Zoltán Kovács first came to professional attention as a first-year student at the Academy of Music with Kísérőzene (lit. Accompanying Music, 1988), composed for soprano and orchestra.[1] In 1990, a studio recording of the work was made with Ingrid Kertesi and the Rádiózenekar (Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra), conducted by András Ligeti; as one of Kovács’s first major professional distinctions, this recording received the Hungarian Radio Quality Prize. His years of study also saw the composition of the women’s choir Várlak (lit. I Am Waiting for You, 1990) to poems by Attila József, Három dal (Three Songs, 1992), and String Quartet No. 1 (1991). His Violin Concerto was premiered at his diploma concert in 1993, performed by Ágnes Soltész with the orchestra of the Magyar Állami Operaház (Hungarian State Opera), conducted by János Kovács. A subsequent performance at the Pesti Vigadó in 1995 (Ágnes Soltész and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Stefano Pellegrino) was broadcast by New Zealand radio.[2]
Following his diploma concert, he received numerous commissions in the second half of the 1990s. His Adagietto (1995), composed for the Budapesti Vonósok (Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra), did not meet with unanimous critical approval at its première – in Muzsika, for instance, Zoltán Farkas wrote that Kovács’s compositional aim amounted to no more than the “as faithful as possible imitation of Mahlerian–Barberian slow movements”, and that the work was entirely devoid of “modernity”.[3] The piece’s success with audiences, however, laid the foundations for its later critical recognition,[4] as well as for the close relationship between the orchestra and the composer that has endured to this day. In addition to several Budapest performances, it was also heard at a number of provincial festivals, including the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra’s festival in Fertőd and, in 2000, the 5th Balatonföldvár Days.[5] Since its première, the work has also been performed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany, and has been taken into the repertoire by, among others, Camerata Transsylvanica, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra.
Buoyed by the success of Adagietto, Kovács likewise composed Sinfonietta (1997) for the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra, as well as the clarinet concerto Álomtáncok (lit. Dream Dances, 2000). The concerto, premiered by Gábor Varga, was performed in the years that followed not only in Budapest, Debrecen, and Szombathely, but also in Finland and Taiwan.
He owed his degree awarded in 1993 not only to commissions from the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra but also to an invitation from the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, for which his Bassoon Concerto No. 1 was composed. The work, premiered in 1996 with György Lakatos as soloist and conducted by Ádám Medveczky, also attracted critical attention: in Magyar Hírlap, Attila Retkes described Zoltán Kovács as “one of the great promises of the youngest generation of composers”.[6]
His diploma concert also led to a commission from flautist Zoltán Gyöngyössy, for whom he composed Fuvolaötös (lit. Flute Quintet, 1997); Gyöngyössy subsequently made a studio recording of the work for Hungarian Radio. Scored for flute alongside violin, viola, cello, and double bass, the quintet – whose two outer movements display a pronounced Spanish colouring – enjoyed notable success, as evidenced by the fact that in the years that followed it was taken into the repertoire by, among others, Mónika Hegedűs, Gabriella Hegyessy, Orsolya Kaczander, and Zsuzsanna Menyhárt.[7]
Around the turn of the millennium, likewise in response to various commissions, some of the most significant oratorio and large-scale orchestral works of Zoltán Kovács came into being. In 1998, at the invitation of Filharmónia Kelet-Magyarország Kht. (Philharmonia of Eastern Hungary Ltd.), he composed Moldvai kantáta (lit. Moldavian Cantata), which received its première in February 1999 under the direction of Zsolt Hamar, performed by the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra with the participation of Veronika Kincses. The text of the Moldavian Csángó folk ballad selected for musical setting after a lengthy search tells the story of a cruel mother unable to decide whether to choose her treasures or her child. The internal repetitions and returns characteristic of folk ballads also shaped the structure of Kovács’s work: the ballad’s recurring motif of wandering, for example, is treated in the oratorio as a Wagnerian leitmotif. Kovács entrusted the roles of narrator, mother, and child alike to a single performer, the soprano soloist; as highlighted in the December 2000 issue of Pécsi Szimfonikus Körlevél (lit. Pécs Symphony Newsletter), however, the orchestra’s melodic writing and orchestration assist the listener in recognising which character is being heard at any given moment.[8] Moreover, at the work’s climax the orchestra embodiesa ‘fourth character’: the composer’s subjective stance and personal reflection.[9] That the orchestral interludes are not merely separating passages but rather continue the narrative organically, at times even anticipating events, was also emphasised by Péter Tóth in his analysis published on Café Momus shortly after the première. Kovács’s fellow composer likewise praised the inventiveness, thematic coherence, and economy of the musical material.[10]
