Sándor Veress (, – ) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

of Hungarian origin. He was born in Kolozsvár/Klausenburg,

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, nowadays called

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and died in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. The first half of his life was spent in Hungary; the second, from 1949 until his death, in Switzerland, of which he became a citizen in the last months of his life. Veress studied and later taught at the Franz Liszt Academy 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 ...

. Among his teachers were

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. ...

, with whom he studied composition, 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 ...

, with whom he studied piano; as an assistant to László Lajtha he did field research on Hungarian, Transylvanian, and Moldavian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. Among the composers who studied under him are

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

, György Kurtág,

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

, Heinz Marti, Jürg Wyttenbach and Roland Moser. He wrote numerous

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

pieces and symphonic works. He wrote one opera, ''Hangjegyek lázadása'' (1931).Opera Glass
/ref> Veress was awarded the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1936, by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and grou ...

in 1949 in Hungary (though as an émigré he was unable to collect this award) and the Bartók-Pásztory Prize in 1985; in Switzerland he received the Berne canton prize in 1976.

Selected works

;Opera * ''Hangjegyek lázadása'' (1931) ;Ballet * ''A Csodafurulya'' (The Magic Flute) (1937) * ''Térszili Katicza'' (1943) ;Orchestral * ''A Csodafurulya'' (The Magic Flute), Ballet Suite for chamber orchestra (1937) * ''Musica ungaresca'' (1938) * Sinfonia No.1 (1940) (dedicated to the Japanese emperor and government for the 2600th National Foundation Day) * ''Quattro Danze transilvane'' for string orchestra (1944, 1949) * ''Threnos in memoriam Béla Bartók'' (1945) * ''Respublica nyitány'' (Respublica Overture) (1948) * Sonata for orchestra (1953) * Sinfonia No.2 ''"Minneapolitana"'' (1953) * ''Expovare'' for flute, oboe and string orchestra (1964) * ''Musica concertante per 12 archi'', for 12 strings (1966) * ''Orbis tonorum'' for chamber orchestra (1986) ; Concertante * Concerto for violin and orchestra (1939, 1948) * ''Nógrádi verbunkos'' for violin and orchestra (1940) * ''Hommage à Paul Klee'' for 2 pianos and string orchestra (1951) * Concerto for piano with percussion and string orchestra (1952) * ''Nógrádi verbunkos'' for viola and string orchestra (1940, 1956); arrangement by D. Marton * ''Passacaglia concertante'' for oboe and string orchestra (1961)(dedicated to Heinz Holliger) * Concerto for string quartet and orchestra (1961) * Concerto for clarinet with harp, celesta, vibraphone, xylophone, percussion and string orchestra (1982) * ''Tromboniade'' for 2 trombones and orchestra (1990) * ''Concertotilinkó'' for flute and string orchestra (1991) ;Chamber and instrumental * String Quartet No.1 (1931) * Sonatina No.1 for violin and piano (1932) * Sonatina for cello and piano (1933) * Sonatina for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1933) * Sonata for violin solo (1935) * String Quartet No.2 (1937) * Sonata No.2 for violin and piano (1939) * ''Nógrádi verbunkos'' for violin and piano (1940) * ''Cukaszöke csárdás'' for violin and piano (1940) * String Trio (1954) * ''Tre quadri'' for violin, cello and piano (1963) * Sonata for cello solo (1967) * ''Diptych'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1968) * ''Introduzione e Coda'' for clarinet, violin and cello (1972) * ''Memento'' for viola and double bass (1983) * ''Baryton-Trio'' for

baryton The baryton is a bowed string instrument similar to the viol, but distinguished by an extra set of sympathetic but also pluckable strings. It was in regular use in Europe until the end of the 18th century. Design The baryton can be viewed as a ...

, viola and cello (1985) * ''Geschichten und Märchen'' for 2 percussionists (1988) ;Piano * Sonata (1929) * ''Szonatina gyermekeknek I'' (Sonatina for Children I) (1932) * ''Szonatina gyermekeknek II'' (Sonatina for Children II) (1932) * Sonatina (1932) * ''Szonatina kezdő zongorázóknak'' (Sonatina for Young Pianists) (1933) * ''Tizenöt kis zongoradarab'' (15 Little Piano Pieces) (1935) * ''Venti Pezzi'' (20 Pieces) (1938) * ''6 Csárdás'' (1938) * ''7 Danze ungheresi'' (1938) * ''Billegetőmuzsika'' (Fingerlarks), 88 Exercises (1946) * ''Homage to Wales'', 3 Short Pieces based on Welsh folk melodies (1948) * ''Cinque Pezzi'' (5 Pieces) (c.1950) ;Vocal * ''Canti Ceremissi'', 9 Folk Song Arrangements for mezzo-soprano and piano (1945) * ''Cinque Canti'' (5 Songs) for mezzo-soprano and piano (1945); poems by Attila József * ''Elegie'' for baritone, harp and string orchestra (1964); poem by

Walther von der Vogelweide Walther von der Vogelweide (; ) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs ('' Sprüche'') in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundred or s ...

;Choral * ''Orbán'' for male chorus (1924); poem by

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; ; ; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet and Classical Liberalism, liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's national poet, and was one of the key figures of the Hungari ...

* ''Gyermekkar és három kánon'' for children's chorus (1929) * ''Karácsonyi kantáta'' (Christmas Cantata) for female chorus (1934) * ''Tizennégy férfikar magyar népi dallamokra'' (14 Male Choruses on Hungarian Folk Tunes) for male chorus (1934) * ''Erdélyi kantáta'' (Una Cantata transilvana), 4 Folk Song Arrangements for mixed chorus a cappella (1935) * ''Két virágének'' (2 Flower Songs) for male chorus (1936) * ''Tizenöt gyermekkar'' (15 Children's Choruses) (1936) * ''Betlehemi kántáló'' (Christmas Chant) for female chorus (1937) * ''A búbánat keserüség'' (Sorrow Makes You Truly Bitter) for male chorus (1938) * ''Rabaközi nóták'' (Songs from Rábaköz) for male chorus (1940) * ''Sancti Augustini psalmus contra partem Donati'' for bass solo, mixed chorus and orchestra (1944); poem by

Augustinus Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosophy ...

* ''Laudatio musicae'' for soprano, chorus and chamber orchestra (1958); poem by Valentin Rathgeber * ''Ode all'Europa'' for mixed chorus a cappella (1962); poem by Gyula Illyés * ''Songs of the Seasons'' for mixed chorus a cappella (1967); poems by Christopher Brennan * ''Das Glasklängespiel'' for soloists and chamber orchestra (1978); poems by

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

;Film score * '' Talpalatnyi föld'' (The Soil under Your Feet) (1948)

References

External links

Sándor Veress international homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Veress, Sandor 1907 births 1992 deaths Musicians from Cluj-Napoca Hungarian classical composers Hungarian male classical composers 20th-century Swiss classical composers Hungarian opera composers Swiss opera composers Swiss male opera composers Academic staff of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music Pupils of Béla Bartók Pupils of Zoltán Kodály Romanian emigrants to Switzerland 20th-century Hungarian male musicians Hungarian ethnomusicologists