Ervin Nyiregyhazi (1903 - 1987)

[Michael Sayers]

Hi Everyone,

I feel that Ervin Nyiregyhazi compositions are well worth a look.  I've set up a playlist at YouTube for all recordings of his music there which I have been able to find and which should give some idea of the qualities of his music.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgUUkZXeqINMpAr7DlszWCBUWIgazRM24


Mvh,
Michael

[sdtom]

Not sure how this fits for us.

[thalbergmad]

After subjecting my ears to a few pieces on said playlist, hopfully, this does not belong here.

Thal

[Michael Sayers]

Hi Sdtom and Thal,

This is romantic era music, and according to what I read at this link it fits in with this forum:

http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,3681.0.html

The very reason that Ervin Nyiregyhazi didn't allow his music to be performed was because he thought it would be criticized for being romantic style whilst he lived into and through the Age of Serialism.

The romantic spirit always shall live on, it isn't confined to a particular compositional end date, et c.


Mvh,
Michael

[Alan Howe]

The excerpts I've listened to on YouTube sound perfectly acceptable to me. Wikipedia says:
"Nyiregyházi was also a prolific composer, writing in a Romantic style reminiscent of Liszt."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ervin_Nyiregyh%C3%A1zi (emphasis added)

[Jonathan]

Hi all,
I have a book about him called "Lost Genius" by Kevin Bazzana. It says that he wrote a vast amount of music, much of it in the style of Liszt. He had a very strange upbringing which affected his personality and seems to have led to his unusual career path.

[Mark Thomas]

The excerpts I've listened to on YouTube sound perfectly acceptable to me.

Indeed, that's why I approved Michael's post.

[Alan Howe]

Quite. I just couldn't understand why there were subsequent objections to his inclusion here...

[Herbert Pauls]

Thanks to Michael for initiating the process of unearthing some of this music. Ever since hearing the Nziregzhazi LPs in my local public library back in the early 1980s, I have been very intrigued by him. Not only his playing, which was erratic and shattering in equal measure, but also by the LP liner notes and comments by Harold Schonberg and Gregor Benko, both of whom were spooked by what seemed like a romantic ghost from the past. As word spread, it became apparent that the most enthusiastic response was from the most diehard romantic specialists, those who were most steeped in 19th-Century musical traditions. Also mentioned at the time was the fact that Nyiregzhazi had been composing hundreds of works throughout his life. Knowing his attitude toward Liszt, and his rejection of modernist severities (up there with Lloyd, Bowen, and Medtner, I would think), I really wondered what on earth his music would sound like. Now we can hear a sampling, for which I am grateful.

The Bazzana book, bý the way, is highly recommended, if unfulfilling - a valuable account of a curious and tragic life that did not even remotely live up to its potential. Another missing piece of the 20th Century.

[Gareth Vaughan]

It is Romantic music, but I'm afraid I think it is rather boring - at least, the pieces I have listened to. Also, he seems to favour slow tempi in his compositions - and I remember my music master advising me (partially in jest, I admit, but I took his point): "Never write adagios!" Just my opinion. Did he write any orchestral music?

[Michael Sayers]

Hi Gareth,

What I have are several hundred pages of solo piano music, some chamber music, and part of a violin concerto including one of the cadenzas.  Some of the piano music is for a fast tempo - in particular there are a set of "Mephisto" pieces, one of which is more daunting than the hardest Liszt.

There are many thousands of pages stored in Japan that seemingly have not been viewed by anyone other than Nyiregyhazi, and which have been there for decades.  The hold up seems to have to do with the owner of those manuscripts being a different person than the one who owns the copyrights to the music.


Mvh,
Michael

[Michael Sayers]

Hi Herbert,

There isn't any need to thank me.  I just happened to be the first starting back in 2002.  It could have been anyone.  After hearing recordings of his piano playing I was quite curious to see the compositions!


Mvh,
Michael

[semloh]

I am not musically educated enough to know how original or inventive the piano pieces on YT are - they sound so much like Liszt, among others - but I do find them quite engaging. Thanks, Michael, for drawing our attention to this intriguing unsung composer, and initiating a fascinating thread.

[Michael Sayers]

Hi Semloh,

I might record several more later this year to add to the YouTube playlist.  I am thinking about including some of the long ones [30+ pages each] and also the Grande Sonate Heroique.  If this turns out to be definite then I'll revisit this thread.

The Grande Sonate Heroique was published, and the website linked below has an image of the first page.

http://www.fugue.us/N_comp_Gr_Sonata_heroique.gif


Mvh,
Michael

[Gareth Vaughan]

http://www.fugue.us/N_comp_Gr_Sonata_heroique.gif

I am getting a "403 Permission denied" message on this link.