In the autumn of 1999, Zoltán Kovács was commissioned to orchestrate the second act of Attila Bozay’s opera Az öt utolsó szín (lit. The Five Last Scenes), the winning work of the opera competition announced for the year 2000, whose composer (1939–1999) died unexpectedly in September of that year. (The remaining acts of the opera were prepared for performance by Zsófia Tallér and Gyula Fekete.) The première took place in October 2000, and critics consistently highlighted the contribution of the orchestrators.[11]
Coinciding with the première of the opera, he received a commission from the MÁV Szimfonikus Zenekar (MÁV Symphony Orchestra) to compose a large-scale orchestral work. This resulted in I. Szimfónia Szent Ágnes legendája nyomán (lit. Symphony No. 1 after the Legend of Saint Agnes), premiered in 2001 under the direction of János Kovács. In four movements, the programme symphony not only recounts, through musical means, the legend of Agnes, who lived in the 3rd century AD, but also – much like Moldvai kantáta – offers an interpretative commentary upon it. In his review of the first performance, Porrectus mentioned as a drawback the work’s “deliberately archaic musical language”, identified quotations from Bruckner, Sibelius, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Wagner, and referred to the symphony as a “strange, disconcerting musical medley”; not long afterwards, however, he acknowledged that the new programme symphony was “an astonishingly well-written score”, and that “the measure of talent […] is impressive”. He further emphasised that “beautiful melodies follow one another”, that “the harmonies have savour and aroma”, and that the orchestration is “French in its elegance”. He concluded: “Perhaps I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the peak achievements of the postmodern neo-music of recent years (and not only Hungarian).”[12] Nine years later, a reviewer for Café Momus did not consider the work among the most outstanding achievements of Kovács’s oeuvre, yet found that all objections were silenced by “the beauty to which this programme symphony bears witness”.[13] János Kovács recorded the symphony for Hungarian Radio in the year of its première with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the MÁV Symphony Orchestra next performed the work in 2010 at the Művészetek Palotája (Palace of Arts).[14] The composition also appeared in the repertoire of the Budafoki Dohnányi Zenekar (2012 – Budafok; 2014 – Academy of Music), as well as that of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra (2006). It was performed at the 23rd Zagreb Biennale in 2005, provoking considerable audience acclaim and professional debate.[15]
In 2003, he became composer-in-residence to the Pécsi Szimfonikus Zenekar (Pécs Symphony Orchestra), the predecessor of the Pannon Filharmonikusok, which had brought Symphony No. 1 to success in Zagreb. At the encouragement of the ensemble’s then director, Péter Szkladányi, he composed the oratorio Amor Sanctus. The two texts – Nicetas’s Te Deum and Győző Csorba’s Amor Sanctus – differ in every respect, yet both articulate the relationship between God and humanity. In Kovács’s interpretation, Nicetas’s Te Deum is a hymn in which the believing multitude glorifies God and no questions are raised; by contrast, in Csorba’s poem a fragile, solitary, doubting human being wrestles with Him.[16] The chorus, setting the text of Nicetas, moves within a tonal musical idiom, while the contrast is supplied by familiar twentieth-century techniques – aleatoric elements and dodecaphony – which appear in the musical material of the tenor soloist singing Csorba’s poem and in the orchestral accompaniment.[17] The work was completed in the spring of 2003 and was first performed two weeks after Szkladányi’s death, on the day of his funeral, in a performance by the Pécs orchestra and the Nemzeti Énekkar (National Choir), with Attila Fekete as soloist and conducted by Zsolt Hamar. The oratorio was repeated in Pécs in 2007, and in the same year it was heard at the Academy of Music for the first time, performed by the MÁV Symphony Orchestra.
