Iván Erőd ( ; 2 January 1936 – 24 June 2019; sometimes spelled ''Eröd'')
was a Hungarian-Austrian composer and pianist. Educated in Budapest, he emigrated to Austria in 1956, where he studied at the
Vienna Music Academy. He was successful as a pianist and composer of operas, chamber music and much more, with elements from
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 ...
,
Hungarian folk music Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
* Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary
* Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...
and jazz. He first was a professor of music theory and composition at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (1967–1989), then a professor of composition at the Vienna Music Academy from 1989.
Career
Born in Budapest, Erőd studied at the
Franz Liszt 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 ...
with
Pál Kadosa
Pál Kadosa (; 6 September 1903, Léva, Austria-Hungary (now Levice, Slovakia) – 30 March 1983, Budapest) was a pianist and Hungarian composer of the post- Bartók generation. His early style was influenced by Hungarian folklore while his ...
(piano) and
Ferenc Szabó (composition). He emigrated to Austria in 1956 and studied there at the
Vienna Music Academy, with (piano) and
Karl Schiske (composition).
He received diplomas in piano and composition in 1961.
He took several summer classes at the
Darmstädter Ferienkurse
Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Co ...
, studying with
Eduard Steuermann
Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892, Sambor, Austria-Hungary – November 11, 1964, New York City) was an Austrian-born American pianist and composer.
Steuermann studied piano with Vilém Kurz at the Lemberg Conservatory and Ferruccio Busoni in ...
and
Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music.
Biography
Early years
Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...
.
In 1960 he launched a career as a pianist, playing in Europe and the Near East.
From 1962 to 1968 he was a solo
répétiteur
A (; from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. The feminine form is .
Opera
In opera, a is the person responsible for coaching singers ...
at the
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...
and the
Wiener Festwochen
The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in Vienna for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the Participants in World W ...
. From 1967 to 1989 he taught
music theory
Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...
and composition at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, and later taught at the Vienna Music Academy, first as a guest teaching ''Tonsatz'' (harmony and counterpoint), and from 1989 as a professor.
His students included
Georg Friedrich Haas,
Gerhard Präsent and
Johannes Maria Staud.
Life
Erőd's brother and grandparents were murdered at
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 ...
in 1944. He fled Hungary after the
events of 1956.
He married in 1969 and had five children, among them
Adrian
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...
, a
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
, and Leonard, a
bassoonist
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
at the
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He died of complications from a stroke in Vienna on 24 June 2019.
Works
Stylistically, Erőd's music was initially influenced by Hungarians such as
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 ...
and
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.
...
. Before his emigration and during his studies in Vienna, he was interested in the
dodecaphony of the "Second Viennese School", and
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 ...
. His wind trio,
Op. 4 (1957, revised 1987), and his ''Ricercare ed Aria'', Op. 11, for wind quartet (1965) are based on twelve-tone structures,
as is his first opera, ''Das Mädchen, der Matrose und der Student'' (The Girl, the Sailor and the Student, 1960). He began composing his second opera ''Die Seidenraupen'' (The Silkworms) in 1964 and completed it in 1968, when it was successfully premiered during the Wiener Festwochen at the
Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...
with singers
Jeannette Pilou and
Oskar Czerwenka.
The composer describes the work as being based on three scales, for the three main characters, which are derived from each other and sometimes combined in a way leading to tonality.
His first violin sonata, Op. 14 (1969/70), was a return to a "new tonality", incorporating Hungarian and "gypsy" elements.
He dedicated ''Milchzahnlieder'' (Baby Tooth Songs) for soprano and chamber orchestra, Op. 17 (1973), and ''Krokodilslieder'' (Crocodile Songs), for baritone and chamber orchestra, Op. 28 (1979), to his five children.
Erőd composed orchestral works, such as a violin concerto, Op. 15 (1973), a viola concerto, Op. 30 (1979/80), a cello concerto, Op. 80, premiered 2005 at the festival
styriarte, a clarinet concerto, Op. 88 (2011), as well as a double concerto for clarinet and bassoon, Op. 72 (1999), ''Soirées imaginaires'', Op. 38 (1981), the Symphonie "From the Old World", Op. 67 (1995).
and the 2nd Symphonie, Op. 75 (2001).
His children's opera ''Pünktchen und Anton'', based on
a popular novel by
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives'' and '' Lisa an ...
from 1931, was first given in 2010 at the Children's Opera Tent of the Vienna State Opera.
Cologne Opera
The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company.
History of the company
From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...
presented the first performance in Germany in February, 2021, following COVID-19 protocols required at the time. The Cologne performance was video-recorded and streamed.
His chamber music includes three string quartets, Opp. 18, 26 and 78, two string sextets, Opp. 45 and 68, and ''Bukolika'' for chamber ensemble, Op. 64 (1994), on Hungarian rural life.
His first piano trio, Op. 21, was written in 1976, his second trio Op. 42 in 1982; he wrote a trio for clarinet, violin and piano Op. 59 – commissioned by the
Verdehr Trio
The Verdehr Trio was a chamber ensemble that worked to promote the clarinet-violin-piano trio repertoire through international commission (art), commissions, Sound recording and reproduction, recordings, and performances. The trio featured Walter V ...
– in 1991, as well as a piano quartet Op. 54 in 1987; the two sonatas for violin and piano Op. 14 (1970) and Op. 74 (2000) are among the most popular of his works. He composed
lied
In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
er, such as ''Canti di Ungaretti'' (1988)
and "Vier Gesänge" Op. 44. The song cycle ''Über der Asche zu singen'', Op. 65 (1994) reflects his family's persecution when he was a child.
In the 1970s and 1980s he was influenced by Jazz and Blues, which shows in his piano concerto, Op. 19, in the second piano trio, Op. 42 (1981/82), and in the ''Minnesota Sinfonietta'', Op. 51.
Some of his vocal works are more serious, such as the ''Vier Gesänge'', Op. 44 (1983), the song cycle ''Schwarzerde'' (Black Soil) for baritone and orchestra, Op. 49 (1984/85), and the
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
''Vox Lucis'' (Voice of the Light), Op. 56 (1988/89).
Awards
* 1962:
Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, Third Prize
* 1970:
Staatspreis für Musik
* 1981: Musikpreis des Landes
Steiermark
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and clockwise, from the southwest, ...
(Music Prize of Styria)
* 1986:
* 2001:
''Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver'' for Services to the Republic of Austria (= 7th Class)
* 2006: Honorary member of the (Austrian Composers Association)
* 2019:
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
' Gold Medal in the Arts
References
Further reading
* , "Eröd, Iván". ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...
'' online.
External links
*
Iván Eröd(in German) Steirischer Tonkünstlerbund
Iván Eröd(in Hungarian) Budapest Music Center
Holender singt bei Kinderopern-Uraufführung in Staatsoperpremiere of children's opera at the
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...
, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erod, Ivan
1936 births
2019 deaths
Austrian male composers
Austrian composers
Austrian pianists
Hungarian composers
Hungarian male composers
Hungarian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Composers for piano
Musicians from Budapest
Austrian people of Hungarian descent
Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni
Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
21st-century classical pianists
21st-century Hungarian male musicians
Hungarian people of Jewish descent
Austrian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent