Endre Szervánszky (27 December 191125 June 1977) was a Hungarian composer.

Biography

Szervánszky was born in Kistétény and studied the clarinet at the

Budapest Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, 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 Liszt Collection, which features several ...

(1922–27). He played in various orchestras before returning to the academy to study composition with

Albert Siklós Albert Siklós (born Albert Schönwald: 26 June 1878 in Budapest – 3 April 1942 in Budapest) was a Hungarian composer. Siklós studied at Budapest's music academy under Hans von Koessler. From 1918 on he taught composition, aesthetic and ...

(1931–36). He then worked as an orchestrator for the Hungarian Radio and taught musical theory. He was appointed professor of composition at the Budapest Academy in 1948. Szervánszky first came to public attention with his First String Quartet (1936–38) and his works of this period were influenced by his compatriots,

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

and

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 Hunga ...

. Works for this time include the Clarinet Serenade (1950) and the Flute Concerto (1952–53). From the early 1950s Szervánszky embarked on a series of larger compositions, one of the longest being the Concerto for Orchestra in memory of

Attila József Attila József (; 11 April 1905 – 3 December 1937) was one of the most famous Hungarian poets of the 20th century. Generally not recognized during his lifetime, József was hailed during the communist era of the 1950s as Hungary's great ...

. Each of the concerto's five movements is based on a quotation from József. The fourth has folk music elements and the whole demonstrates the influence of Bartók. Both the String Quartet no.2 (1956–57) and the Wind Quintet no.2 (1957) also demonstrate the composer's increasing interest in

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

. For his Six Orchestra Pieces, composed in 1959, Szervánszky employed 12-note serialism and the piece is particular in its use of percussion. Szervánszky did not compose another major work until 1963 – the oratorio Requiem, based on a text by

János Pilinszky János Pilinszky (27 November 1921 in Budapest – 27 May 1981 in Budapest) was one of the greatest Hungarian poets of the 20th century. Well known within the Hungarian borders for his vast influence on postwar Hungarian poetry, Pilins ...

which takes the concentration camp of

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

as its theme. Works which followed include the Variations (1964) and the Clarinet Concerto (1965). Endre Szervánszky was given the "

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

" award by the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

to honour non-

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s who risked their lives to save Jews from the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

.Endre Szervánszky
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website He was the brother of artist Jenö Szervánszky and violinist Peter Szervánszky and the uncle of Valeria Szervánszky. He died in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Notable students

Ákos Rózmann Ákos Rózmann (; 16 July 1939 – 12 August 2005) was a Hungarian-Swedish composer and organist. Rózmann was born in Budapest, Hungary, on 16 July 1939. He studied composition with Rezső Sugár at the Bartók Béla Secondary School of Music b ...

Works

Stage and vocal works

*Napkeleti mese – “Oriental Tale”, (a "dance play") 1948–9 *Népdalszvit – “Folksong Suite”, 1949 *Honvédkantáta – “Soldier’s Cantata”, 1949 *Tavaszi Szél – “Spring Breeze” (cantata), 1950 *8 Petőfi Songs, 1951 *3 Petőfi Choruses, 1953 *3 Songs, 1956–7 *3 Male Choruses (ancient China), 1958 *Requiem – “Dark Heaven” to words by János Pilinszky (oratorio), 1963 *Az éj – “The Night” (cantata), 1974–5

Orchestra

*3 divertimentos, 1939, 1942, 1943 *Serenade, strings, 1947–8 *Rhapsody, 1950 *Serenade for clarinet and orchestra, 1950 *Flute Concerts, 1952–3 *Concerts for Orchestra, 1954 *6 Orchestral Pieces, 1959 *Variations, 1964 *Clarinet Concerto, 1965

Chamber

*String Quartet no.1, 1936–8 *20 Little Duos for 2 violins, 1941 *Sonata for violin and piano, 1945 *25 Duos for 2 violins, 1946 *Trio for flute, violin and viola, 1951 *Sonatina for flute, and piano, 1952 *Wind Quintet no.1, 1953 *5 Koncert etűd – “5 Concert Etudes” for flute, 1956 *Suite for 2 flutes, 1956 *String Quartet No.2, 1956–7 *Wind Quintet no.2, 1957 *2 Duos for 2 flutes, 1972 *7 Studies for flute, 1974–5

Piano

*Folksong Suite, 4 hands, 1935 *Little Suite, 1939 *Sonatina, 1941 *Sonatina, 4 hands, 1950

Films

*''

For Whom the Larks Sing ''For Whom the Larks Sing'' (Hungarian: ''Akiket a pacsirta elkísér'') is a 1959 Hungarian drama film directed by László Ranódy and starring Géza Tordy, Klári Tolnay, Erzsi Somogyi and Antal Páger.Petrie p.256 It was shot at the Hunni ...

'', 1959 *''

Be True Until Death ''Be True Until Death'' (Hungarian: ''Légy jó mindhalálig'') is a 1936 Hungarian drama film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Klári Tolnay, Kálmán Rózsahegyi and Gyula Csortos.Parish & Pitts p.347 It was shot at the Hunnia Studios in Bu ...

'', 1960

References

Don Randel Don Michael Randel (born December 9, 1940) is an American musicologist, specializing in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Spain and France. He is currently the chair of the board of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a truste ...

, ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Harvard, 1996, p. 895. {{DEFAULTSORT:Szervanszky, Endre 1911 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Hungarian classical composers Hungarian male classical composers Artists of Merit of the Hungarian People's Republic Hungarian Righteous Among the Nations 20th-century Hungarian male musicians Hungarian film score composers Hungarian male film score composers Endre