Zoltan Kodaly Biography

Zoltn Kodly
Zoltn Kodly (December 16, 1882 March 6, 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist and
philosopher.
Though born in Kecskemt, Kodly spent most of his childhood in Galnta and Nagyszombat (now Trnava, Slovakia). His father
was a keen amateur musician, and Kodly learned to play the violin as a child. He also sang in a cathedral choir and wrote music,
despite having little formal musical education.
In 1900, Kodly entered Budapest University to study modern languages, and began to study music at the Franz Liszt Academy in
Budapest, where Hans Koessler taught him composition.
One of the first people to undertake the serious study of folk song, Kodly became one of the most significant early figures in the
field of ethnomusicology. From 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs and in 1906 wrote his thesis on Hungarian folk song
('Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong'). Around this time he met fellow composer Bla Bartk, to whom he introduced
Hungarian folk song. The two went on to publish several collections of folk music together, and they both show the influence of folk
music in their own compositions.
After gaining his PhD in philosophy and linguistics, Kodly went to Paris where he studied with Charles Widor. There he discovered,
and absorbed influenced from, the music of Claude Debussy. In 1907 he moved back to Budapest, and gained a professorship at
the Academy of Music there. He continued his folk music-collecting expeditions through World War I without interruption.
Kodly had composed throughout this time, producing two string quartets, his sonatas for cello and piano and for solo cello (Op. 8,
1915), and his duo for violin and cello, but had no major success until 1923 when his Psalmus Hungaricus premiered at a concert to
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the union of Buda and Pest (Bartk's Dance Suite premiered on the same occasion.) Following
this success, Kodly travelled throughout Europe to conduct his music.
Kodly subsequently became very interested in the problems of music education, and wrote a good deal of educational music for
schools, as well as books on the subject. His work in this field had a profound effect on musical education both inside and outside
his home country. Some commentators refer to his ideas as the 'Kodly Method', although this seems something of a misnomer, as
he did not actually work out a comprehensive method, rather laying down a set of principles to follow in music education.
He continued to compose for professional ensembles also, with the Dances of Marosszk (1930, in versions for solo piano and for
full orchestra), the Dances of Galanta (1933, for orchestra), the Peacock Variations (1939, commissioned by the Concertgebouw
Orchestra to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary) and the Missa Brevis (1944, for soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ) among his
better known works. The suite from his opera Hry Jnos (1926) also became well known, though few productions of the opera itself
take place.
Kodly remained in Budapest through World War II, retiring from teaching in 1942. In 1945 he became the president of the
Hungarian Arts Council, and in 1962 received the Order of the Hungarian People's Republic. His other posts included a presidency
of the International Folk Music Council, and honorary presidency of the International Society for Music Education. He died in
Budapest in 1967, one of the most respected and well known figures in the Hungarian arts.
In 1966, the year before Kodly's death, the Kodly Quartet, a string quartet named in Kodly's honour, formed.



Zoltn Kodly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the
Hungarian Wikipedia. (January 2011)
Don't speak Hungarian? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Hungarian
article.
Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating.[show]
"Kodaly" redirects here. For other uses, see Kodaly (disambiguation).
The native form of this personal name is Kodly Zoltn. This article uses the Western name order.


Zoltn Kodly monument in Pcs
Zoltn Kodly (Hungarian: Kodly Zoltn, [kodaj zoltan]; 16 December 1882 6 March 1967) was a
Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known
internationally as the creator of the Kodly Method.
Contents
1 Life
2 Selected works
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links
Life
Born in Kecskemt, Kodly learned to play the violin as a child.
In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs, recording them on phonograph cylinders. In 1906 he
wrote the thesis on Hungarian folk song ("Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong"). Around this
time Kodly met fellow composer Bla Bartk, whom he took under his wing and introduced to some of
the methods involved in folk song collecting. The two became lifelong friends and champions of each
other's music.


