Ferenc Farkas :: Artists Decorating Essays

Ferenc Farkas Ferenc Farkas was born in Nagykanizsa, Hungary, in December 1905. He studied composition with Albert Siks and Le Weiner at the Budapest academy of Music and continued his studies with Ottorino Respighi at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Ferenc Farkas was Professor of Composition at the Conservatory of Kolozsvr from 1941 to 1944 and also served as its director during his last year there. In 1949 Farkas was appointed Professor of Composition at the Budapest Academy of Music, a post which he held until his retirement in 1975. His pupils included Attila Bozay, Axolt Durk, Gyrgy Kurtg, Gyrgy Ligeti, Emil Petrovics, Sndor Szokolay and many some other prominent Hungarian composers.In 1950, Ferenc Farkas was awarded the highest Hungarian government decoration for artistic merit, the Kossuth Prize. In 1979, he was given the Herder Prize by the F.V.Stiftung in Hamburg. This oppugn was conducted in the spring of 1991. Gal First of all, I would like to congratulate you o n your 85th birthday which you celebrated last December and indirect request you continuing good health and happiness. When did you archetypical begin to compose for harp? Farkas In my early compositions for orchestra, I always gave the harp part an important role. My first composition for harp solo, however, was Concertino, written in 1937 for the Budapest Municipal Orchestra and Mrs. Anna Molnr. Gal Was Concertino performed come inside of Hungary? Farkas Soon after the first performance in Budapest, a second performance was given by Mireille Flour in Brussels, followed by performances in London by Maria Korchinska, in Rome by adenosine deaminase Sassoli, and in Frankfurt by Rosa Stein. Later in Hungary, the work was performed again by Liana Pasquali. Concertino was recorded in Germany by Rosa Stein and in Belgium by Mireille Flour. Gal What are your feelings about writing for the harp? Farkas In 1937 I tried to utilize what I felt was the most slackly neglected characteristic o f the harp - the melodic line. I avoided the arpeggio and glissando as much as possible. In 1956, however, with the help of Professor Mikls Rkai at the Budapest Conservatory, I rewrote Concertino. I wrote what I consider to be a more successful role for the harp and included the previously avoided glissandi and arpeggi, added cadenzas, and thinned out the orchestral background in the first and third movements. The new version was then played in Hungary by Hdy Lubik and several generation in Germany by Gyula Dall.