Péter Eötvös
Péter Eötvös | |
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Born | |
Died | 24 March 2024 Budapest, Hungary | (aged 80)
Education |
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Occupations |
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Organizations |
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Works | List of compositions |
Website | www |
Péter Eötvös (Hungarian: Eötvös Péter, pronounced [ˈøtvøʃ ˈpeːtɛr]; 2 January 1944 – 24 March 2024) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and academic teacher.
After studies of composition in Budapest and
As a composer, Eötvös was known for the operas
Life and career
Péter Eötvös was born on 2 January 1944 in
Eötvös's mother, a pianist, participated in the musical and intellectual life of Budapest and took her son to many performances and rehearsals of
In 1958, he was asked to accompany film projections with improvisations on piano and Hammond organ. He was then asked to write scores for theatre and cinema. By 1970, he had composed several pieces of utility music.[4] During a period of ten years he developed personal musical preferences, for Gesualdo (the idea of the madrigal returns in pieces such as Drei Madrigalkomödien and Tri sestry), American jazz of the 1960s, electronic music (of which Karlheinz Stockhausen's figure was inseparable), and Pierre Boulez, among others.[5]
Eötvös received a
In 1978, Boulez asked him to conduct the opening concert of
Jean-Pierre Brossman, director of the Opéra National de Lyon at that time, admired his ability to take into consideration the work of artists and directors, and commissioned an opera in 1986: Three Sisters, based on Chekhov's play. In 2008, Eötvös premiered two other operas, Lady Sarashina and Love and Other Demons.[10]
Eötvös was principal guest conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2007.[7] His recording of Luciano Berio's Sinfonia with the London Voices (DG) received the award for "Technical excellence in recording" by the BBC Music Magazine in 2006.[12] He served as a member of the jury of the Tōru Takemitsu composition competition in 2014.[13]
His first opera to a Hungarian libretto, Valuska,[1] was premiered in Budapest on 2 December 2023. Based on the 1989 novel The Melancholy of Resistance by László Krasznahorkai, it was commissioned by the Hungarian State Opera.[14]
Eötvös founded the International Eötvös Institute for young conductors and composers in Budapest in 1991. He taught at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe from 1992 to 1998, moved then as professor to the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, and returned to Karlsruhe in 2002, remaining in the position until 2007.[7]
Personal life
Eötvös was married three times. His first marriage was to the actress Piroska Molnar; they had a son, György, who died in 1994. His second marriage was to Pi-hsien Chen; they had a daughter, Ann-yi Bingol.[15] His third marriage was to Maria Eotvosne Mezei.[1][6] They lived in Cologne, Paris and Hilversum (Netherlands) for decades. In 2004, when Hungary joined the European Union, they moved back to Budapest, where Eötvös founded the Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation the same year.[1]
Eötvös died in Budapest on 24 March 2024, at the age of 80,[1][5][16] after a serious illness.[6]
Compositional style and critical reception
In his extensive work as a conductor, Eötvös was exposed to a variety of compositional styles. Federico Capitoni cited an eclectic range of apparent elements and influences in Eötvös's music: the "lucid folly" of
Composing for film and theatre in his first large-scale compositions,[4] Eötvös learned the importance of timing and synchronisation. He also discovered noise as a sound, which was the starting point of some later compositions. The work Zero Points begins with a countdown, as if destined to synchronise sound and image, the double bass then takes on a high-pitched sound reminding the cracks of an old magnetic tape. His music encompassed a variety of timbres and soundscapes.[17] Extended techniques such as over-pressure bowings coexisted with lyrical folk songs and synthesized sounds. Eötvös provided detailed instructions on mixture of instruments for electronic manipulation or amplification.[4]
Works
Eötvös was especially known for his operas; he also composed orchestral works including concertos, music for ensembles,
Stage works
Eötvös was influenced by the music and theatre of Japan. He composed his first opera, Harakiri, in 1973, whilst working in Osaka. The opera is based on the seppuku death of Yukio Mishima.[1] 1996/97, Eötvös composed Tri sestry (Three Sisters) to a libretto in Russian after Chekhov's play.[21] It was premiered at the Opéra National de Lyon in 1998, and was repeated at opera houses in Europe.[22] The one-act opera Lady Sarashina was also based on Japanese tradition, the 11th-century diary of a lady-in-waiting;[1][6] it was premiered in Lyon on 8 April 2008. His opera Love and Other Demons was based on Gabriel García Márquez' novella;[1] it was premiered on 10 August 2008 at Glyndebourne, UK.[23] He composed Der goldene Drache (The Golden Dragon) in 2013/14 for Ensemble Modern, based on the play by Roland Schimmelpfennig.[1] It was premiered at the Bockenheimer Depot on 29 June 2014, conducted by the composer.[24] The one-act-opera Senza sangue (Without Blood) was composed to a libretto by Alessandro Baricco for two voices, as a work to be coupled with Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. It was first played in Cologne in concert by the New York Philharmonic in 2015, and then on stage at the Festival d'Avignon in 2016.[25] His opera Valuska was commissioned by the Hungarian State Opera; his first opera to a Hungarian libretto based on Krasznahorkai's novel, was premiered there in 2023[26] and was played in a German version, Valuschka, at Theater Regensburg in 2024.[27]
