The legacy
Kálmán Záborszky was born in 1947 in Budapest. His father, József Záborszky (1918–2015), was a violinist, composer, and conductor; his mother was Borbála Isépy (1919–2008). József Záborszky achieved an accomplishment of major significance in Hungarian music history by founding the István Orchestra and Music High School. He established the former in 1954 with the students of the then I. István High School, and the latter in 1968.
A contemporary summed up his wide-ranging work as follows: “József Záborszky’s work was characterized from the outset by a high level of musical professionalism, talent, wise foresight, careful planning, managerial and collaborative ability, as well as consistent strictness toward both students and colleagues.”
The cellist
Kálmán Záborszky began studying the cello in his childhood with Miklós Zsámboki, and at the age of fourteen he was already performing in the István Orchestra. After secondary school he was admitted to the Liszt Academy, where his teachers included Frigyes Sándor, András Mihály and Antal Friss. Between 1977 and 1981 he studied at the Vienna Academy of Music in the cello master class of André Navarra.
From 1973 to 1978 he taught cello at the Pécs branch of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, and from 1978 to 1990 he was a teacher of string chamber music and principal cello at the Bartók Béla Secondary School of Music in Budapest. His reputation as a teacher is reflected in several foreign invitations; he also taught in Austria (Erl, Tyrol) and Finland (Lieska).
As a soloist and conductor he performed in some of Europe’s most prominent concert halls, including in France, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany.
He described the shift in his career as follows: “Indeed, I achieved quite a lot as a cellist, but conducting attracted me more. I was not satisfied with the cello repertoire; there are few masterpieces written for the instrument. The other reason is this: my father, József Záborszky, built this orchestra through superhuman effort and then in 1968 founded the music school on its basis. I could have gone my own way, but so much meaningful work was waiting for me here that I felt I would only be making the right decision if I continued to take part in expanding, strengthening, and elevating this institution. Had I decided otherwise, it might have collapsed within moments amid the uncertainty that, in the early 1990s, did not spare cultural values either.”
From the very beginning, his career has rested on two equally important and mutually reinforcing pillars: performance and pedagogy.
Director of the Saint Stephen Music School and Secondary School of Music
After the retirement of József Záborszky, the I. István Music School was first led by István Záborszky, and later the leadership was taken over by Kálmán Záborszky. From 1991 to 2014 he headed the Saint Stephen King Secondary School of Music and Primary School of the Arts, during which he developed the institution into one of Hungary’s most significant art schools. In 1990, the music school was expanded with a secondary program, and in 1992 a government decree assigned the Columbus Street building complex to the secondary school of music, which was successfully renovated by 1996. Today, the institution’s concert hall (1995) is among the most modern and acoustically finest of all similar halls in Hungarian music education.
Continuing the institutional policy of his father and brother, he brought in more and more devoted artists as teachers.[1] For both the music school pupils and the conservatory students, it is a major opportunity to learn the secrets of musical performance alongside nationally and internationally renowned performers. He continues to take part in teaching as a cello instructor and as the leader of several ensembles.
The music school and the secondary school of music not only prepare students for a career as musicians, but also strive to ensure that strong, cohesive communities are formed through shared artistic activity. This is why, following the example of the István Orchestra, he established school ensembles whose number grew to thirteen under the leadership of Kálmán Záborszky. Students are motivated when they see a clear goal in front of them and can take part in real music-making. In the current system, the musical communities are permeable: a network of choirs and orchestras built upon one another forms the principal attraction of both the music school and the secondary school of the arts. As Kálmán Záborszky stated: “It has been proven that the power and benefit of communal music-making outweigh all the difficulties involved in organizing the work of the ensembles.” [2]
In addition, the Saint Stephen King School has a mission worthy of its namesake, defined in its preamble as follows: “Our pedagogical principle is the complex, multifaceted, harmonious development of personality. Our pedagogical work seeks to build upon the organic unity of intellectual, moral, emotional, and aesthetic education…” [3]
A teaching principle inherited in the Záborszky family is that, alongside the transmission of technical knowledge, priority is given to cultivating culture and engaging in artistic activity within a community. Kálmán summarized this as follows: “Beyond a certain point, becoming acquainted with classical music is no longer a musical question but a human and educational one, for the masterpieces speak, through the means of art, about the most important questions of human life.”
At the Head of the Saint Stephen Philharmonic
In its founding year, the István Orchestra had sixteen members; two years later it appeared at the Academy of Music with eighty players, and from 1958 onward it even announced a subscription series at the Academy.
