Gusztáv Hőna is an outstanding figure of Hungarian musical life, an internationally recognised trombone artist and university professor. Over a career of more than five decades, he achieved a leading position not merely through musicality and technical skill, but through his early awareness of contemporary trends and his ability to exploit their artistic potential. The role of the trombone underwent a significant change in the second half of the twentieth century, appearing in new functions as both a solo and chamber instrument. At the same time, composers seeking to renew musical language discovered the instrument’s rich sonic potential. Gusztáv Hőna did not merely follow these changes but, by placing himself at their forefront, earned merits of lasting value. Throughout his career, orchestral, solo and chamber music performance were continuously present, while from 1989 onwards teaching assumed an increasingly prominent role alongside these activities.
Early Years
He was born in Budapest in 1948 and has remained closely rooted in his home district of Sashalom, apart from a brief two-year period. Although he built an extensive international network of contacts and travelled widely – primarily throughout Europe and the United States of America – his strong attachment to his homeland meant that the idea of settling abroad, at any of the locations of his international successes, never crossed his mind. His father, also named Gusztáv Hőna, was a sculptor. As an amateur he also made music: he played the trumpet and violin and sang. In the 1930s he organised a salon orchestra that performed at balls and other musical events. The ensemble included his younger brother Károly, who played the cello, saxophone and trombone.
After several attempts, the younger Gusztáv eventually discovered the instrument most suited to his physical and physiological characteristics. During his primary school years, he studied the piano, then in the upper grades, under his father’s guidance, began to play the trumpet. Chance played a decisive role in his further development: in the attic he found the old trombone of an uncle who had emigrated. The size of the mouthpiece suited the shape of his mouth perfectly, while its mode of sound production corresponded well to his facial muscles and dental structure. At the Kőbányai Zeneiskola (Kőbánya Music School) he studied with György Zilcz, and from 1965 at the Bartók Béla Secondary School of Music with József Perlaki and András Pehl. At the same time, between 1963 and 1967, he completed his general secondary education at Veres Pálné Gimnázium (Veres Pálné Secondary Grammar School). The knowledge he acquired in the English-specialist class proved decisive for his entire life: his command of the language enabled him to establish international contacts and formed the essential basis for organising concerts and conducting masterclasses abroad.
After completing his secondary school leaving examinations and his instrumental studies, from 1968 to 1971 Hőna studied at the Teacher Training Department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music under the guidance of his former teacher András Pehl, and subsequently became a student of László Újfalusi at the Academy of Music (University Department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music). He obtained his second degree in 1973, but by then had already embarked upon his professional musical career. On 1 February 1972 he became a trombonist with the Magyar Rádió Szimfonikus Zenekar (Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra), a position he held for thirty-eight years until his retirement in 2010. At the audition he performed Frank Martin’s Ballade with Jenő Jandó at the piano, and the success of this performance decisively set his career on its path. Almost everything he later achieved followed as a consequence of this fateful moment: what seemed at first glance to be a coincidence initiated a long chain of events. Thanks to providence, the right person was in the right place at the right time – and he was able to make full use of the opportunity offered.
In the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
The radio orchestra offered him numerous opportunities that would not have been available in the context of any other ensemble. Above all, this derived from the practice of making sound recordings and enforcing a strict quality control system. The ensemble’s primary task was not concert performance but the recording and archiving of works (locally referred to as “z-ing”), with particular emphasis on contemporary Hungarian music. As a result, during the 1970s and 1980s Hungarian Radio was rightly regarded as a stronghold of modern music. Outstanding professionals monitored even the smallest musical details: trial recordings were a prerequisite for appearing in live studio concerts or making solo or ensemble recordings. The best archive-quality tapes were then assessed by further committees. In this way, orchestral musicians became acquainted with numerous excellent colleagues – conductors, composers, vocal and instrumental soloists, music producers, sound engineers and music editors – offering wide-ranging opportunities to artists receptive to such experiences.
