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Ferenc Farkas: Early Hungarian Dances from the 17th century

In the music of Hungary, folk songs are manifestly of great importance, on the other hand our ancient airs and dances play a modest role. For this work I have been influenced by dances of the 17th century, written by unknown amateurs in a relatively simple style. Most of these dances were recorded between the 14th and 18th centuries under the usual form of tablature notation. My interest in this music was first captured in the 1940s. I was so fascinated that I decided to give these melodies new life.
Two Centuries Military Music in Hungary

The purpose of this book is to describe the function of military music in the musical life of Hungary in a historical context. With this historical account, it can contribute to the general wind music history revealing the details of band music in that culture. The study analyzes the music of the Hungarian Permanent Army from the early eighteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century. The musical development from the instruments of tunesters is described from the oboists, harmonie, and the seminal appearance of wind band as we know it today. Through the biographical sketches of conductors, descriptions of instruments used in various instrumentations, the role of the uniform unique to each band, and programs of the performed music, the study also describes the function of band music in the cultural life of Hungarian cities during this particular period. This descriptive study is an account of 200 years of Hungarian military music.
László Marosi was born in Sárvár, Hungary. He studied conducting at the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, with Tamás Breitner. From 1982 to 1997 he was conductor of the Hungarian Central Army Wind Orchestra and recorded several works by Franz Liszt and contemporary Hungarian composers such as Kamilló Lendvay, Frigyes Hidas, László Dubrovay, Iván Patachich, János Decsényi, István Láng, and György Ránki. He also widely toured with the Orchestra throughout Europe. Besides, he taught conduction at the Teacher Training Faculty of the Liszt Academy, conducted the Academy’s Wind Band, and, from 1993 he became conductor of the professional Budapest Symphonic Band. Between 1989 and 1994, Marosi conducted more than fifty performances annually with the Budapest State Operetta Theater Orchestra. He was invited as a guest conductor by the Matáv Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, and toured Europe with the Strauss Symphony Orchestra in 1996 and 1998.
Following his professional career in Hungary, he earned a MM in conducting and a PhD in music education at Florida State University with James Croft and Philip Spurgeon. He frequently conducted the University Symphony Orchestra, including acclaimed performances of the music of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Shulamit Ran. As Visiting Professor, Dr. Marosi served as Associate Conductor of the FSU Wind Orchestra during the 2002/2003 academic year.
As guest conductor, lecturer and adjudicator he has appeared throughout Europe, England, Israel, South Africa, Namibia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico and in the United States.
For his contributions to Hungarian contemporary music, he was twice awarded the Artisjus prize by the Hungarian Composers’ Union. In 1997 he was awarded the FAME prize for his international conducting activities and won the RIA award for his international research activities at University of Central Florida in 2012.
Just published: Ungaresca by Győrffy
Hungarian or Hungarian-style dance music which flourished in the 16th and17th centuries - generally referred to as ungaresca - represents a valuable part of European musical tradition. István Győrffy’s work with its characteristically Hungarian tone, composed between 2007 and 2010, is a late successor of this tradition.
Music with Chequered Ears

Spring, 2013: Three new pieces

Hungarian Rondo
The Hungarian Rondo by Árpád Balázs is cheerful, good-humoured music, a finely formed work crafted withgreat professional skill.
Its structure is clear: the double recurrence of the rondo theme results in a five-part form. The two episodes differ in character. The first consists of increasingly densely woven imitations that chase eachother playfully; the second evokes the mood of bagpipe tunes. In the latter, above the melody moving evenly incrotchets in the middle parts a pastel-tinted cloud of woodwind notes floats upwards, while the sound is extended downwards by the deep-toned brass stepping lower by semitones. A brilliant device by the composer! In thecourse of its repeats the rondo theme appears more and more richly garbed; particularly the sparkling semiquavers of the woodwind make it ever more decorative.
The Hungarian Rondo is the kind of music that drives your cares away.
New works
Zempléni: European Journey. Grade: 2. Duration: 7 min.
The author arranged European folk songs from Germany, Ireland, France, Norway, Albania, Italy and Hungary, for young band. The pieces can be performed as a coherent series or separately, and conductors can select from them to form 2-, 3- or 4-movement groups.
Balázs: Early Hungarian Dances from Gömör. Grade: 3. Duration: 4:20.
The composer has breathed new life into the 18th-century melodies, as Zoltán Kodály did with the Galanta and Marosszék dances, Antonin Dvořák with Slav dances, and Johannes Brahms with those of Hungary. The chief virtues of the work are its colourful, varied instrumentation, the tasteful combination of its archaic style with the musical language of our day, and not least the fact that its every bar is enjoyable to play and easy to listen to.
New concert band publications
