Pista Dankó (July 13, 1858 – March 29, 1903) was a Hungarian-born bandleader and composer belonging to the

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

. He primarily worked in the folk music styles popular in Hungary in the 19th century. He was frequently known by the nickname "Nótafa", a Hungarian word meaning "ballad-singer of folk music".

Biography

Dankó was born in the Hungarian city of

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

, where he began composing music at the age of 28. He belonged to a musical ensemble called "Hangászsor", or "row of musicians". He then moved to the city of Szatmar, where he would meet and begin courting Ilonka Joó, the daughter of Szatmar's mayor. Since Dankó was a gypsy, the mayor disapproved of the relationship, prompting Dankó and Joó to elope. The two were together until Pista's death from lung disease in 1903.

Musical style

Due to Dankó's heritage, he was steeped in

Hungarian folk music Hungarian folk music ( hu, magyar népzene) includes a broad array of Central European styles, including the recruitment dance verbunkos, the csárdás and nóta. The name ''Népzene'' is also used for Hungarian folk music as an umbrella design ...

, and most of his works were written in the popular

verbunkos Verbunkos (), other spellings being ''Verbounko'', ''Verbunko'', ''Verbunkas'', ''Werbunkos'', ''Werbunkosch'', ''Verbunkoche''; sometimes known simply as the hongroise or ungarischer Tanz is an 18th-century Hungarian dance and music genre. The ...

and

nóta Nóta is a form of 19th-century Hungarian popular song. It is one of a number of styles collectively referred to as '' cigányzene'', which literally means ''Gipsy music'' but is used to refer to a number of styles of Hungarian folk music that a ...

folk dance music styles. He also composed works in other styles such as

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

Musical Works

While living in Szeged, Dankó composed music for over 400 poems, including the work of Lajos Pósa. One of his most popular songs of the time was ''Az a szép, az a szép'' (''Handsome is, handsome is''), which is still among popular folk dance songs in Hungary. At the request of his associate

Géza Gárdonyi Géza Gárdonyi, born Géza Ziegler (3 August 1863 – 30 October 1922) was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Although he wrote a range of works, he had his greatest success as a historical novelist, particularly with '' Eclipse of the Cre ...

, a prominent Hungarian author, Dankó composed a march named ''A magyarok bejövetele'' (''March of the Hungarians'') for the thousandth anniversary of the Hungarian state in 1885. This work represented the pinnacle of Dankó's popularity in life, earning him a status rarely achieved by a Rom among the elite in Hungary.

Legacy

Dankó is a rare example of a Rom who was born into poverty and then rose to relative fame and fortune. He primarily did this by working to satisfy the musical taste of the public, and thus achieving popularity. As is often the case, Dankó received a considerable amount of recognition after his death, when following generations of Hungarians were even more enthusiastic about and accepting of his music. A public statue of Dankó was erected in Szeged, on the bank of the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

river. A Hungarian-language film named ''Dankó Pista'' was also made based on his life, released in January 1941.

References

* ''Gsemer Geza'' (2001) Szögeny Dankó Pista. Alomregeny, Budapest. {{DEFAULTSORT:Danko, Pista Hungarian composers Hungarian male composers Hungarian Romani people 1858 births 1903 deaths 19th-century male musicians