The Double Concerto for Trumpet and Trombone was composed for another provincial symphony orchestra, the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra. The work – described as a “composition rich in character” and assigning a substantial role to the percussion alongside the soloists – was premiered in 2007 as part of the Magyar Szimfonikus Körkép (lit. Hungarian Symphonic Panorama) series at the Palace of Arts, with Bence Horváth (trumpet) and István Péter Farkas (trombone) as soloists, conducted by Imre Kollár.[18] The composition, which on this occasion again failed to persuade critics by virtue of its modernity,[19] was nevertheless performed later the same year at the Budapest Summer Festival, with the original instrumental soloists under the direction of Balázs Kocsár. In 2010, the same performers made a studio recording of the work for Hungaroton, released in 2011.[20] With this composition, Zoltán Kovács was awarded the Istvánffy Benedek Prize in 2008, the distinction conferred by the Association of Hungarian Composers on composers under the age of forty.
Alongside the major oratorio and symphonic commissions of the 2000s, Kovács also sought to respond to smaller-scale requests. The Capriccio Brasiliano for trumpet and piano, described as “very well conceived and at the same time appealing” and as “flirting with the light genre”,[21] was composed in 2001 as the compulsory test piece for the 2002 Pilisvörösvár International Trumpet Competition (and served again in the same capacity at the 2005 competition). The work was published in the year of its composition by the Swiss firm Editio BIM, thus becoming Zoltán Kovács’s first composition to appear in commercial distribution.
He met a similar commission with Spagna, a work for bassoon, written as the compulsory test piece for the senior category of the Weidinger Imre College Bassoon Competition held in Pécs in 2003. (He also conceived the piece as the opening work of a projected cycle for solo bassoon; to date, however, apart from Spagna, only Moldva (2004) has been completed.) More than a decade later, in 2014, Elégia és tangó (lit. Elegy and Tango) for clarinet and piano was composed as the compulsory test piece for the National Clarinet Competition.
A kerekasztal lovagjai (lit. The Knights of the Round Table) was composed in 2002 on commission from the Budapesti Csellóegyüttes (Hungarian Cello Orchestra). In 2003, it became the first of Zoltán Kovács’s works to be recorded by Hungaroton.[22] The piece is a march in variation form, conceived as a homage to Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975). Its title, however, refers not only to its militaristic character – and its allusion to Shostakovich – but also to King Arthur himself: in medieval Celtic legend, Arthur seated his twelve knights around a round table precisely so that, in the absence of a head, none might take precedence over the others. According to the interpretation of Tamás Zelinka, this carries a metaphorical significance within Kovács’s work as well: Arthur’s act of establishing equality among his knights parallels the composer’s own aspiration while writing the twelve independent cello parts.[23] In 2003, the work was also realised in a large-scale orchestral version under the title Vae Victis, premiered by János Kovács with the Duna Symphonic Orchestra.
Written in memory of another great composer of the twentieth century, Béla Bartók, the three-movement Sonatina for viola and piano was premiered in 2007 by violist János Fejérvári and his son, pianist Zoltán Fejérvári. The work, which “offers ample opportunity for both violist and pianist to display their virtuosity, is music of a dance-like character and rich variety”.[24]
In the second half of the decade, Álomtáncok evolved into a cycle; however, the new movements composed in 2008 and 2009 are not concertos but chamber works: the second dance was written for oboe and harp, while the “engaging, fairy-tale-like” third was composed for the Budapest Clarinet Quartet.[25] In 2014, the first clarinet-and-piano version of Álomtáncok was also completed.
A 2000s also saw further commissions from the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra. These included Szeszélyes szerenád (lit. Whimsical Serenade, 2006) and Nyolcadik mese (lit. Eighth Tale, 2008), a work for narrator and string orchestra setting texts by Albert Wass, which has since been taken up by several amateur string ensembles.