The ambitious concert activity required a permanent chorus to accompany the ensemble, and so in 1981 the István Choir (today: Saint Stephen King Oratorio Choir) was founded, with Kálmán Záborszky as its founding conductor. Over the years, numerous world-renowned guest conductors have led the orchestra and choir from the very beginning (e.g. János Ferencsik, András Kórodi, Ervin Lukács, Ádám Medveczky, Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro, Tamás Vásáry, Yury Simonov, Zoltán Kocsis). [4]
Kálmán Záborszky participated in building the orchestra from the “heroic age” onward – first as a cellist, later as a principal player, then as a répétiteur, and finally as rehearsal and conducting maestro. Since 1988 he has served as the symphony orchestra’s artistic director and principal conductor.
In spirit, he continued his father’s work, and thus, alongside classical repertoire, he also programmed contemporary compositions. His professional and intellectual commitment is demonstrated by the fact that in 1989 he presented László Lajtha’s Phrygian Mass, which had been banned until then – and it was he who gave the work this subtitle. Among contemporary composers he initially developed close collaborations with György Ránki, Máté Hollós and Miklós Csemiczky, and from the 2000s onward László Dubrovay’s oeuvre also appeared regularly in his concerts.
A few examples from the list of premieres and Hungarian premières:
Hector Berlioz: Te Deum (1987) and Missa Solennelle (1994)
Leonard Bernstein: Mass (1988)
László Lajtha: Fríg mise (Phrygian Mass, 1989) – Mise a szorogattatás napjaiban (Mass in the Days of Distress, 1950)
Francis Poulenc: Stabat Mater (1989)
György Ránki: Káin és Ábel (Cain and Abel, 1990) and Jézus panasza (The Lament of Jesus, 1993)
Michael Haydn: Missa pro Defunctis (1996)
Frigyes Hidas: Requiem (1996)
Rezső Kókai: István király (King Stephen) – scenic oratorio (2000)
Ernő Dohnányi: Credo (1920) (16 June 2022)
György Kroó, who closely followed their premières, reported enthusiastically on the events to listeners of Új Zenei Újság. As an example, here is his account of the M. Haydn performance: “I hardly need to argue for the significance of the concert by the Saint Stephen King Symphony Orchestra and Oratorio Choir, conducted by Kálmán Záborszky before a packed audience.” [5]
Considering these results, recordings were made of the aforementioned Lajtha and M. Haydn masses, György Ránki’s The Lament of Jesus for male voice, mixed choir and orchestra, as well as Leó Weiner’s Románc (Romance). [6]
In 1996 he founded the Tihany Festival, within whose framework unforgettable stage productions were created in the uniquely beautiful surroundings. Tihany has also hosted, for decades, the summer camps of the musicians of Zugló – both small and large ensembles.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Kálmán Záborszky made a difficult decision when he transformed the Saint Stephen King Symphony Orchestra – which had previously operated as an amateur ensemble but was already performing at the highest level – into a professional orchestra under the name Zugló Philharmonic.
Founder of the Zugló Philharmonic
At his initiative, the Municipality of Zugló committed itself in 2005 to a long-term collaboration that provided permanent institutional support for the Zugló Philharmonic, thereby making the Saint Stephen King Symphony Orchestra and Oratorio Choir an official ensemble.
A significant change was that the orchestra now required higher-education musical qualifications, though the most talented secondary-school students could still participate as part of their orchestral training. In recognition of their value-creating and youth-educational work, they received the Hungarian Heritage Award in 2000, and between 2011 and 2017 they continuously earned the title of National Youth Orchestra.
In acknowledgement of his work as a conductor, the ensemble received the National Youth Orchestra title in 2011 and in the spring of 2014. In 2012, in recognition of the orchestra’s achievements to date, the Saint Stephen Philharmonic was placed in the highest category of Hungary’s professional ensembles, the “distinguished orchestral category”. Today, already including the Saint Stephen Philharmonic, ten permanent symphonic ensembles contribute to the concert life of the capital. The Saint Stephen Philharmonic performs at the Palace of Arts, the Vigadó and the Liszt Academy, and also travels regularly throughout Hungary and abroad.
It was exemplary that in 2016 they performed László Dubrovay’s Faust, az elkárhozott (Faust, the Damned), presented as a world première on the stage of the Palace of Arts. The reviews of the performances unanimously highlighted Záborszky’s contribution: “There was no cause for complaint about the musical realisation. Kálmán Záborszky prepared the (then-named) Zugló Philharmonic – Saint Stephen King Symphony Orchestra excellently. Vivid characterisation and striking effects rose from the orchestra pit of the Palace of Arts; ensemble playing was precise, and the tempo was uniformly lively. The level of concentration never waned, and since the stage action soon became predictable, more attention could be given to the music and the quality of the performance.” [7]
For the second time, the audience could see the production in 2017 at the Kodály Centre in Pécs, and once again it inspired appreciative reviews: “Only respect and gratitude are due to the Zugló Philharmonic – Saint Stephen King Symphony Orchestra and its conductor, Kálmán Záborszky, for their achievement. The highly concentrated and refined realisation of almost two hours of music – rich in unusual technical challenges, with constant changes of tempo and metre, yet forming a thoroughly logical and coherent musical fabric – is the kind of performance I generally waited for in vain at the Budapest opera productions I saw in the 1970s and 1980s.
