Péter Tóth graduated with a degree in composition in 1990 as a student of Emil Petrovics at the Liszt Academy. His diploma work was his ballet music Istar, composed in 1989, which premiered on 10 June 1990 under the baton of András Déri. At the same concert, two of his works composed during his studies were performed for the first time: the Pas de deux két ütőhangszeres játékosra (lit. Pas de deux for two percussionists) (1986), performed by János Antal and Gábor Kérdő, and the Hangnem nélküli keringő (lit. Waltz without Tonality) (1989), whose title refers to Liszt's late work. The compositions performed at the graduation concert foreshadowed several characteristics that would come to define Péter Tóth's entire oeuvre.
“I believe that music should be about something. I don't really believe in absolute music.” [1] – Tóth said a decade later. For him, however, it is not essential that every single musical moment has a meaning, as in nineteenth-century programme music; rather it is the background, the ideological basis, that is important.
For example, the ballet music for large orchestra he submitted as his diploma thesis was inspired by excerpts from Mesopotamian mythology. Shortly afterwards, further works, this time based on themes from ancient Greek mythology, emerged from Tóth's workshop: the Bacchanalia for chamber ensemble (1990, premiere: 1993), the Kheiron for symphony orchestra, which the composer called a ‘retrograde symphonic poem’ (1992, premiere: 1994), Ámor és Psyché – jelenetek az istenek életéből (Cupid and Psyche – Scenes from the Life of the Gods) (1998) for string orchestra and celeste, and the arrangement for wind orchestra (2003, premiere: 2005, revised version: 2014). In addition to mythological themes, he was also inspired by significant works of literature: Cervantes' classic inspired the guitar piece Don Quixote’s Serenade, dedicated to Bori Seres (2001); Petőfi [Hungarian poet 1823-1849] inspired the ‘symphonic epic poem’ A helység kalapácsa (The Hammer of the Village) (2002), which was withdrawn; and Shakespeare’s The Tempest was the inspiration for the symphonic poem Prospero (2014). (Téli rege (The Winter's Tale) for string orchestra, written in 2006, refers to the English Renaissance playwright only in its title.) [2] In addition to the classics of literature, lesser-known works served as sources of inspiration, as evidenced, for example, by Cyrano de Bergerac utolsó levele (lit. Last Letter of Cyrano de Bergerac) (2002), written for solo cello. Tóth's works also include pieces with visual arts references, such as Levél na’Conxypánból (lit. Letter from na'Conxypán) (2001) composed for guitar or the Csontváry-szinfonietta (Csontváry Simphonietta) (2014). The piece entitled A Mester és Margarita (The Master and Margarita) (1994, premiere: 1995), described as a ‘film poem’, can be considered a ‘hybrid composition’ in this respect, because it is inspired by both Bulgakov's original work and the film adaptations made from it. Works inspired by geographical locations, such as the Budapest Concerto violin concerto (2002) or Pompeii (2016), form a separate group.
Browsing through the titles of Tóth's works, one can also find references to music from earlier or other stylistic periods. Kísértet-csárdás (lit. Ghost-csárdás) (1992, premiere: 1994) is the continuation of the aforementioned Liszt allusion, composed two years later, and so is Rapsodie, composed for solo violin in 2004 and premiered the same year. The sound of romantic string serenades is evoked in Szerenád jobb időkre (lit. Serenade for Better Times) (2000). Various waltzes also reflect on nineteenth-century music – in addition to the aforementioned Waltz without Tonality, for example, there is the 2005 Megtalált keringők (lit. Waltzes Found) written for string orchestra. Another style often referred to by Tóth is baroque music. Baroque influences can be detected in Duo Concertante (2005) for two violins, the Telemanner Concerto (2011) for solo violin and string orchestra, the Concerto Italiano (2012) which was written for chamber ensemble and can be considered an homage to Stravinsky as well as a reference to baroque, and Sonata da Chiesa (2014) composed for trumpet, trombone and organ. In addition to these Tóth's oeuvre also includes references to Dowland (Lachryme vonószenekarra [lit. Lachrymae for string orchestra], 2004), Haydn (Haydn hét szava cimbalomra [lit. Haydn's Seven Words for concert cimbalom], 2008) and Bartók (Modern barbárok [lit. Modern Barbarians], dedicated to János Balázs, 2016). Folk music also had an influence on Tóth, but somewhat surprisingly for a Hungarian composer his instrumental works are dominated by references to Balkan folk music: Balkan Express (for brass chamber ensemble or cello ensemble or horn, violin, piano and double bass, 2001) and Balkan Concertante (for two violins and viola, 2007, for string orchestra, 2007, for solo violin and youth string orchestra, 2012).