Solo Career
Beyond facilitating personal connections and broadening his musical knowledge and outlook, Hungarian Radio provided substantial support for the launch of Gusztáv Hőna’s solo career. His first recording with orchestral accompaniment was Johann Georg Albrechtsberger’s B-flat Trombone Concerto, made under the direction of chief conductor György Lehel. The work by the Austrian composer, who also worked in Győr, is one of the earliest and still frequently performed significant concertos in the trombone repertoire, rediscovered and brought back into circulation in the 1960s. György Zilcz was the first to record it; in tribute to his teacher’s memory, Gusztáv Hőna learned the piece and set it as a benchmark for his contemporaries and younger generations (it has since become a standard compulsory work in music competitions). He later recorded the concerto again under the direction of Ádám Medveczky.
The following decades brought more than a dozen solo performances with orchestral accompaniment, including concert hall appearances, live radio broadcasts and studio recordings – a volume that is outstanding even by international standards. Worldwide, the trombone very rarely appears as a solo instrument with orchestra in classical music events; even among the finest American trombonists it is not uncommon for such an opportunity to arise only once or twice in a lifetime.
For Gusztáv Hőna, some of the most important personal connections developed through orchestral solo work, often by chance. In 1986, for example, the radio orchestra performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 under the baton of Lamberto Gardelli, who at the end of the concert celebrations forgot to ask the solo trombonist to stand. Feeling deeply embarrassed, the maestro later telephoned from Italy to apologise. He expressed his esteem by inviting the artist to perform Ernst Bloch’s Symphony for Trombone and Orchestra. The work was performed on 20 May 1987 in the Grand Hall of the Academy of Music; the event was broadcast by the radio and repeated several times. Other significant solo recordings include Paul Creston’s Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra under the direction of László Kovács, and Darius Milhaud’s Concerto d’hiver with Jenő Jandó at the piano. Altogether, Hőna made approximately 400 minutes of recordings as a soloist, and roughly twice as much as a member of chamber ensembles. This corresponds to 18–20 LPs, a considerable output even when compared with globally favoured instrumentalists such as violinists or pianists, and among trombonists it is almost unparalleled.
Modern Brass Ensemble
Just as his solo career was organically linked to his orchestral activities, many of his chamber music opportunities also arose from his work at the radio. Always attracted to various forms of ensemble playing, in 1974 he founded the Modern Brass Ensemble with radio orchestra and opera house colleagues – or rather friends. The seven-member formation consisted of György Geiger, István Somorjai and László Szabó – trumpets; Jenő Keveházi – horn (later replaced by his brother Jenő); Gusztáv Hőna – trombone; Károly Egressy – bass trombone; and Vilmos Szabó – tuba. The septet was warmly received everywhere it performed, as brass chamber music – largely forgotten since the Renaissance – was experiencing a second flowering at the time, particularly in Anglo-Saxon regions. Founded in 1951, the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (London) was the pioneer that achieved major success in the mid-1960s, soon followed by many similar groups, such as the Canadian Brass (Toronto), active since 1970. The Modern Brass Ensemble also played a significant role in ensuring that this trend gained worldwide momentum.
Their international career truly began in 1979, when they won the absolute first prize at the International Brass Competition (Concorso Internazionale di Ottoni, Premio di Ancona) in Ancona, Italy. The victory brought numerous invitations: first throughout Italy, then Germany, and a few years later they attracted the attention of Columbia Artists Management Inc., one of the world’s leading concert agencies. The organisation arranged five American tours for them, during which they performed in almost every state, from New York and Chicago to Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Hőna Trombone Quartet
Alongside the septet, the Hőna Trombone Quartet owed its formation to a single performance: at the graduation concert of young radio orchestra colleague Sándor Balogh in 1982, Gusztáv Hőna performed together with Jenő Kácsik and János Cserháti. The blend of the four trombones appealed to them so strongly that they formed a permanent ensemble. They soon appeared at János Cserháti’s graduation concert as well, followed by a succession of performances. On the international stage, a breakthrough came in 1984 at the International Brass Congress in Bloomington (USA), hosted by Indiana University. Another major advance occurred in 1988 at the First Australian International Trombone Competition and Symposium in Brisbane, organised by Queensland University. Frigyes Hidas composed his Négyesfogat (lit. Four-in-Hand) for them, and one of their early LPs bears the title Négyesfogat (lit. Four-in-Hand) in reference to this work.