Bust in Balatonlelle, Hungary

Duo for violin and cello (Op. 7, 1914)
Performed by the U.S. Army Band Strings.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.
All these works show a great originality of form and content, a very interesting blend of highly
sophisticated mastery in the Western-European style of music, including classical, late-romantic,
impressionistic and modernist tradition and at the other hand profound knowledge and respect for the folk
music on Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Albania and other Eastern-European countries. Due to the
outbreak of the First World War and subsequent major geopolitical changes in the region and partly
because of the personal shyness Kodly had no major public success until 1923 when his Psalmus
Hungaricus premiered at a concert to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the union of Buda and Pest
(Bartk's Dance Suite premiered on the same occasion.)
Kodly was very interested in the problems of music education, and he wrote a large amount of material
on music education methods as well as composing a large amount of music for children. Beginning in
1935, along with colleague Jen dm, he embarked on a long term project to reform music teaching in
the lower and middle schools. His work resulted in the publication of several highly influential books. The
Hungarian music education method that developed in the 1940s became the basis for what is called the
"Kodly Method". Kodaly himself did not write a comprehensive method, but he did establish a set of
principles to follow in music education. See also: Kodly Hand Signs.


Commemorative plaque in Andrssy Avenue, Budapest
His notable students include Anne Lauber and John Verrall.
In the motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind a visual learning aid distributed to members of a
conference of UFOlogist was named "Zoltan Kodaly" and referenced musical notes as hand signals.
His wife was Emma Gruber, the dedicatee of Ern Dohnnyi's Waltz for piano four-hands, Op. 3, and
Variations and Fugue on a theme by E.G., Op. 4 (1897).
[1]

Selected works
Operas
Hry Jnos, Op. 15 (1926)
Szkelyfon (The Spinning Room) (19241932)
Orchestral
Summer Evening (1906, revised 1929)
Hry Jnos Suite (1926)
Dances of Marosszk (1930)
Dances of Galnta (1933)
Variations on a Hungarian Folksong Flszllott a pva (The Peacock) (1939)
Concerto for Orchestra (19391940)
Symphony (1930s1961)
Chamber/instrumental

Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 3. Allegro molto vivace
Alisa Weilerstein performs Kodly's Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 3. Allegro molto vivace at the
White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009.

Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 3. Allegro molto vivace
Audio only

Problems listening to these files? See media help.
Adagio for violin (or viola, or cello) and piano (1905)
Intermezzo for string trio (1905)
String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 2 (19081909)
Cello Sonata, Op. 4 (19091910)
Duo for violin and cello, Op. 7 (1914)
Sonata for solo cello, Op. 8 (1915)
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 (19161918)
Szerend (Serenade) for 2 violins and viola, Op. 12 (19191920)
Pange lingua, Praeludium for organ (1931)
Organoeida ad missam lectam (Csendes mise) (1944)
Epigrammak (1954)
Choral
Este (1904)
Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13 (1923)
Matrai kepek (1931)
Jzus s a kufrok (1934)
Te Deum (1939)
Missa Brevis for soloists, chorus and organ (1942, 1948)
Laudes organi for chorus and organ (1966)
Adventi nek (Veni, Veni Emmanuel) for mixed choir a cappella

























Zoltn Kodly (Composer, Arranger)
Born: December 16, 1882 - Kecskemt, Hungary
Died: March 6, 1967 - Budapest, Hungary
Zoltn Kodly was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist, and philosopher. His
father was a stationmaster and keen amateur musician, and Kodly learned to play the violin as a child.
He also sang in a cathedral choir and wrote music, despite having little formal musical education. In 1900,
Kodly entered the University of Budapest to study modern languages, and began to study music at the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where Hans Koessler taught him composition.

One of the first people to undertake the serious study of folk tales, Zoltn Kodly became one of the most
significant early figures in the field of ethnomusicology. In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs
recording them on phonograph cylinders. In 1906 he wrote the thesis on Hungarian folk song ("Strophic
Construction in Hungarian Folksong"). Around this time Kodly met fellow composer Bla Bartk, whom
he took under his wing and introduced to some of the methods involved in folk song collecting. The two
became lifelong friends and champions of each other's music.

After gaining his PhD in philosophy and linguistics, Zoltn Kodly went to Paris where he studied with
Charles Widor. There he discovered and absorbed various influences, notably the music of Claude
Debussy. In 1907 he moved back to Budapest and gained a professorship at the Academy of Music
there. He continued his folk music-collecting expeditions through World War I without interruption.