The excellence of the conductor and his orchestra is all the more crucial because Dubrovay’s music, with its meticulous elaboration, is a continuous sonic bath, presenting the drama in its own right.” [8]
He nevertheless considers his most important mission to be constant participation in the cultural life of Zugló and the education of its audiences. It is important to him to broaden the public’s musical, literary, and historical knowledge, and to provide lasting musical experiences. He ensures the renewal of concert series, styles, and musical work by organising, planning, and running Zugló’s musical life together with his permanent collaborators, musicologist Dr Emőke Solymosi Tari and conductors Dr Gábor Horváth and Gergely Ménesi.
The subscription series and independent concerts put the Kodály concept into practice: the more mature concertgoers are addressed by the Stephanus (Müpa) and Winter (Vigadó) subscription series, secondary-school students by the Gaudeamus series (Liszt Academy), while families are reached by the Pastorale subscription series, whose realisation is supported by the Hungarian Academy of Arts.
Explicitly educational in nature, serving as an introduction to the arts, is the Felfedezőúton (On a Journey of Discovery) series. The youngest music lovers are welcomed by the Meseszínház (Fairy-tale Theatre), while the oldest are addressed through the Tea Concerts. Citizens of Zugló are invited to outdoor concerts, and large-choir series are organised for the district’s schoolchildren.
Summary
Kálmán Záborszky has built his career around this Kodály motto: “Without music the human being cannot be complete!”
As director of a music school and conservatory, and as chief conductor of the Zugló Philharmonic, he can claim a truly unique musical career. Both artist and teacher, he provides a lifelong example to fifteen hundred students and ensures that an entire district has access to regular, high-quality artistic experiences.
[2017]
Notes:
[1] See more: http://www.szentistvanzene.hu/szakkozepiskola/rolunk/tanari_kar
[2] Bence András Uzsally: Az ifjúsági zenekari nevelés négy magyar példája (Four Hungarian examples of youth orchestra education) - MA thesis, Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest, 2013, XXXIX. (http://uzsalybence.hu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Uzsaly-Bence-Szakdolgozat.pdf)
[3] Dr. Mária Sávoly - Ildikó Hortobágyiné Nagy - Tőkés Mária Tünde: A Szent István Király Zeneművészeti Szakközépiskola és Alapfokú Művészetoktatási Intézmény Minőségirányítási Programja (Quality Management Programme of the Szent István Király Secondary School of Music and Basic Arts), Budapest, 2009,
[8.] http://www.szentistvanzene.hu/szakkozepiskola/dokumentumok
[4] According to a contemporary newspaper article, "On one occasion, when János Ferencsik was conducting the Royal Danish Orchestra, at a reception in his honour, the Emperor asked him: 'Master, which orchestra do you prefer to work with? Ferencsik replied. There is a youth orchestra in Hungary, they make excellent music. With them." Esti Hírlap, 28 November 1970. H.M.
[5] A mikrofonnál Kroó György (György Kroó at the microphone) - New Music Newspaper 1981-1997., edited by János Kovács, László Sári, András Batta András and Mária Zsoldos, Hungarian Radio, Budapest, 1998, 358.
[6] Tamás Zelinka: A Szent István Király zenei együttes új CD-iről (On the new CDs of the King Saint Stephen Music Ensemble), In Parlando, 1998/5-6, (http://www.parlando.hu/Zeli-SztIstvan.html)
[7] Szabolcs Molnár: Faust, a megtáncoltatott (Faust, the Danced One), Muzsika 2016/6. (http://www.muzsikalendarium.hu/muzsika/index.php?area=article&id_article=4253)
[8] Faust, az elkárhozott – Dubrovay László táncdrámája a Kodály Központban (Faust, the damned - László Dubrovay's dance drama at the Kodály Centre), Magyar Hírlap, László Gönczy - 2017.04.05. http://magyarhirlap.hu/cikk/84486/Faust_az_elkarhozott
[9] Zoltán Kodály: Közönségnevelés (Public Education. 1958), In Kodály Zoltán: Visszatekintés (A Retrospective), edited by Ferenc Bónis, Budapest, Argumentum, 2007, I/317.