Following A csámpás legény (lit. The Bow-Legged Lad, 1995) for mixed choir, his next choral work did not appear until a decade later: Kínai versek (lit. Chinese Poems) – a cycle for women’s choir (2005). Two further choral works for adult ensembles followed: Jöjj be hozzám (lit. Come In to Me) for women’s choir (commissioned by the Pro Musica Girls’ Choir, 2006), and Ave Maria for mixed choir (commissioned by the Hungarian Radio Choir, 2008), described by Szabolcs Molnár as “somewhat étude-like” yet “overall effective and rewarding”.[26] The latter was also recorded by Hungarian Radio. In 2009, Kovács composed children’s choruses to texts by Sándor Kányádi under the title Erdőn jártam (lit. I Walked in the Woods); these were premiered by the Kodály School Children’s Choir.
In the 2010s, several further large-scale orchestral works by composer Zoltán Kovács received their premières. The Bassoon Concerto No. 2, written for the Gödöllő Symphony Orchestra, was first performed in 2012 with Mihály Duffek as soloist, conducted by György Vashegyi, widely known for his work in historically informed performance. For the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra – which had earlier premiered the Moldvai kantáta – Kovács composed the Symphony No. 2 (2013), inspired by the poetry of Endre Ady. Inspiration from another major figure of Hungarian culture, painter Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka, lay behind the orchestral work Taorminai képek (lit. Taormina Pictures, 2015).
Alongside his work as a composer, Zoltán Kovács is also an active presence in Hungarian musical life as a performer. In 1991 he won the audition for principal bassoon with the orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera, and as a member of the Opera House orchestra he has toured widely, performing in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Japan, Oman, India, and New Zealand. As bassoon soloist he has appeared with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, and the Pannonische Philharmonie Austria, performing W. A. Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto (K. 191/186e) and C. M. von Weber’s Bassoon Concerto (op. 76, J. 127), as well as Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante (K. 297b/Anh. C 14.01) and Joseph Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante (Hob. I:105). From 2001 onwards he has also given numerous concerts in Hungary and abroad as a member of the Új Concordia Fúvósötös (New Concordia Wind Quintet).
By the end of the 1990s he was increasingly required to take on conducting duties – above all the rehearsal and preparation of contemporary works – and, as a result, from 2002 onwards he completed the Academy of Music’s postgraduate conducting programme. The high point of his conducting career to date came between 2005 and 2007, when, at the invitation of his former fellow student in the composition department, Zsolt Hamar, he served as rehearsal conductor of the Pannon Filharmonikusok. He remains a regular guest conductor at concerts of the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra. As a conductor he focuses primarily on his own works and those of other contemporary composers; one critic has described his gestures as “extremely informative”, helping performances through their more demanding moments.[27]
[2016]
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, the data in the present article derive from Zoltán Kovács’s personal biography. For an edited publication of an earlier version, see: Attila Kovács, “Kovács Zoltán.” In Attila Kovács and Mátyás Ivasivka, Pécsi Concerto. Fejezetek Pécs zenetörténetéből (lit. Pécs Concerto: Chapters from the Music History of Pécs). Pécs: Alexandra, 2011, 642–648.
[2] Kovács, “Kovács Zoltán”, 642.
[3] Zoltán Farkas, “Temetni? Nem! Dicsérni... (lit. Bury? No! Praise...).” Muzsika 39, no. 2 (February 1996): 35–40, at 39.
[4] János Malina, “Konferencia koncertekkel. Földvári Napok – ötödször (lit. A Conference with Concerts: The Földvár Days – for the Fifth Time).” Muzsika 43, no. 9 (September 2000): 8; d[auner]n[agy]i[stván], “Több mint ... (A Budapesti Vonósok a MűPában) (lit. More Than... Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra at Müpa).” Café Momus, 23 January 2007. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=3923
[5] Kovács, “Kovács Zoltán”, 642; Malina, “Konferencia koncertekkel. Földvári Napok – ötödször.”