Zoltn Kodly had composed throughout this time, producing two String quartets (Op.2, 1909 and op.10,
1917 respectively), Sonata for cello and piano (Op.4, 1910) and Sonata for cello solo (Op. 8, 1915), and
his Duo for violin and cello (Op.7, 1914). All these works show a great originality of form and content, a
very interesting blend of highly sophisticated mastery in the Western-European style of music, including
classical, late-romantic, impressionistic and modernist tradition and at the other hand profound knowledge
and respect for the folk music on Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Albania and other Eastern-European
countries. Due to the outbreak of the World War I and subsequent major geopolitical changes in the
region and partly because of the personal shyness Kodly had no major public success until 1923 when
his Psalmus Hungaricus premiered at a concert to celebrate the 50
th
anniversary of the union of Buda and
Pest (Bartk's Dance Suite premiered on the same occasion.) Following this success, Kodly travelled
throughout Europe to conduct his music.

Zoltn Kodly was very interested in the problems of music education, and he wrote a large amount of
material on music education methods as well as composing a large amount of music for children.
Beginning in 1935, along with colleague Jen dm, he embarked on a long term project to reform music
teaching in the lower and middle schools. His work resulted in the publication of several highly influential
books and he had a profound impact on musical education both inside and outside his home country. The
Hungarian music education method that developed in the 1940s became the basis for what is called the
"Kodly Method". Kodaly himself did not write a comprehensive method, but he did establish a set of
principles to follow in music education.

Zoltn Kodly continued to compose for professional ensembles also, with the Dances of Marosszk
(1930, in versions for solo piano and for full orchestra), the Dances of Galanta (1933, for orchestra), the
Peacock Variations (1939, commissioned by the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam to celebrate its
50
th
anniversary) and the Missa Brevis (1944, for soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ) among his better
known works. The suite from his opera Hry Jnos (1926) also became well known, though few
productions of the opera itself take place. It was first performed in Budapest and conductors such as
Arturo Toscanini, Willem Mengelberg and Wilhelm Furtwngler have included this piece in their
repertoires.

Zoltn Kodly remained in Budapest through World War II, retiring from teaching in 1942. In 1945 he
became the president of the Hungarian Arts Council, and in 1962 received the Order of the Hungarian
People's Republic. His other posts included a presidency of the International Folk Music Council, and
honorary presidency of the International Society for Music Education. He died in Budapest in 1967, one of
the most respected and well known figures in the Hungarian arts. In 1966, the year before Kodly's death,
the Kodly Quartet, a string quartet named in Kodly's honour, formed. His notable students include Anne
Lauber and John Verrall.
Selected Works
Orchestral:
Summer Evening (1906, rev. 1929)
Hry Jnos Suite (1926)
Dances of Marosszk (1930)
Dances of Galanta (1933)
Peacock Variations (1939)
Concerto for Orchestra (1939)
Symphony (1930's - 1961)

Chamber/Instrumental:
Intermezzo for String Trio (1905)
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 2 (1909)
Cello Sonata, Op. 4 (1910)
Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 (1914)
Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 (1915)[1]
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 (1917)
Serenade for 2 Violins and Viola, Op. 12 (1920)

Operas:
Hry Jnos (1926)
The Transilvanian Spinning Room (1932)

Choral:
Missa Brevis, for soloists, chorus & organ
Laudes organi, for chorus & organ
Este (1904)
Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13 (1923)
Matrai kepek (1931)
Jzus s a kufrok(1934)
Te Deum (1939)
Source: Mostly Wikipedia Website (October 2010)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (October 2010)