Following a short break, the quartet was revived in the 1990s with Gusztáv Hőna and members of the younger generation: Csaba Erdei, Róbert Káip and Miklós Csáthy. When performing light music repertoire in collaboration with other musicians (Róbert Rátonyi Jr. – piano; Endre Sipos and Károly Friedrich – double bass; Géza Lakatos Pecek – drums), they appeared under the name Hőna Ensemble. In Hungarian Radio’s Studio 22 they recorded, among other things, “jazzy” standards, released as a selection under the title Holiday for Trombones.
In addition to the Modern Brass Ensemble and the Hőna Trombone Quartet, Gusztáv Hőna also performed occasionally with other ensembles. In the Budapest Chamber Ensemble led by András Mihály, he first appeared in Stravinsky’s A katona története (The Soldier’s Tale), substituting for his former teacher András Pehl. Such ‘substitute’ performances brought him not only memorable experiences but invaluable professional insights and numerous personal connections.
Relationships with Contemporary Composers
Beyond all this, his work at Hungarian Radio offered an opportunity through which Gusztáv Hőna played a significant role not only in performance but also in shaping the history of contemporary music. In the 1970s and 1980s, numerous composers worked at the radio as music producers, répétiteurs, conductors, department heads or editors, bringing them into close daily contact with him. Miklós Kocsár served as deputy head of the folk music department and later of the music division; Máté Victor headed the light music department; Sándor Balassa and Ervin Jereb worked as music producers; Zsolt Durkó and András Mihály as editors. The versatile Frigyes Hidas was something of a ‘factotum’ of the orchestra: he conducted, played the piano and celesta, prepared arrangements and orchestrations, and frequently recorded music for films and radio plays.
During recordings of contemporary music, Hőna also encountered many other composers who were present during the meticulous studio work or even directly instructed the musicians. In this way he became closely acquainted with László Dubrovay, József Sári, György Ránki, Ferenc Farkas, Miklós Csemiczky, Endre Székely, András Szőlőssy, Miklós Malek and many other distinguished masters. Beyond friendships and mutual esteem, he also gained the opportunity to persuade composers – through his playing and personal conviction – to write new works. Compared with other instruments, the trombone repertoire was extremely limited: over previous centuries very few works had been composed specifically for it, forcing performers largely to rely on transcriptions that made limited use of the instrument’s unique capabilities.
Gusztáv Hőna’s aim became to demonstrate that, beyond fashionable jazz, the trombone could function as a solo instrument in classical music and play an active role in shaping modern musical language, creating new sounds and techniques. His decades-long work contributed to the emergence of a Hungarian solo and chamber trombone repertoire in which his playing and personality served as a source of inspiration for composers. He premiered these works as a soloist or chamber musician and subsequently promoted them worldwide. From the 1980s onwards he was invited almost every year to international trombone meetings, European and American workshops and symposia, where performances of Hungarian works met with great success. Later he also gave lectures and masterclasses, whose principal attraction lay in the works of contemporary Hungarian composers.
Frigyes Hidas composed all three of his trombone concertos for Gusztáv Hőna. The first, written for tenor trombone, was premiered in Győr in 1979 with the Győri Filharmonikus Zenekar (Győr Philharmonic Orchestra) under the direction of Antal Jancsovics; in the same year it was recorded by the radio orchestra conducted by György Lehel. This was followed by the Kettősverseny (Double Concerto) for tenor and bass trombone, with the lower part performed by the work’s other dedicatee, Sándor Balogh, at the Pesti Vigadó (Place for Merriment) [Concert hall in Budapest] under Ádám Medveczky. The Birthday Concerto was composed in 1998 for Gusztáv Hőna’s fiftieth birthday and received its private premiere on that occasion. In the third movement of this occasional work, the familiar melody of Happy Birthday to You appears in contrapuntal treatment.
Ervin Jereb became acquainted with the members of the newly formed Modern Brass Ensemble in 1974. The collaboration inspired him to compose a trumpet concerto for principal trumpeter György Geiger, and in 1979 the ensemble won the International Wind Competition in Ancona with his Rézmetszetek (lit. Copper Engravings) (1978). This success may also have been aided by the fact that all seven parts were tailored to the individual performers. In December of the same year, Jereb composed a solo piece for Gusztáv Hőna entitled Monográfia (lit. Monograph), premiered on 12 January 1980 at Hungarian Radio. As the second movement becomes a two-part texture, the second part was first recorded, after which Hőna performed the first part live alongside the tape. Following the Hungarian premiere, performances took place in the United States, Germany and Austria, and the studio recording won first prize in the composers’ category at the Ancona International Music Competition in 1983.