In Péter Tóth's music, however, the reflection on bygone eras are not limited to the titles of the pieces; often the musical material itself or its use draws on solutions from earlier eras (a striking example of this is the 2009 choral opera The Hammer of the Village, in which each movement was composed in the style of a different composer, a literary parallel being Karinthy's Így írtok ti [lit. This Is How You Write]). The fact that Tóth also draws heavily on the work of his predecessors in his ‘own’ style has been portrayed negatively by some critics from the very beginning of his career, and Tóth has often been accused of epigonism. In 1992, Zoltán Farkas wrote of Dellusion (1991 - withdrawn), for example, that “this early work seems as it were written in 1906 rather than 1991.” [3] Farkas described the style of Tóth's works as ‘neo-Romantic’, and Máté Hollós described it in the early 1920s as ‘neo-Richard Straussian’. [4] Evoking the olden days is indeed an important element of Péter Tóth's compositional work, which he has never denied: “our musical thinking, our need for beauty and harmony is still strong today, perhaps even stronger than ever.” [5] However, retrospection is not his only compositional device. His music can essentially be described as microtonal due to the dense harmonic changes. Melody plays a prominent role in his works, and to this end, harmonisation and all other parameters are subordinated in most cases. The primacy of melody is usually only suspended in the polyphonic passages. In Tóth's pieces, the emotional expression takes precedence over structure, as does melody.
However, there is one thing that was not apparent in Péter Tóth's graduation concert: his attraction to vocal music. Yet his first major success was a choral work: while still a secondary school student he composed the Kis szvit (lit. Little Suite) in 1984, which won third prize in the 1992 Katona-Kodály Composers Competition. The following year Little Suite was published in print as the first work of Peter Tóth to be so honoured. [6] A decade later, he also achieved outstanding professional success with his choral works: in 2006, he won second prize at the composition competition of KÓTA (Association of Hungarian Choirs, Orchestras and Folk Music Ensembles) with his work Lángok (lit. Flames) (2005), written to a poem by Dsida [Jenő Dsida, Hungarian poet, 1907-1938]. In 2010, he won first prize with Salve Regina (2010, premiere: 2011), a composition dedicated to Zsuzsa Gráf and the Angelica Girl’s Choir. In 2008, he received a special prize at the International Competition for Composers in Jihlava [Czech Republic] for his work ...canticum novum (2006). In 2012, at the Hajnalok Völgye Kortárs Kóruszenei Fesztivál és Verseny (Dawn Valley Contemporary Choral Music Festival and Competition) in Csáb [Čebovce, Slovakia], he received the audience award for Pénteki ima (lit. Friday Prayer) (2011) and the professional jury award for Buborékok (lit. Bubbles) (2012). As an indication of the popularity of his works, several of Tóth's works have been included as compulsory pieces in the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition in Debrecen since the 2000s – Agnus dei (2008) in 2012, Stiamo, amor (2009) in 2016 – and the Zoltán Kodály Choir Competition in Budapest.
Initially, he wrote his choruses to texts by 20th century Hungarian poets – Sándor Weöres, Sándor Kányádi, László Nagy and later Jenő Dsida –; but around the turn of the millennium folk texts became increasingly important, for example, in the case of the Magyar Madrigálok (Hungarian Madrigals) cycle, composed in 2000. However, unlike the practice of Hungarian composers, the texts taken from folklore did not automatically become folk or 'neo-Kodály' pieces. Since 2004, the year in which he wrote Ave maris stella, Tóth has been regularly composing to Latin texts, presumably to promote the international dissemination of his works. He is greatly assisted in this by Kontrapunkt Kiadó (Kontrapunkt Publishing House), founded in January 2009 by Tóth himself and Kata Daróczi.
In addition to these, Péter Tóth has also written oratorios, such as Magnificat koncertfúvószenekarra és vegyeskarra (Magnificat for concert wind orchestra and mixed choir) (2014) or Res gesta mundi – A világ viselt dolgairól (2011) (Res Gesta Mundi – Of the Deeds of the World), dedicated to the memory of Ferenc Mádl [the former President of Hungary 2000–2005], as well as opera-like works such as the chamber opera Ádám-játék (lit. Adam's Game) (1992) and the concert choral opera The Hammer of the Village (2009). He has also composed several vocal-instrumental works for young people: Tom Sawyer és Huckleberry Finn kalandjai (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Hucleberry Finn), a family musical (2011), Árgyélus királyfi – avagy Pomedória megmentése (lit. Prince Árgyélus – or The Rescue of Pomedoria) (2010). Among his oratorios, the Lorca sanzonok-ciklus (lit. Lorca chanson-cycle) for string orchestra and soprano (2008) occupies a prominent place.