Zoltn Kodly, Composer
Hary Janos Suite, Song

Dates
Born December 16, 1882 in Kecskemt, Hungary
Died in Budapest, Hungary, March 6, 1967
Nationality
Hungarian
Style/Period
Modern 1920-Present
Famous Works
Hry Janos Suite, the Peacock Variations, Concerto for Orchestra, Symphony in C major
Bio
Zoltn was one of three children born to Frigyes and Paulina Kodly. Although the father worked as an
official for the railway, both parents were amateur musicians: his father was a violinist and his mother
played the piano. Zoltn studied piano, violin, viola, and cello as a child and often played cello in his
father's quartet. Even though his family moved quite frequently, Zoltn sang in the choir at Nagyszombat
Cathedral and played cello in the orchestra there. He composed his first overture at the age of 15 and
entered the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest in 1900, earning a teaching diploma in 1905.
During his years at the Academy he studied composition and was influenced by the music of Brahms and
Debussy. However, the biggest influence on Kodly's music came from Hungarian folk music. In 1905 he
and Bla Bartk began to collect Hungarian folksongs, including field recordings. His ongoing work of
collecting, analyzing, editing, and organizing this vast body of folk material was his way of preserving the
Hungarian culture.
In 1907, he was appointed a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest and, along with Bla
Bartok, wrote a paper titled "A Project for a New Universal Collection of Folk Songs." This project
continued until restricted by World War I. During the war years, Kodly lost his academic position due to
political reasons, but resumed his teaching at the Academy in 1922. In 1923 he was commissioned to
write a new work in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the combining of the individual cities of Pest,
Buda, and Obuda into Budapest. His oratorio, Palmus Hungaricus, written especially for this occasion,
was the first of a series of larger choral works that brought him international recognition. His reputation as
a significant composer became established with his opera, Hary Janos, and his orchestral works
including: Dances of Marosszk, Dances of Galnta, and the Peacock Variations. He composed his
Concerto for Orchestra to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Zoltn Kodly was a pioneer in the field of music education. He believed that music belonged to everyone
and to achieve a higher level of musical understanding, musical training must be developed within school
systems. He devoted himself to training future musicians at the Academy and improving the overall music
education of Hungarian children. Kodly advocated a love of music supported by a knowledge about
music. Because the folk song was an accessible product of the people, especially in children's singing
games, he suggested it as the place where music education should begin. Kodly wrote many essays in
support of music education. He also composed new choral works as an attempt to provide materials for
use in the music education programs within the school system.
Kodly officially retired in 1942 at age 60. At that point in his life, he toured England, the United States,
and the Soviet Union as a conductor of his own works. He received many awards and honors and
continued his efforts to improve Hungarian music education by writing new works for children and adult
choirs. His many essays on music education and the use of the folk song in teaching children have
influenced teachers and music curriculum all over the world and continue to do so today.
2012 Dallas Symphony Assoc. Privacy Policy | Contact


















What is the Dalcroze Teaching Method?

Share 12

Email

Comments 1
By Kathy Butera
The Dalcroze method, also known as Dalcroze Eurhythmics,
incorporates the basic elements of musicrhythm, melody, harmonywith body movement, to provide a
multi-dimensional approach to music learning. Unlike most traditional methods, improvisation is a major
component of the Dalcroze approach and one of its three aspects:
Eurhythmics trains the body in rhythm and dynamics
Solfege (sight singing) trains the ear, eye and voice in pitch, melody and harmony
Improvisation brings all elements together according to the student's own invention, in
movement, with voice, at an instrument. (Dalcroze Society of America)
Beyond musical intelligence, the Dalcroze approach engages and exercises several other aspects of
intelligence. Musical games and experiments engage logical thinking. Eurhythmics appeals to kinesthetic
and spatial types of learners. The social quality of music-making develops communication, feeling, and
empathy. Dalcroze is fun! It has the physicality of sports, aesthetic appeal of the arts, and is mentally
challenging, for all ages. Unfortunately, programs are not widespread, and where they exist, they are
frequently for children only.
The Dalcroze concept of improvisation is close to the nature of childhood play. According to
Dictionary.com, improvisation means to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation; to
compose, play, recite, or sing (verse, music, etc.) on the spur of the moment. Improvisation frees a child
to relate directly and spontaneously to music within a range of musical knowledge. Improvising with full-
body movement, singing or playing an instrument, helps the child internalize complex elements of rhythm,
pitch, tone and dynamics without having to read a musical score. Through improvisation, composing
becomes a personal and immediate creative act. A child enhances his creative spirit through
improvisation and carries that spirit into his daily life.
Emile Dalcroze was a visionary 19th-century pedagogue. He did not like his approach to be labeled as a
method. In fact, there is really no set curriculum. Teachers are trained in techniques and principles, which
they adapt to the characteristics, needs and abilities of their students. Dalcroze certificates and licenses
are conferred by master Dalcroze teachers who hold the Diploma from the Dalcroze Institute in Geneva,
Switzerland http://www.dalcrozeusa.org/. In California, two established musical institutions that teach the
Dacroze method are The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (415-864-7326) and The School of
Performing Arts Division of The Colburn School (213-621-2200).
Included in: Teaching Methods
Kathy Butera is Lecturer/Supervisor of the Arts, Entertainment and Media Management Department at
Columbia College Chicago. She was formerly Executive Director of Sherwood Conservatory of Music
(now merged with Columbia) and has held management positions with the Pittsburgh, San Francisco and
Chicago symphony orchestras.

