Balassa Sándor
Composer
20 January 1935 Budapest - 14 May 2021
Composer, professor emeritus of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
After spending the childhood years in the countryside, he started his music career in Budapest. First he visited the conductor pre-department of the Béla Bartók Conservatory and then studied composing at the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy as pupil of Endre Szervánszky. He graduated in 1965.
He joined the staff of the Hungarian Radio and as music director he worked there at the music department until 1980. From 1981 he’s started teaching instrumentation at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, first as assistant professor, later as lecturer, and from 1993 until his retirement in 1996 as university professor. In 1996 he founded the non-profit organization ‘Foundation of the Music Academy’, which aimed to support the Music Academy.
As entrant he was requested to compose a number of orchestral works, like the Chant of Glarus (op. 29) for the Kossevitzky Music Foundation Washington, the Calls and Cries (op. 33) for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Day-dreamer´s Diary (op. 35) for the Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Washington, the Three Fantasies (op. 36) for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Manchester. In 1972 his oratorio, the Requiem for Lajos Kassák (op. 15) came in first place at the Paris Tribune, at the annual introduction of the world’s radio companies.
His composing style has gradually changed from the late ’70s, when his music broke up with the atonality and opened up to new tonalities and possible intonations. He was willing to continue the European music tradition and instead of different composing technologies and ideologies he’s rather begun to focus on the beauty of music and expressivity of feelings. Reservation and renewal of the Hungarian national music culture have also become a significant part of his activity.
His most famous operas are: The Man Outside, The Third Planet, Karl and Anna, Erderschütterung. Some of his orchestral works: Fairy Ilona, Prince Csaba, Sons of the Sun, Valley of the Huns, Parcel no. 301, Flowers of October, Hungarian Coronation Music, Dances of Mucsa, Four Portraits, Double Concerto, Trumpet concerto, Overture and scenes, Concerto of Szeged, Concerto of Pécs, Travels in Bihar, Civis Town, Laudation of chivalrous virtues, Trianon.
Besides he wrote a number of songs, cantatas, choruses, instrumental solos and also chamber music for various instruments.
Sándor Balassa was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts, Department of Music since 2011.
Prizes, awards:
1972 UNESCO International Composers’ Tribune, Paris - 1st prize
1972 Erkel Prize
1978 Merited Artist
1983 Kossuth Prize
1988 Bartók-Pásztory Prize
1989 Excellent Artist
1999 Bartók-Pásztory Prize
2012 Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary
Composer, professor emeritus of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
After spending the childhood years in the countryside, he started his music career in Budapest. First he visited the conductor pre-department of the Béla Bartók Conservatory and then studied composing at the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy as pupil of Endre Szervánszky. He graduated in 1965.
He joined the staff of the Hungarian Radio and as music director he worked there at the music department until 1980. From 1981 he’s started teaching instrumentation at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, first as assistant professor, later as lecturer, and from 1993 until his retirement in 1996 as university professor. In 1996 he founded the non-profit organization ‘Foundation of the Music Academy’, which aimed to support the Music Academy.
As entrant he was requested to compose a number of orchestral works, like the Chant of Glarus (op. 29) for the Kossevitzky Music Foundation Washington, the Calls and Cries (op. 33) for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Day-dreamer´s Diary (op. 35) for the Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Washington, the Three Fantasies (op. 36) for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Manchester. In 1972 his oratorio, the Requiem for Lajos Kassák (op. 15) came in first place at the Paris Tribune, at the annual introduction of the world’s radio companies.
His composing style has gradually changed from the late ’70s, when his music broke up with the atonality and opened up to new tonalities and possible intonations. He was willing to continue the European music tradition and instead of different composing technologies and ideologies he’s rather begun to focus on the beauty of music and expressivity of feelings. Reservation and renewal of the Hungarian national music culture have also become a significant part of his activity.
His most famous operas are: The Man Outside, The Third Planet, Karl and Anna, Erderschütterung. Some of his orchestral works: Fairy Ilona, Prince Csaba, Sons of the Sun, Valley of the Huns, Parcel no. 301, Flowers of October, Hungarian Coronation Music, Dances of Mucsa, Four Portraits, Double Concerto, Trumpet concerto, Overture and scenes, Concerto of Szeged, Concerto of Pécs, Travels in Bihar, Civis Town, Laudation of chivalrous virtues, Trianon.
Besides he wrote a number of songs, cantatas, choruses, instrumental solos and also chamber music for various instruments.
Sándor Balassa was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts, Department of Music since 2011.
Prizes, awards:
1972 UNESCO International Composers’ Tribune, Paris - 1st prize
1972 Erkel Prize
1978 Merited Artist
1983 Kossuth Prize
1988 Bartók-Pásztory Prize
1989 Excellent Artist
1999 Bartók-Pásztory Prize
2012 Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary