Zoltán Kodály
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Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist,
pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
,
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, and
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education.


Life

Born in
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, Kodály learned to play the
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
as a child. In 1900, he entered the Department of Languages at the University of Budapest and at the same time Hans von Kössler's composition class at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music. After completing his studies, he studied in Paris with Charles Widor for a year. In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs, recording them on
phonograph cylinders Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...
. In 1906 he wrote a thesis on Hungarian folk song, "Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong". At around this time Kodály met fellow composer and compatriot
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
, whom he took under his wing and introduced to some of the methods involved in folk song collecting. The two became lifelong friends and champions of each other's music. All these works show great originality of form and content, a very interesting blend of highly sophisticated mastery of the western European style of music, including classical, late-romantic, impressionistic and modernist traditions, and on the other hand a profound knowledge and respect for the folk music of Hungary (including the Hungarian-inhabited areas of modern-day
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, as those territories were part of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
). Partly because of the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and subsequent major geopolitical changes in the region, and partly because of a naturally rather diffident temperament in youth, Kodály had no major public success until 1923. This was the year when one of his best-known pieces, ''
Psalmus Hungaricus The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
'', was given its first performance at a concert to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the union of
Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
and Pest (Bartók's '' Dance Suite'' premiered on the same occasion.) Kodály's first wife was Emma Gruber (née Schlesinger, later Sándor), the dedicatee of
Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish and Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator * Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hungarian painter and teacher * Ernő B ...
's Waltz for piano with four hands, Op. 3, and ''Variations and Fugue on a theme by E.G.'', Op. 4 (1897). In November 1958, after 48 years of marriage, Kodály's first wife Emma died. In December 1959, Kodály married
Sarolta Péczely ''Sarolta'' is an 1862 Hungarian opera by Ferenc Erkel. The comic opera Sarolta (1862) in three acts, was completed and first performed a year after the opera Bánk bán. Synopsis ACT 1. A merry entertainment is being held in a village in Moson ...
, his 19-year-old student at the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...
with whom he lived happily until his death in 1967 at the age of 84 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 ...
. In 1966, Kodály toured the United States and gave a special lecture at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, where some of his music was performed in his presence.


Kodály methodology of musical education

Throughout his adult life, Kodály was very interested in the problems of many types of music education, and he wrote a large amount of material on teaching methods as well as composing plenty of music intended for children's use. Beginning in 1935, along with his colleague
Jenő Ádám Jenő Ádám (12 December 1896 15 May 1982) was a Hungarian music educator, composer, and conductor. Born in Szigetszentmiklós (Kingdom of Hungary), he studied composition and conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music where he was a pu ...
(14 years his junior), he embarked on a long-term project to reform music teaching in Hungary's lower and middle schools. His work resulted in the publication of several highly influential books. The Hungarian music education program that developed in the 1940s became the basis for the Kodály Method. Although Kodály himself did not write down a comprehensive method, he did establish a set of principles to follow in music education, and these principles were widely taken up by pedagogues (above all in Hungary, but also in many other countries) after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His practices also have evolved Kodály hand signs. In the motion picture ''
Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...
'', a visual learning aid distributed to members of a conference of
ufologists This is a list of notable people who are Ufology, ufologists (UFO researchers). Argentina * Juan Posadas, (1912–1981), Trotskyist theorist who blended together Trotskyism and Ufology. Posadas' version of Trotskyism is regarded as its ...
was named the Kodály Method and referenced musical notes as hand signals.


Legacy and memorials

The city of
Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...
commissioned a full-length bronze statue, located in Szent István square, in his honour in 1976. According to the wishes of the sculptor, the work stands with its back to the
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
and facing a former playground, so that it was facing children, whose musical education was the most important thing in Kodály's life. He is depicted as a fragile old man, who walks almost imperceptibly among the horse-chestnut trees. At one point during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Workers Councils decide they should form the government with Kodály as president "because of his great national and international reputation."