‘Ajánlások’ (‘Dedications’) – CD Album of Works Dedicated to Him
Monográfia later appeared on a CD consisting exclusively of works composed for Gusztáv Hőna and performed by him. The unique release includes, alongside the Jereb piece, works by László Dubrovay, Endre Székely, Miklós Kocsár, Ferenc Farkas, Máté Victor and József Sári. Victor Máté’s Viatrone harsonára és hangszalagra (lit. Viatrone for Trombone and Tape) (1981) likewise combines live performance and tape, though here the second part underwent electronic transformation in the studio. The title is a neologism derived from the Italian words for ‘road’ and ‘trombone’ (via, trombone), which – according to the composer – “refers to the source of the sounds, that is, the trombone”.
Ferenc Farkas’s Buccinatája (Buccinate) (1990), written for a single performer at the age of eighty-five, presents almost the complete range of trombone playing techniques despite its concision. Hőna’s connection with the doyen of Hungarian composition and music education – whose students at the Liszt Academy included almost every Hungarian composer of note in the second half of the century – came through conductor András Farkas, the composer’s son living in Switzerland. This led to concerts in Hungary and a Swiss tour, and ultimately to the creation of the dedicated work as a result of personal and mutual inspiration.
József Sári’s Ananta (1983) is also performed unaccompanied. Of his close relationship with Sári, Hőna wrote in his 2004 DLA dissertation: “This is not merely the relationship between composer and performer, but a friendship that has been decisive for my artistic and teaching career. Conversations with József Sári are profoundly cathartic experiences: renewal, tranquillity, encouragement to work and to active engagement, a serious spiritual support that always carries me forward. His personality, reassuring words and the atmosphere of our conversations have always had a very positive effect on me, and I hope they will continue to do so in my future artistic and personal life.”
The third solo work on the album is László Dubrovay’s Solo No. 2 (1983), which reflects the composer’s efforts to extend traditional harmonic language following his studies in electronic studios, while retaining the framework of classical song form in all three movements. Through the collaborative creative process with Gusztáv Hőna, Dubrovay introduced an entirely new blowing technique on the trombone, meaning that the artist acted not only as a performer but, in a sense, as a co-creator assisting in the birth of new modes of musical expression.
Endre Székely’s Rapszódia (Rhapsody) (1982), accompanied by percussion, was written before one of Hőna’s American trips so that it could be performed during his lectures on Hungarian trombone repertoire at various universities. Instead of a mere demonstration piece, the artist received a work of lasting value and strong concert impact. Miklós Kocsár likewise composed a Rapszódia (Rhapsody) (1989) for Hőna, with piano and percussion accompaniment. Originally commissioned for the Europhonia Contemporary Music Festival in Zagreb, the work was later revised by the composer in light of the premiere. This revised version was recorded by Hungarian Radio in 1991 and performed in January 1992 at the Minifestival at the Pesti Vigadó.
György Ránki’s five-movement parody cycle Lúdapó meséi (The Father Goose’s Tales) was composed in the mid-1980s. Following the success of A Hétfejű sárkány szerenádja (lit. Serenade of the Seven-Headed Dragon), it was the second work Ránki wrote for the Modern Brass Ensemble. The piece was recorded at Hungarian Radio in September 1987. Originally conceived as a trombone solo with wind band accompaniment, this version was premiered by Gusztáv Hőna in 1988 at the Pesti Vigadó with the Honvéd Művészegyüttes Fúvószenekara (Honvéd Art Ensemble Wind Band) conducted by László Marosi. The work became one of the artist’s favoured repertoire pieces. Its American premiere took place in Chicago in 1989 with the University of Illinois Concert Band, followed by performances in, among other places, Boston with the Boston University Band under Tom Everett.