Carl Orff
(July 10, 1895) ? March 29, 1982) was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his oratorio
Carmina Burana (1937). In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of
music education for children.
Early life

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)
Orff was born in Munich on July 10, 1895. His family was Bavarian and active in the German military.
Orff started studying the piano at age five and also took organ and cello lessons. However, he was more
interested in composing original music than in studying to be a performer. Orff wrote and staged puppet
shows for his family, composing music for piano, violin, zither, and glockenspiel to accompany them. He
had a short story published in a children's magazine in 1905 and started to write a book about nature. In
his spare time he enjoyed collecting insects.
By the time he was a teenager, Orff was writing songs, although he had not studied harmony or
composition; his mother helped him set down his first works in musical notation. Orff wrote his own texts
and he learned the art of composing, without a teacher, by studying classical masterworks on his own.
In 1911, at age 16, some of Orff's music was published. Many of his youthful works were songs, often
settings of German poetry. They fell into the style of Richard Strauss and other German composers of the
day, but with hints of what would become Orff's distinctive musical language.
In 1911-12, Orff wrote a large work for baritone voice, three choruses and orchestra, Also sprach
Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) op. 14, based on a passage from Friedrich Nietzsche's
philosophical novel of the same title. The following year, he composed an opera, Gisei, das Opfer (Gisei,
the Sacrifice). Influenced by the French Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, and began to use
colorful, unusual combinations of instruments in his orchestration.
World War I
Moser's Musik-Lexikon states that Orff studied at the Munich Academy of Music until 1914. He then
served in the military in World War I, during which he was severely injured and nearly killed in a trench
cave in. Afterwards, he held various positions at opera houses in Mannheim and Darmstadt, later
returning to Munich to pursue his music studies.
The Twenties
In the mid-1920s Orff began to formulate a concept he called elementare Musik, or elemental music,
which was based on the unity of the arts symbolized by the ancient Greek Muses (who gave music its
English name) and involved tone, dance, poetry, image, design, and theatrical gesture. Like many other
composers of the time he was influenced by the Russian-French emigr? Igor Stravinsky. But while others
followed the cool, balanced "neoclassic" works of Stravinsky, it was works like the composer's Les noces
(The Wedding), a pounding, quasi-folkloric evocation of prehistoric wedding rites, that appealed to Orff.
He also began adapting musical works of earlier eras for contemporary theatrical presentation, including
Claudio Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo (1607). Orff's German version, Orpheus, was staged in 1925 in
Mannheim, Germany, under Orff's direction, using some of the instruments that had been used in the
original 1607 performance. The passionately declaimed opera of Monteverdi's era was almost unknown in
the 1920s, however, and Orff's production met with reactions ranging from incomprehension to ridicule.

From 1925 until the end of his life, Orff was the head of a department and co-founder of the Guenther
School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich, where he worked with musical beginners. This is
where he developed his theories in music education, having constant contact with children. In 1930, Orff
published a manual titled Schulwerk, where he shares his method of conducting. Prior to writing Carmina
Burana, Orff edited 17th century operas. He had previously founded a school for gymnastics with
Dorothee G?nther in 1924.
Carmina Burana
Based on the Carmina Burana, an important collection of Latin and German Goliard poems discovered in
1803 in the library of the Benedictine monastery of Benediktbeuern, near Munich. Written by monks and
minstrels, the collection appealed to Orff because of the variety of its humorous, sad, and suggestive
verses. He selected about twenty featuring the wheel of fortune and arranged them into bawdy songs for
soloists and chorus, accompanied by instruments and magic images.
This work exemplifies Orff's search for an idiom that would reveal the elemental power of music, allowing
the listener to experience music as an overwhelming, primitive force. Goliard poetry, which not only
celebrates love and wine, but also pokes fun at the clergy, perfectly suited Orff's desire to create a
musical work appealing to a fundamental musicality that, as he believed, every human being possesses.
Eschewing melodic development and harmonic complexity, and articulating his musical ideas through
basic sonorities and easily discernible rhythmic patterns, Orff created an idiom which many found
irresistible. The perceived "primitivism" of Carmina Burana notwithstanding, Orff believed that the
profound appeal of music is not merely physical.
Carmina Burana forms the first part of a trilogy of staged cantatas called Trionfi (Triumphs), all based on
Latin texts. The other two parts are Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The first performance, in
1937, was a stylistic breakthrough, and brought Orff instant fame. Orff regarded Carmina Burana as the
real beginning of his career, and ordered his publisher to destroy all his previous works (an instruction
that fortunately was disregarded).
The Nazi Era
Orff's relationship to German fascism and the Nazi Party has been a matter of considerable debate and
analysis. His Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937,
receiving numerous performances. But the composition with its unfamiliar rhythms was also denounced
with racist taunts. He was one of the few German composers under the Nazi regime who responded to
the official call to write new incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream after the music of Felix
Mendelssohn had been banned ? others refused to cooperate in this. Defenders of Orff note that he had
already composed music for this play as early as 1917 and 1927, long before this was a favour for the
Nazi government. Critics, however, note that writing music for the play in those years, when the Nazis
were not in power, is not the same as writing such music in response to a request from the Nazi party,
following the party's racist attacks on Mendelssohn because he was a Jew.
Carmina Burana made Orff's name in Nazi cultural circles. After some initial official discomfort about the
work's frank sexual innuendos, Orff's cantata was elevated to the status of a signature piece in Nazi
circles, where it was treated as an emblem of Third Reich "youth culture". The Nazi newspaper, the
V?lkischer Beobachter, once pointed to Orff's cantata as "the kind of clear, stormy, and yet always
disciplined music that our time requires".

Orff was a personal friend of Kurt Huber, one of the founders of the resistance movement Die Wei?e
Rose (the White Rose), who was condemned to death by the Volksgerichtshof and executed by the Nazis
in 1943. Orff by happenstance called at Huber's house on the day after his arrest. Huber's distraught wife
begged Orff to use his influence to help her husband, but Orff denied her request. If his friendship with
Huber came out, he told her, he would be "ruined". Huber's wife never saw Orff again. Wracked by guilt,
Orff would later write a letter to his late friend Huber, imploring him for forgiveness.
Post War
After World War II, Orff, faced with the possible loss of royalties from Carmina Burana, claimed to a
denazification officer that he was a member of the White Rose, and was himself involved in the
resistance. There was no evidence for this other than his own word, and other sources dispute his claim.
Canadian historian Michael H. Kater made in earlier writings a particularly strong case that Orff
collaborated with Nazi authorities, but in Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits (2000) Kater
rescinded his earlier accusations to some extent. Orff's assertion that he had been anti-Nazi during the
war was accepted by the American denazification authorities, who changed his previous category of "gray
unacceptable" to "gray acceptable", enabling him to continue to compose for public presentation.
Most of Orff's later works - Antigonae (1949), Oedipus der Tyrann (Oedipus the King, 1958), Prometheus
desmotes (1967), and De temporum fine comoedia (A Play for the End of Time, 1971) - were based on
texts or topics from antiquity. They extend the language of Carmina Burana in interesting ways, but they
are expensive to stage and are not operas in the conventional sense. They are occasionally performed,
most often in Germany.
Personal life
"He had his life and that was that," his daughter, whom he rejected, tells Tony Palmer in the documentary
O Fortuna. The composer sought to avoid personal and moral responsibility in most things, and then
wished to be forgiven for his failure to accept these responsibilities.
He was married four times: Alice Solscher (m. 1920, div. 1925), Alice Willert (m. 1939, div. 1953), Luise
Rinser (m. 1954, div. 1959) and Liselotte Schmitz (m. 1960). His only child Godela, from his first
marriage, was born in 1921.
Death
When Carl Orff died in 1982 at the age of 86, he had lived through four epochs in the course of his life:
the Kaiserreich, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi Third Reich and the post World War II West German
Bundesrepublik. Orff was buried in the Baroque church of the beer-brewing Benedictine priory of
Andechs, south of Munich. His tombstone bears his name, his dates of birth and death, and the Latin
inscription "Summus Finis" (the ultimate goal).
Musical work

Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
From Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Orff is most known for Carmina Burana (1937), a "scenic cantata". It is the first of a trilogy that also
includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. Carmina Burana reflected his interest in medieval
German poetry. Together the trilogy is called Trionfi, or "triumphs". The composer described it as the
celebration of the triumph of the human spirit through sexual and holistic balance. The work was based
on thirteenth-century poetry found in a manuscript dubbed the Codex latinus monacensis found in a
Bavarian monastery in 1803 and written by the Goliards; this collection is also known as Carmina Burana.
While "modern" in some of his compositional techniques, Orff was able to capture the spirit of the
medieval period in this trilogy, with infectious rhythms and easy tonalities. The medieval poems, written in
an early form of German and Latin, are often racy, but without descending into smut. Fortuna Imperatrix
Mundi, commonly known as O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana is often used to denote satanic forces, for
example in the Oliver Stone movie The Doors.. The work's association with Fascism also led Pier Paolo
Pasolini to use the movement Veris Leta Facies to accompany the concluding scenes of torture and
murder in his final film Sal? o le 120 giornate di Sodoma .
With the success of Carmina Burana, Orff disowned all of his previous works except for Catulli Carmina
and the Entrata, which were rewritten until acceptable by Orff. As an historical aside, Carmina Burana is
probably the most famous piece of music composed and premiered in Nazi Germany. Carmina Burana
was in fact so popular that Orff received a commission in Frankfurt to compose incidental music for A
Midsummer Night's Dream, which was supposed to replace the banned music by Mendelssohn. After the
war, he claimed not to be satisfied with the music and reworked it into the final version that was first
performed in 1964.
Orff was reluctant to term any of his works simply operas in the traditional sense. His works Der Mond
(The Moon, 1939) and Die Kluge (The Wise Woman, 1943), for example, he referred to as "M?rchenoper"
("fairytale operas"). Both compositions feature the same "timeless" sound in that they do not employ any
of the musical techniques of the period in which they were composed, with the intent that they be difficult
to define as belonging to a particular era. Their melodies, rhythms and, with them, text appear in a union
of words and music.
About his Antigone (1949), Orff said specifically that it was not an opera, rather a Vertonung, a "musical
setting" of the ancient tragedy. The text is an excellent German translation, by Friedrich H?lderlin, of the
Sophocles play of the same name. The orchestration relies heavily on the percussion section, and is
otherwise fairly simple. It has been labelled by some as minimalistic, which is most adequate in terms of
the melodic line. The story of Antigone has a haunting similarity to the history of Sophie Scholl, heroine of
the White Rose, and Orff may have been memorializing her in his opera.
Orff's last work, De Temporum Fine Comoedia (A Play of the End of Time), had its premiere at the
Salzburg music festival on , 1973, performed by Herbert von Karajan and the Cologne Radio Symphony
Orchestra and Chorus. In this highly personal work, Orff presented a mystery play, in which he
summarized his view on the end of time, sung in Greek, German, and Latin.
Musica Poetica, which Orff composed with Gunild Keetman, was used as the theme music for Terrence
Malick's film Badlands (1973). Hans Zimmer later reworked this music for his True Romance (1993)
score.

