On This Day

Endre Szervánszky

Hungarian composer (1911–1977)

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Endre Szervánszky (27 December 1911 – 25 June 1977) was a Hungarian composer.

Szervánszky was born in Kistétény and studied the clarinet at the Budapest Academy of Music (1922–27). He played in various orchestras before returning to the academy to study composition with Albert Siklós (1931–36). He then worked as an orchestrator for the Hungarian Radio and taught musical theory. He was appointed professor of composition at the Budapest Academy in 1948.

Szervánszky first came to public attention with his First String Quartet (1936–38) and his works of this period were influenced by his compatriots, Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók. Works for this time include the Clarinet Serenade (1950) and the Flute Concerto (1952–53).

From the early 1950s Szervánszky embarked on a series of larger compositions, one of the longest being the Concerto for Orchestra in memory of Attila József. Each of the concerto's five movements is based on a quotation from József. The fourth has folk music elements and the whole demonstrates the influence of Bartók. Both the String Quartet no.2 (1956–57) and the Wind Quintet no.2 (1957) also demonstrate the composer's increasing interest in serialism.

For his Six Orchestra Pieces, composed in 1959, Szervánszky employed 12-note serialism and the piece is particular in its use of percussion. Szervánszky did not compose another major work until 1963 – the oratorio Requiem – Dark Heaven, based on a text by János Pilinszky which takes the concentration camp of Auschwitz as its theme. Works which followed include the Variations for Orchestra (1964) and the Clarinet Concerto (1965).

Endre Szervánszky was given the "Righteous Among the Nations" award by the State of Israel to honour non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis.

He was the brother of artist Jenö Szervánszky and violinist Peter Szervánszky (who gave the Hungarian premiere of Bartók's Second Violin Concerto) and the uncle of pianist Valeria Szervánszky.

Napkeleti mese – “Oriental Tale”, (a "dance play") 1948–9

Népdalszvit – “Folksong Suite”, 1949

Honvédkantáta – “Soldier’s Cantata”, 1949

Tavaszi Szél – “Spring Breeze” (cantata), 1950

3 Male Choruses (ancient China), 1958

Requiem – “Dark Heaven” to words by János Pilinszky (oratorio), 1963

Az éj – “The Night” (cantata), 1974–5

3 divertimentos, 1939, 1942, 1943

Serenade for clarinet and orchestra, 1950

20 Little Duos for 2 violins, 1941

Sonata for violin and piano, 1945

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Endre Szervánszky | World in Stories