In the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s, Péter Tóth also worked as a sound engineer, music director, assistant director of television programmes and participated in the production of films for cinema and television. The latter also attracted the attention of the industry: in 1998 he won first prize at the Trenčianske Teplice Film Festival [Slovakia] with his work Dencity 0.37.
Tóth and István Dauner Nagy founded Cafe Momus the world's first Hungarian-language classical music internet magazine on International Music Day, 1 October 1998. Thanks to his recognition as a music writer for the portal, his writings, music reviews and interviews also appeared in other magazines (Muzsika, Fidelio, Opera Magazin, Kompositio). Recurring themes in his writings include the decline in public taste, anomalies in concert organization, and his opposition to the preference for modern music over the music of earlier eras.
In 2008, he became artistic director and deputy director of the Óbudai Társaskör (Óbuda Cultural Salon), where he organised around 150-180 programmes annually, including some of the Óbudai Nyár (Óbuda Summer) events.
Péter Tóth has been dean of the Szegedi Tudományegyetem Zeneművészeti Kar (Béla Bartók Faculty of Arts at the University of Szeged) since 2013. During his first term as dean, which lasted until 2016, he managed to make many small changes, mainly in the field of communication (e.g. a weekly newsletter for teachers) and PR (he tried to make the faculty more relevant and indispensable at both the university and city level). In addition, he did a lot to improve the faculty's depreciating instrument collection, and during his tenure several instrument investments were made - such as, the purchase of high-value pianos and percussion instruments, organ renovation and purchase, and the acquisition of used instruments. He has also strengthened the bond between teachers and students, for example by organising hall and plaque dedications in memory of many of the faculty's former distinguished teachers, introducing gowns at graduation ceremonies and establishing the faculty’s own alumni system. During his three years as dean, the number of foreign students has increased significantly, and the faculty of music has also become involved in the musical training of medical students. The faculty was the second in the country to establish an Academy Workshop of Performing Arts and Contemporary Music, which helps to nurture the talents of exceptionally gifted students. [7]
[2016]
[1] László Péterfi Nagy: „Opera, ahol nincsenek szólisták…"(lit. “Opera without soloists…”) in: Opera Portal ˂http://operaportal.hu/interjuk/item/39203-opera-ahol-nincsenek-szolistak˃ [Last accessed: 5 June 2016]
[2] Ilona Kovács's booklet accompanying the publication Hungaroton HCD32676 (2011). Kovács, Zoltán: Double Concerto for Trumpet and Trombone / Tóth, Péter: A Winter's Tale / The Hammer of the Village.
[3] See, for example, Zoltán Farkas: Fiatal öregek, öreg fiatalok – Kortárs magyar bemutatókról. (lit. Young Elders, Old Youth – On Contemporary Hungarian Premieres) In: Muzsika 36/1 (January 1993), pp. 32-35. 33.
[4] See ibid. and Hollós Máté: Művek bontakozóban. Tóth Péter Szerenádja – és más művei – jobb időkre. (lit. Works in the Making. Péter Tóth’s Serenade – and His Other Pieces – for Better Times.) In: Muzsika 43/6 (June 2000), p. 37.
[5] ˂https://www.mma.hu/muveszeti-hirek/-/event/10180/argyelus-kiralyfi-%E2%80%93-toth-peter-meseoperaja˃ [Last accessed 7 June 2016]
[6] Péter Tóth: Kis szvit [háromszólamú] gyermekkar[ra] Weöres Sándor verseire, (lit. Little Suite [for Three Voices] for Children’s Choir, to the Poems of Sándor Weöres) Kecskemét, Kodály Institute, 1993.
[7] Erzsébet Gajzer: „Dr. Tóth Péter: A magas színvonalú művészeti képzés gazdagítja az egyetemet." (lit. “Dr. Péter Tóth: High-Quality Arts Education Enriches the University”) 16 October 2014. ˂http://www.music.u-szeged.hu/hirek-esemenyek/szte-zmk-2014-oktober/dr-toth-peter-magas˃ and Fruzsina Hajdu–Milan Dinya: „Interjú Dr. Tóth Péter dékán úrral." (lit. Interview with Dr. Péter Tóth, Dean) 16 Nov 2015. ˂http://www.partyponty.hu/posts/6284˃ [Last accessed 5 June 2016]