Awards
- Prize Bartok-Pasztory (1997)[7]
- Kossuth Prize (2002)[7]
- Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (2003)[7]
- Grand Prix Antoine Livio from the Presse musicale internationale (2006)[4]
- Frankfurter Musikpreis (2007)[28]
- Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (2015)[7][29]
- Grand Prix artistique (composition musicale) de la Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca (2016)[3]
- Goethe Medal (2018)[4][30]
- BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2021)[4]
- Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award (2002)[4]
Memberships
- Member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin (1997)[7]
- Member of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts (Széchenyi Iroldami és Művészeti Akadémia)[8]
- Member of the Sächsische Akademie der Künste in Dresden[8]
- Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music (2000)[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Struck-Schloen, Michael (24 March 2024). "Peter Eötvös (1944–2024)". Schott. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Peter Eötvös". German Academic Exchange Service (in German). 2024. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Grand Prix artistique de la Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca 2016". academiedesbeauxarts.fr (in French). Paris. 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Péter Eötvös (biography, works, resources)" (in French and English). IRCAM.
- ^ a b Whittall, Arnold (25 March 2024). "Contemporary composer: Peter Eötvös". Gramophone. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Nyffeler, Max (26 March 2024). "Er brachte Humor in die Neue Musik". FAZ (in German). Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Akademie der Künste (in German). Berlin. Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Peter Eötvös". Schott. 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Donnerstag aus Licht-16 September 1985 Evening 6.30pm". Royal Opera House. 16 September 1985. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Rohde, Gerhard (2 January 2014). "Komponist, Dirigent und Psychoanalytiker". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ^ Ender, Daniel (6 November 2017). "Péter Eötvös: Als Luc Bondy Klang wurde". Der Standard (in German). Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "BBC Music Awards Launched". classicalmusicguide.com. 16 March 2006. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Judges of 2014 Peter Eötvös | Toru Takemitsu Composition Award". operacity.jp. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Valuska Archived 23 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine on OperaVision website, accessed 21 January 2024.
- ^ A.J. Goldmann (28 March 2024). "Peter Eotvos, Evocative Modernist Composer and Conductor, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Meghalt Eötvös Péter zeneszerző". Magyar Narancs. 24 March 2024. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ ISBN 9791222309545.
- ^ "Peter Eötvös". Durand. 2024. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- Editio Musica Budapest. 2024. Archivedfrom the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Peter Eötvös". Ricordi. 2024. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- neue musikzeitung (in German). Regensburg. Archivedfrom the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Moulinier, Pierre (2016). "Péter Eötvös: Tri sestry". Ricordi. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ Jungheinrich, Hans-Klaus (30 June 2014). "Peter Eötvös: Der goldene Drache in Frankfurt / Aus der Bistroküche nach Utopia" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "About a work: Peter Eötvös' Valuska". bachtrack.com. 9 November 2023. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Brachmann, Jan (4 February 2024). "Dahinter steckt die Bürgermeisterin". FAZ. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Frankfurter Musikpreis zur internationalen Musikmesse Frankfurt". Online-Ausgabe des Handbuchs der Kulturpreise (in German). 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ Zrt., HVG Kiadó (20 August 2015). "Polgár Judit és Eötvös Péter kapta a Magyar Szent István-rendet". Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ "Komponist Péter Eötvös erhält Goethe-Medaille". Musik Heute. Berlin. 14 June 2018. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation website
- Harrison Parrott (agents) biography, reviews, etc.
- Péter Eötvös discography at Discogs
- Péter Eötvös at IMDb
- Péter Eötvös 75 documentary on YouTube
Recordings, as conductor
- Elliott Carter: What Next? (ECM 1817)
- Friedrich Cerha: Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester / Franz Schreker: Kammersymphonie (ECM 1887)
- Helmut Lachenmann: Schwankungen am Rand (ECM 1789)
- Béla Bartók: Viola Concerto / Eötvös: Replica for Viola and Orchestra / György Kurtág: Movement for Viola and Orchestra (with Kim Kashkashian and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra (RKO), 1999, ECM New Series 1711)
- Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, 2004, BMC Records
- Luciano Berio: Sinfonia for 8 voices and orchestra / Ekphrasis (Continuo II) for orchestra, Göteborgs Symfoniker, London Voices, 2005, Deutsche Grammophon – 0289 477 5380 3 GH [1]