László Lajtha

László Lajtha (IPA: /ˈlaːsloː ˈlɒjtɒ/) (in Hungarian "Lajtha László") (30 June 1892 – 16 February 1963) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist and conductor.

Career

Born in Budapest, Lajtha studied with Viktor Herzfeld in the Academy of Music in that city and then in Leipzig, Geneva and finally Paris where he was a pupil of Vincent d'Indy. Before the First World War, in collaboration with Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, he undertook the study and transcription of Hungarian folk song, heading up a project to produce a series of folk music recordings. Throughout the war he served at the front as an artillery officer, an experience recalled in his sombre Second Symphony (1938) - a work that remained unperformed until 1988. In 1919 he began teaching at the Budapest National Conservatory. (Among his pupils was the conductor János Ferencsik, who was later one of the principal champions of his music.) From 1928 he was a member of the International Commission of Popular Arts and Traditions of the League of Nations. He was also a member of the International Folk Music Council based in London.

After the Second World War, Lajtha was appointed Director of Music for Hungarian Radio, director of the Museum of Ethnography and of the Budapest National Conservatory. His symphonic piece "In Memoriam" was the first new work to be premiered in Budapest when concerts could be given there again. In 1947-48 Lajtha spent a year in London, having been asked by the film director Georg Hoellering to compose music for his film of T. S. Eliot's verse drama "Murder in the Cathedral". Rather than providing a dedicated film score, Lajtha wrote three important concert works - his Third Symphony, Orchestral Variations and Harp Quintet No.2 - extracts from which were used in the film. On his return to Hungary his passport was confiscated for having stayed too long in the West and he was removed from all the aforementioned posts. In 1951 he was awarded the Kossuth Prize for his activities in folk-music research.

Reputation

Lajtha's international recognition as a composer began in 1929 with his String Quartet No.3, which was awarded the Coolidge Prize. From his time in Paris before the First World War Lajtha had many friends among French artists, such as the novelist Romain Rolland and the composer Henri Barraud, and from 1930 he had some of his works published by the Paris publisher Alphonse Leduc. He was the only Hungarian composer since Franz Liszt to be elected a corresponding member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. Lajtha's works include
*nine symphonies
*ten string quartets
*three ballets: "Lysistrata" (1933), "The Grove of the Four Gods" (1943) and "Capriccio" (1944)
*an operetta: "The Blue Hat" (1950)along with many other orchestral, chamber and solo instrumental works, church music and film music. His works display an intriguing synthesis of French and Hungarian national elements with musical neo-classicism, very clearly seen for example in his Fourth Symphony (1951), entitled "Le Printemps". His later works are more radical in their construction and employ some extreme dissonance, for example the Seventh Symphony, "Autumn" (1957), conceived as a lament for the 1956 uprising. Lajtha is regarded as the foremost Hungarian symphonist.Fact|date=May 2007 Awareness of his music has however suffered, both in Hungary and abroad, as a result of its suppression under the Communist regime due to his support for the 1956 uprising. In addition a ban on Lajtha travelling abroad denied him performance opportunities, and it is only in recent years that his reputation has begun to be established as one of Hungary's most important composers.

elected list of orchestral works

**Overture and Suite No. 1, op. 19 (1933) - from ballet "Lysistrata"
**"Hortobágy", 2 symphonic pictures derived from music to the film by Georg Hoellering, op. 21 (1934)
**Symphony No. 1, op. 24 (1936)
**Symphony No. 2, op. 27 (1938)
**"In Memoriam", op. 35 (1941)
**Suite No. 2, op. 38 (1943) - from ballet "The Grove of the Four Gods"
**"Capriccio" - Suite from the ballet, op. 39 (1955)
**Variations, op. 44 ("11 variations for orchestra on a Simple Theme, 'Temptations"') (1947-8)
**Symphony No. 3, op. 45 (1947-8)
**"Shapes and Forms", music for a film, op. 48 (1949)
**Symphony No. 4 "Le Printemps", op. 52 (1951)
**Symphony No. 5, op. 55 (1952)
**Suite No. 3, op. 56 (1953 - written for the 100th anniversary of the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra)
**Symphony No. 6, op. 61 (1955)
**Symphony No. 7, op. 63 "Autumn" (1957 - also called "Revolution Symphony")
**Symphony No. 8, op. 66 (1959)
**Symphony No. 9, op. 67 (1963)

Other works

*"Missa in dies tribulationis" for chorus and orchestra, op. 50 (1950)
*"Sinfonietta No. 1" for string orchestra, op. 43 (1946)
*"Sinfonietta No. 2" for string orchestra, op. 62 (1956)
*"Marionettes" for harp, flute, violin, viola and cello
*Harp Quintet No. 2
*"String Trio No.1" (1932)
*"String Trio No. 3 "Soirs transylvanis"
*"Prélude" for piano
*"3 Berceuses" for piano
*"Missa" for choir and organ
*"3 Nocturnes" for soprano, flute, harp and string quartet

ee also

*Music of Hungary

External links

* [http://www.classical-composers.org/cgi-bin/ccd.cgi?comp=lajtha Short biography and list of selected works from Classical Composers Database]
* [http://www.folkline.hu/kiadvanyok/hh_02/patria.html Account of the Hungarian folk music recording project]
* [http://www.szemle.film.hu/object.d7116bea-05e6-4128-87f0-f44b2102c226.ivy Documentary film commemorating Lajtha's work on folk music]