János Decsényi
From Unearthing The Music
János Decsényi (b. Budapest, March 24, 1927) is a Hungarian composer.
Contents
Biography
János Decsény studied at the Székesfőváros Higher School of Music with Rezső Sugár, then between 1952 and 1956 he studied composition at the Ferenc Liszt College of Music, under Endre Szervánszky. From 1951 he was active with the Hungarian Radio, becoming head of its department of Classical (Dramatic and Symphonic) Music. In 1974 he became the head of the radio's electroacoustic studio for almost 20 years, then becoming a music lecturer at Bartók Radio until 2007. Representing the radio, he was a jury member for 25 years in Bourges, France, at annual composition competitions.
As a composer, he has practiced a wide range of musical genres: his works include chamber music, symphonic and oratorical works, as well as theatrical, television and radio background music, film music. An important area of his activity is electroacoustic music, which he cultivated and promoted through the possibilities provided by radio.
Awards
János Decsényi received the Ferenc Erkel Prize in 1975. In 1986 he was made a Merited Artist by the Hungarian government. He was awarded the Bartok Pasztory Prize in 1999.
Selected Works
DRAMATIC
- Keptelen tortenet (An Absurd Story), ballet (1962);
- Az on (The Nose), pantomime (1979).
ORCHESTRAL
- Divertimento for Harpsichord and Chamber Orch. (1959);
- Csontvdry-kepek (Csontvary Pictures; 1967);
- Melodiae hominis for Chamber Orch. (1969);
- Gondolatok—nappal, ejszaka (Thoughts—by Day, by Night; 1971);
- Kommentdrok Marcus AureHushoz (Commentaries on Marcus Aurelius) for 16 Solo Strings (1973);
- Double for Chamber Orch. (1974);
- Variations for Piano and Orch. (1976);
- Concerto boemo (1976);
- Concerto grosso for Chamber Orch. (1978);
- A tiicsokszot ki erti meg? (Who Under-stands the Speech of Crickets?) for Chamber Orch. and Tape (1983);
- Cello Concerto (1984);
- A harmadik (The 3rd One) for 15 Solo Strings (1985); 2 syms. (1986, 1993).
CHAMBER
- String Trio (1955);
- Sonatina pastorale for Flute and Piano (1956);
- String Quartet (1978);
- Cello Sonata (1991). VOCAL:Szerelem (Love) for Soprano and Orch. (1957);
- A gondolat jdtekai (The Plays of Thought), cantata for Soprano and Chamber Orch. (1972);
- Sirfelirat Aquincumbol (Epitaph from Aquincum) for Soprano, Electric Organ, and 16 Solo Strings (1979);
- Weores Sdndor tizenkettedik szimfonidja (The 12th Symphony of Sandor Weores) for Soprano and Percussion (1980);
- Old Hungarian Texts, oratorio for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Ensemble (1991);
- Keepsake Album, oratorio for Soprano, Bass, Chamber Chorus, Chamber Ensemble, Electronics, and Projected Images (1998).
ELECTRONIC
- Kb’vek (Stones; 1987);
- Prospero szigete (Prospero’s Island; 1989); Birds of the Cathedral (1991);
- Book of Verses (2000).