[6] Quoted in Kovács, “Kovács Zoltán”, 642.
[7] Dr. Geréb, “Változatok kamarazenére (lit. Variations for Chamber Music).” Café Momus, 16 October 1998. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=159
[8] Quoted in Kovács, “Kovács Zoltán”, 644.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Péter Tóth, “Kovács Zoltán: Moldvai kantáta (lit. Zoltán Kovács: Moldavian Cantata).” Café Momus, 5 March 1999. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=22
[11] Tibor Tallián, “Forma és formátum. Bozay Attila: Az öt utolsó szín. Ősbemutató a Magyar Állami Operaházban (2) (lit. Form and Format: Attila Bozay, Az öt utolsó szín [lit. The Five Last Scenes]. Première at the Hungarian State Opera (2)).” Muzsika 44, no. 2 (February 2001): 23.
[12] Porrectus, “Régi-új műfajok. Kovács Zoltán és Madarász Iván ősbemutatói (lit. Old and Renewed Genres: Premières by Zoltán Kovács and Iván Madarász).” Muzsika 44, no. 4 (April 2001): 38.
[13] BaCi, “Csoda és varázslat (A MÁV Zenekar a Szimfonikus Körképen) (lit. Miracle and Magic: The MÁV Orchestra at the Symphonic Panorama).” Café Momus, 25 May 2010. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=5537
[14] Ibid.
[15] Kovács, “Kovács Zoltán”, 645.
[16] Péter Tóth, “Hit és kétely (beszélgetés Kovács Zoltánnal) (lit. Faith and Doubt: A Conversation with Zoltán Kovács).” Café Momus, 16 June 2003. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=941
[17] Máté Hollós, “Művek bontakozóban. Kovács Zoltán: Amor Sanctus (lit. Works Unfolding: Zoltán Kovács, Amor Sanctus).” Muzsika 46, no. 2 (February 2003): 38.
[18] Veronika Kusz, “Magyar Szimfonikus Körkép 2007. A vidéki zenekarok seregszemléje (1) (lit. Hungarian Symphonic Panorama 2007: A Review of Provincial Orchestras (1)).” Muzsika 50, no. 4 (March 2007): 38.
[19] Miklós Balázs, “Megtalált melódiák (A Debreceniek a MűPában) (lit. Recovered Melodies: The Debrecen Orchestra at Müpa).” Café Momus, 15 January 2007. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=3906
[20] Zoltán Kovács, Double Concerto for Trumpet and Trombone; Péter Tóth, A Winter’s Tale; The Hammer of the Village. Hungaroton HCD32676, 2011 (CD).
[21] László Stachó, “Vántus társasága. Vántus Napok 2005 (lit. In Vántus’s Company: Vántus Days 2005).” Muzsika 49, no. 1 (January 2006): 30.
[22] Cellomania – Hungarian Contemporary Music. Hungaroton HCD32108, 2003 (CD).
[23] Tamás Zelinka, “Csellómánia. A Budapesti Csellóegyüttes játszik (lit. Cellomania: The Hungarian Cello Orchestra Performs).” Parlando 45, no. 3 (2003): 63–64.
[24] Zoltán Eisenbacher, “Tanítványok III. (lit. Students III).” Parlando 54, no. 3 (May 2012). Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.parlando.hu/2012/2012-3/EZ-Tanitvany3.htm
[25] Ildikó Lehotka, “Klarinét és szaxofon tanárnak, diáknak (lit. Clarinet and Saxophone for Teacher and Student).” Parlando 53, no. 6 (November 2011): 49–51, at 49.
[26] Szabolcs Molnár, “Öt este cimbalomra, tubákra, didzseridúra (lit. Five Evenings for Cimbalom, Tuba, Didgeridoo).” Muzsika 52, no. 7 (July 2009): 26–29, at 28.
[27] BaCi, “Barátból csábító (A Budapesti Vonósok a Körképen) (lit. From Friend to Tempter: Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra in the Panorama Series).” Café Momus, 11 May 2009. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=5160