Selected works

;Stage works * ''
Háry János ''Háry János'' is a Hungarian folk opera by Zoltán Kodály with a Hungarian libretto by Béla Paulini and Zsolt Harsányi. The opera, in four acts, is in the manner of a ''Singspiel and is based'' the comic epic ''The Veteran'' (''Az obsitos'') ...
'', Op. 15 (1926) * '' Székelyfonó'' (The Spinning Room) (1924–1932) ;Orchestral * Idyll ''Summer Evening'' (1906, revised 1929) * '' Háry János Suite'' (1926) * ''Dances of Marosszék'' (1929; orchestration of the 1927 piano set) * Theatre Overture (1931) (originally intended for ''Háry János'') * '' Dances of Galánta'' (1933) * Variations on a Hungarian folk song (''Fölszállott a páva'', or ''The Peacock Roared'', 1939) * Concerto for Orchestra (1940) * Symphony in memoriam
Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
(1961) ;Chamber or instrumental * Adagio for Violin (or Viola or Cello) and Piano (1905) * Intermezzo for String Trio (1905) * Seven Pieces for Piano, Op. 11 (1918) * String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 2 (1909) * Cello Sonata, Op. 4 (1910) * Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 (1914) * Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 (1915) * String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 (1916–1918) * ''Szerenád (Serenade)'' for 2 Violins and Viola, Op. 12 (1920) * ''Marosszéki táncok'' (''Dances of Marosszék'', piano, 1927) * Organ Prelude ''Pange lingua'' (1931) * ''Organoeida ad missam lectam'' (''Csendes mise'', organ, 1944) * ''Epigrammak'' (1954) ;Choral * ''Este (Evening)'' (1904) * ''
Psalmus Hungaricus The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
'', Op. 13 (1923) * ''Mátrai képek (Mátra Pictures)'' for choir a cappella (1931) * ''Jézus és a kufárok (Jesus and the Traders)'' for choir a cap (1934) * ''Ének Szent István királyhoz (Hymn to St Stephen)'' (1938) * '' Te Deum for Buda Castle'' (1936) * ''Te Deum of Sándor Sík'' for choir a cappella (1961) * ''Missa brevis'' for choir and Organ (1942, orchestrated 1948) * '' Laudes organi'' for choir and Organ (1966) * ''Adventi ének (Veni, veni, Emmanuel)'' for choir a cappella ;Organ * ''Introitus - Kyrie'' * ''Gloria'' * ''Credo'' * ''Sanctus'' * ''Benedictus'' * ''Agnus Dei'' * ''Ite missa est'' * ''114. Genfi zsoltár'' * ''Pangue lingua'' * ''Laudes Organi''


See also

*
Solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, Western music. Solfège is ...
, a music education method used to teach pitch and sight singing


References


Further reading

* Breuer, János (1990) ''A Guide to Kodály''. Budapest: Corvina Books * Eösze, László, Micheál Houlahan, and Philip Tacka), "Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967)". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' Volume 13. Ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers, 2002. pp. 716–26 * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály Today: A Cognitive Approach to Elementary Music Education. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 2015), 644p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály in the Kindergarten: Developing the Creative Brain in the Twenty-First Century. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). 576p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály in the First Grade Classroom: Developing the Creative Brain in the Twenty-First Century. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). 264p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály in the Second Grade Classroom: Developing the Creative Brain in the Twenty-First Century. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). 296p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály in the Third Grade Classroom: Developing the Creative Brain in the Twenty-First Century. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). 328p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály in the Fourth Grade Classroom: Developing the Creative Brain in the Twenty-First Century. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). 344p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka Kodály in the Fifth Grade Classroom: Developing the Creative Brain in the Twenty-First Century. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). 376p. * Houlahan, M & Philip Tacka From Sound to Symbol: Fundamentals of Music. Second edition including an audio CD and interactive Skill Development DVD and web-based supplementary materials for eleven chapters. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, 2011), 489p. * ''Folk Music of Hungary'', New York: Praeger, 1971 * Lendvai, Ernő (1983) ''The Workshop of Bartók and Kodály''. Budapest: Editio Musica Budapest


External links


The American Folk Song Collection – The Kodály Center at Holy Names University

The Kodály Institute, which educates musicians according to Kodály's practice

International Kodály Society

The Organization of American Kodály Educators

The Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia

The British Kodály Academy (Registered Charity)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kodaly, Zoltan 1882 births 1967 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century linguists 20th-century Hungarian male musicians 20th-century musicologists Articles containing video clips Béla Bartók Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery Catholic liturgical composers Classical composers of church music Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Franz Liszt Academy of Music faculty Herder Prize recipients Hungarian classical composers Hungarian classical musicians Hungarian conductors (music) Hungarian ethnomusicologists Hungarian folk-song collectors Hungarian male classical composers Hungarian music educators Hungarian opera composers Linguists from Hungary Male conductors (music) Male opera composers Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1945–1947) People from Kecskemét Pupils of Hans von Koessler Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists