Péter Máté (4 February 1947 – 9 September 1984) was a

Hungarian pop Hungarian pop is the pop music scene of Hungary. It is often associated with Rezső Seress's song "Gloomy Sunday" which was covered by numerous artists. The most notable artists include Zsuzsa Cserháti, Kati Kovács, Zsuzsa Koncz, Judith Szűcs ...

singer, composer, and pianist. He was the composer and performer of nearly 150 songs, achieving cult status in Hungarian pop music.

Career

Péter Máté was born on 4 February 1947 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. He learned singing, playing piano and guitar from age 6 with a private teacher, and from 14, in a school of music. Discovering his talent and wide-spectrum voice, he was taught by known figures like composer György Geszler and András Bágya. He gained a wide spectrum of musical knowledge, which allowed him to write, compose, score and play his own music all by himself. These skills proved to be important in gaining his later fame. After some years in a runner-up band from 1965, he made his first recordings at the

Magyar Rádió Magyar Rádió (MR, ''The Hungarian Radio Corporation'', also known internationally as ''Radio Budapest'') is Hungary's publicly funded radio broadcasting organisation. It is also the country's official international broadcasting station. Dome ...

in 1965, including ''Úgy várom hogy jössz-e már?'', and ''Mondd már'', in cooperation with Illés. The two songs, and his first prize at the largest pol-beat festival of the Eastern Bloc in Sochi made him well known in the region. Several awards on festivals followed, notably in Cuba, Canada, Germany and Ireland. Besides pop music, he also scored musicals (including the Hungarian version of

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

), and wrote theatrical background music. The ongoing popularity came with a change of lifestyle, including heavy smoking and alcohol, habits his weak heart could not bear. He died of cardiac seizure on 9 September 1984, aged 37. He was buried in the

Farkasréti Cemetery Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery ( hu, Farkasréti temető) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a c ...

in Budapest, an event that was attended by tens of thousands of mourning fans.

Discography

Albums

*''Éjszakák és nappalok'' (1976) *''Magány és együttlét'' (1978) *''Szívhangok'' (1980) *''Keretek között'' (1982)

Compilations, concert recordings and demos

*''Elmegyek'' (1984) *''Vagy mindent, vagy semmit'' (1985) *''Egy darabot a szívemből'' (1989) *''Emlékezz rám - In Memoriam Máté Péter'' (1994) *''Mondd, miért szeretsz te mást'' (1996) *''Rock koncertek az MR archívumából'' (1997) *''Rock and rablás'' (1997) *''Játszd el, hogy újra élsz'' (1998) *''A magyar tánczene csillagai'' (1999) *''Mondd, miért szeretsz Te mást?'' (1999) *''Adhatok még…'' (2000) *''Vallomások'' 2001) *''Hogyha én lennék a fény'' (2003) *''Emlékezz rám'' (2006) *''Mondd, miért szeretsz te mást'' (2006) *''Egy darabot a szívemből'' (2006) *''Álmodj csak világ'' (2006) *''Álomi táj'' (2007)

Sources

*László, Markó. Új Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon. Budapest: Arcanum, 2001. .
Péter Máté
on the online beat-pop-rock lexicon

External links