Ferenc Erkel
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Ferenc Erkel (Hungarian: Erkel Ferenc Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈɛrkɛl ˈfɛrɛnt͡s], German: Franz Erkel; November 7, 1810 – June 15, 1893) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and pianist. He was the father of Hungarian grand opera, written mainly on historical themes, which are still often performed in Hungary. He also composed the music of "Himnusz", the national anthem of Hungary, which was adopted in 1844. He died in Budapest.
Biography
Erkel was born in
He headed the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (founded in 1853). He was also the director and piano teacher of the Hungarian Academy of Music until 1886. The Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest was opened in 1884, of which he was the musical director.
In 1839, he married Adél Adlers. Four of his sons participated in the composing of his later operas:
).In popular culture
- Erkel was an internationally acknowledged chess player as well, and a founder of Pesti Sakk-kör (Budapest Chess Club).
- A department of the Opera House was established in 1911 in Budapest which also performs operas, named Erkel Színház (Erkel Theatre) since 1953.
- He was commemorated on gold and silver coins issued by the Hungarian National Bank for the 200th anniversary of his birth.[2]
Operas
- Coloman of Hungary)
- Hunyadi László (1844, four acts)
- Erzsébet (1857, three acts, only the second is by Erkel)
- palatine of Andrew II) – this opera is often thought of as the national opera of Hungary
- Sarolta (1862, three acts)
- Dózsa György (1867, five acts)
- Brankovics György (1874, four acts)
- Névtelen hősök (1880, "Nameless heroes", four acts)
- István király (1885, "King Stephen", four acts)
- Kemény Simon (remained in fragments; planned to be of three acts)
See also
References
- Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954, Eric Blom, ed.
- ^ "Ferenc Erkel Gold and Silver Coins". Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
External links
- Works by or about Ferenc Erkel at Internet Archive
- Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (in English)
- Opera.hu (in English)
- Erkel playing chess
- Free scores by Ferenc Erkel at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Literature by and about Ferenc Erkel in the German National Library catalogue