Among further works composed for Gusztáv Hőna or his ensembles, mention should also be made of Miklós Malek’s Harsonaverseny (Trombone Concerto) (2002), Frigyes Hidas’s Hét bagatell tizenkét harsonára (lit. Seven Bagatelles for Twelve Trombones) (1979), József Sári’s Búcsú Glenn Gouldtól (lit. Farewell to Glenn Gould) (1983), and János Másik’s Déli banya (lit. Southern Witch). The latter, inspired by African influences, was originally composed for four trombones, tabla, double bass and voice, then – with the composer’s permission – rearranged by the performers for trombone quartet, tuba and percussion instruments imitating African sonorities, played by the musicians themselves. This version was performed at the celebratory concert marking the 25th anniversary of the Hőna Trombone Quartet in the Ceremonial Hall of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 8 October 2008, and in 2012 it was also performed in Paris as a quintet by Gusztáv Hőna and the Corpus Quartet.
The ‘American Secret’ – Florida State University
One component of instrumentalists’ success lies in the beauty and plasticity of the sound produced. The same principle stands at the centre of Gusztáv Hőna’s artistic credo and musical philosophy: only once the listener has been completely captivated does he proceed to reveal the interrelations of sounds and to offer an analytically informed interpretation of the composition. Important elements of his playing and tone production stem from studies undertaken in the summers of 1978 and 1979 in the United States at Florida State University. The antecedents can be traced back to 1974, when the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra performed in Hungary. At their concert in the Erkel Theatre, Hőna already noticed that American brass players produced sound in a more relaxed and effortless manner than their Hungarian counterparts. Two years later, at the International Brass Congress in Montreux, he approached William F. Cramer, who had taught at Florida State University for decades. In 1978 he secured a scholarship and travelled to Florida, where over three months – and a further three months the following year – he learned from the professor the ‘American secret’: the distinctive breathing and playing technique based on the principle ‘Blow freely!’
At the end-of-semester concert in America, Hőna and his colleagues performed Frigyes Hidas’s cycle of four pieces (Fantasia, Introduzione e fughetta, Interludium, Scherzo e chorale), which, through its progressively expanding performing forces – solo, duet, trio and quartet – symbolises the birth of the trombone quartet.
Subsequently, on Professor Cramer’s recommendation, Hőna was invited year after year to various American workshops, where he presented the Hungarian trombone repertoire, partly inspired by himself, to international audiences. At his initiative, Frigyes Hidas reworked the accompaniment of the Kettősverseny (Double Concerto) for wind band and dedicated it to the Florida State University ensemble under the title Florida Concerto. Hőna performed this version several times in America with the dedicatee ensemble. After a few years, he had amassed a repertoire extensive enough to present complete programmes devoted exclusively to Hungarian works.
Teaching at the Liszt Academy in Budapest
From 1989 onwards, Gusztáv Hőna has passed on the knowledge and experience accumulated over decades to subsequent generations at the Academy of Music in Budapest (then known as the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, later the Liszt Academy). He obtained a permanent teaching position in 1990, was appointed Associate Professor following his habilitation in 1997, and became full-time professor in 2004. From 2001 he served three terms as Head of the Wind Department, until reaching the age of sixty-five, the maximum permitted under Hungarian regulations. With his dissertation written in 2004 (Kortárs magyar harsonairodalom – a dolgozat készítőjének ajánlott művekről [Contemporary Hungarian Trombone Literature – Works Dedicated to the Author of the Dissertation]), he was awarded the DLA degree in 2005.
In a 2009 interview he spoke about teaching as follows: “My ars poetica is that the teacher should be there for the students, not the other way round. It seems I have managed to put this principle into practice, because on my sixtieth birthday, on 10 November 2008, my students organised a surprise concert for me entirely on their own initiative at the Fészek Club. It was a full house, and I experienced very moving moments at this warm celebration… Perhaps it also means that my colleagues recognise my teaching work as well. I strive to work in such a way that I can be of help to both my fellow teachers and my students.”
National and International Recognition
Gusztáv Hőna’s work has been recognised with numerous awards. For his performance and dissemination of Hungarian trombone works, he received the Liszt Prize in 1992, the Artisjus Music Foundation Award in 1992 and 2002, and for his school-forming activity the Bartók–Pásztory Prize in 2013. In 2010 he was awarded the most prestigious international honour available to a trombonist: in recognition of his artistic and teaching career and his impact on the global performance scene, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Trombone Association, presented to him in Austin (Texas, USA) at the International Trombone Festival.
[2016]