rhythmic pattern. An assortment of variational treatments serve to create the ensuing six variations: melodic ornamentation, ornamentation of the surrounding textures, thematic dramatization through highlighting or even exaggeration of a particular motive or gesture, thematic abstraction, chromatic variation of the melody to dissipate the modal quality, and free variation. The seventh and final variation is a recapitulation of the theme combined with a synthesis of elements already used; thus it is heard as a consequence of the variation process. As an examination of the autograph manuscript reveals, Dohnányi had originally composed an extended retransition to gradually usher in the theme reprise. He discarded this idea, however, and instead juxtaposed the distant harmony of the final B-flat Major chord of variation six to the sudden recurrence of the theme in its original form — a solution which better suits the terseness of the movement and of the entire work.
The commissioning, design, and completion of the acoustically superior, modern Studio VI as a venue for achieving greater perfection in recording performances of orchestras and other large ensembles can be considered one of the major accomplishments of Dohnányi’s thirteen-year tenure as musical director of Hungarian Radio (1931–44). This complex task was preceded by several years of intense planning and experimentation by architect Aladár Münnich and other engineers, at a time when the science of acoustics was in its infancy. György Békésy, the physicist who later won the Nobel-prize in biology/medicine for his research into the functioning of the human ear (1961), was the acoustical engineer for the project. His responsibilities included the adjustment of reverberation levels in the new studio, which involved extensive experimentation in the selection of the optimum form and material for the insulation and covering of the walls and floor. Although Békésy was also an accomplished musician, he was not content to rely solely on his own impressions in this critical area. He invited Dohnányi to collaborate with him in the process of fine-tuning the new studio’s acoustics, a job which lasted approximately a year and a quarter (from November, 1933 to March, 1935), and involved the participation of many famous musicians and actors. The new studio, officially presented to the public on May 21, 1935, was a state-of-the-art, ideal environment for recording musical performances, equipped with moveable sound regulators and a unique air-circulation system. Even as much as fifty years later, the studio still met the highest technical qualifications for modern room acoustics. Although since then it has undergone some superficial remodelling and modernization, Studio VI is still used on a daily basis in much the same way as it was 65 years ago, standing as a monument to the technical accomplishments of a bygone era.
This is the first in a planned series of publications that is the result of a long-term group project begun this year, the goal of which is the comprehensive documentation, reprinting, and, where necessary, translation of as many significant newspaper articles as possible dealing with the various facets of Dohnányi’s career. Most of the large Dohnányi estate collections, including those housed in the National Széchényi Library, the British Library, the Warren D. Allen Music Library at the Florida State University (Tallahassee), the Library of the Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the Dohnányi Archives, contain large numbers of press cuttings which serve as ideal starting points for such an undertaking. Among these are twenty-seven scrapbooks (of these twenty are at FSU, six in the British Library, and one in the Dohnányi Archives) that had been the ongoing effort of the Dohnányi family to chronicle Ernő’s career in chronological order. However, a large percentage of these clippings were cut out in such a way that names of newspapers and authors, dates, and other crucial information are missing. Some of this bibliographical data was later written in, but it does always prove to be conclusive. Thus considerable research is required to supply or correct the needed facts. Other articles were found by searching through newspapers according to specific dates of concerts. This first chapter begins with the earliest substantiated newspaper review of a Dohnányi performance that could be found: “Wiedermann-Feier”, Preßburger Zeitung (Pozsony), 29 January 1887, and covers the first season of his activities as a professional musician, concluding with “Konzert Dohnányi-Spányi”, Preßburger Zeitung Morgenblatt, 30 April 1898. Early in the next season, on 24 October 1898, Dohnányi’s international career was launched through his brilliantly successful London debut, after which the number of press clippings mushrooms to such immense proportions that it exceeds the scope of the current volume.
From the earliest days of Hungarian Radio’s existence in 1925, audiences had enjoyed the presence of and reaped the benefits of Dohnányi’s multi-faceted musical activities as composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a major participant in the development of radio as a medium for musical performance in his native country, having brought back with him the impressions and valuable information gained from his first experiences with radio on a concert tour in the United States in 1922. This first chapter of a planned three-part series, covering the period from 1925-31, explores an area about which relatively little is known: Dohnányi’s work with Hungarian Radio as documented through the radio journals. It provides an overview of the various types of valuable documents found in the archives of the Hungarian Radio. It highlights Dohnányi’s important career landmarks and, following his appointment as musical director of the institution on 1 February 1931, his administrative decisions, such as the overall improvement of the quality of musical performances, the creation of public education programs, taking a stand in favor of the preservation of gypsy music as a form of national art, and providing an increased number of opportunities for talented musicians. But its primary purpose is to build a database of radio program information detailing the performances of compositions written by Dohnányi as well as his own performances as conductor and pianist. This catalogue also lists all of the articles dealing with him, such as interviews, and provides statistical summaries of his radio-related career activities.
This is the first of a planned two-part series which publishes archival documents pertaining to Dohnányi’s pedagogical activities and, beginning in 1934, his work as director of the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music, currently known as the Ferenc Liszt University of Music. Dohnányi’s profile as a leader is defined through information provided about a wide variety of situations, ranging from daily tasks to crucial decisions which had potentially greater impact on cultural developments. Among the latter are his appointments and advancements of teachers, details of a proposal for a sacred music department, and comprehensive plans for a musicians’ league to address the vocational and social needs of the profession. In some cases the Academy’s yearbooks were also used as sources for the presentation of certain events, due to the fact that a large number of documents are missing from the archives. A list is included at the end of the chapter with the names and registry numbers of all of the documents catalogued in the registry of the archives. Those in bold print are published here, while the location of all of the others is unknown.
Two new CD’s produced by the Hungaroton Record Company feature first-time recordings of works by Dohnányi, some of which are unpublished. The first (HCD 32148) is a selection of three compositions for chamber ensemble: the Piano Quartet in F-sharp minor (1891–93), Hochzeitsmarsch [Wedding March] for piano and string quartet (1910), and the famous Op. 1 Piano Quintet in C minor (1895), performed by pianist István Kassai and members of the Auer String Quartet. The second (HCD 32191) is a combination of obscure piano works and more well-known pieces performed by pianist Ilona Prunyi, including Dohnányi’s first known set of variations, Heda (Hedwigiana), Six Piano Pieces (1891), Humoresken in Form einer Suite, Op. 17 (1907), Variations on a Hungarian Folk Song, op. 29 (1917), and Twelve Short Studies for the Advanced Pianist (1951). Of these works, Dohnányi himself recorded the Op. 29 and the first movement of the Op. 17. The new CD’s are a welcome addition to Hungaroton’s ever-growing library of Dohnányi recordings.