List of compositions

Operas
Der Mond (1939)
Die Kluge (1943)
Antigonae (1949)
Ein Sommernachtstraum (1952, reworked 1962)
Prometheus (1968)
De Temporum Fine Comoedia (1973)
Bairisches Welttheater (Bavarian World Theatre)
Die Bernauerin (1947)
Astutuli, eine bairische Kom?die (1953)
Easter Play
Comoedia de Christi Resurrectione (1956)
Nativity play
Ludus de nato Infante mirificus (1961)
De Temporum Fine Comoedia, Vigilia (1973, reworked 1977)
Trionfi (Triumphs)
Carmina Burana (1937)
Catulli Carmina (1943)
Trionfo di Afrodite (1953)
Treatments
Claudio Monteverdis Klage der Ariadne, Orpheus (1925, reworked 1940)
Entrata f?r Orchester, nach ?The Bells? von W. Byrd (1928, reworked 1941)
Classics
Antigone (1949)
Oedipus der Tyrann (1959)
Prometheus (1968)
Orff-Schulwerk
Musik f?r Kinder (with Gunild Keetmann) (1930?35, reworked 1950?54)
Pedagogical work
In pedagogical circles he is probably best remembered for his Schulwerk (1930-35), translated into
English as Music for Children. Its simple musical instrumentation allowed even untutored child musicians
to perform the piece with relative ease. Much of his life Orff worked with children, using music as an
educational tool ? both melody and rhythm are often determined by the words.
Orff's ideas were developed, together with Gunild Keetman, into a very innovative approach to music
education for children, known as the Orff Schulwerk. The term Schulwerk is German for "school work".
The music is elemental and combines movement, singing, playing, and improvisation.
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Carl Orff; it is used under the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that
you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA.

Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl Orff













The Kodly Concept
Darren Wicks
The Kodly concept is an approach to music education that strives to achieve a synthesis of all the skills
necessary to develop complete musicianship (Bacon, 1993, p.75) and to cultivate a love and
appreciation for music that is supported by understanding and direct musical experience (Choksy,
1999a). The approach was inspired by the philosophies of the Hungarian composer and educator, Zoltan
Kodly (1882 1967).

The Kodly concept encompases two key elements.
1It is a philosophical approach to teaching music, and
2 It is a unique course of sequential musical instruction (Bacon, 1993).
Philosophy
Throughout Kodly's writings are the notions that a person cannot be complete without music and that
music serves to develop a person on all levels emotionally, spiritually and intellectually (Kodly, 1994).
Kodly believed that musical aptitude is a characteristic of every person and that, ideally, a music
education should begin as early as possible in a person's life - first at home and then later within the
school curriculum.

He believed that children should first learn their own musical mother tongue - the folk songs of their own
cultural heritage. It is through this musical mother tongue that the skills and concepts necessary to
achieve musical literacy can be taught (Choksy, 1999a). As these skills develop, children are given the
opportunity to study and perform Art Music of all periods and styles. The process of children arriving at a
conscious knowledge and understanding of masterworks of all cultures through the music of their own
culture is a unique idea that comes directly from Kodly himself (Bacon, 1993, p.77)

Kodly believed that singing should be the foundation of all music education.
It is a long accepted truth that singing provides the best start to music education; moreover, children
should learn to read music before they are provided with any instrumenteven the most talented artist
can never overcome the disadvantages of an education without singing. (Kodaly, 1974).

The use of the voice is one of the most defining features of the Kodly approach. The voice is the most
accessible of all instruments and this makes it most suitable for musical instruction. It offers direct access
to the world of music without the technical problems associated with the playing of an instrument.
Moreover, singing without the aid of an instrument is a powerful pedagogical tool that, in the hands of a
good teacher, can lead to a highly developed musical ear.

Kodly stated the principal goal of music education as to make the masterpieces of world [music]
literature public property, to convey them to people of every kind and rank (1994, p.160). And later, in a
lecture presented at the University of Toronto on the occasion of his being granted an honorary doctorate,
he said The final purpose of all this must be to introduce the students to an understanding and love of
great classical music - of the past, present and future (as cited by Choksy, 2003, p.4). In order to achieve
these ends, Kodly envisioned a structured and sequential system of music education that would make
music accessible to all students and affirm each student as being innately musical.
Sequential Music Instruction
The Kodly Method is highly structured and sequenced, with well-defined skill and concept hierarchies in
every element of music. These sequences are both drawn from and closely related to child development
the way in which young children progress naturally in music as shown through research (Choksy,
Abramson, Gillespie, Woods, & York, 2001, p.83).

Kodly believed that musical instruction should reflect the way that children learn naturally. Just as one
learns to speak first and then read and write later, so the sound should be taught first before the symbols.
The developed inner ear will then be able to recall the sounds when they are presented later as symbols
(Choksy, 1999a). He also advocated that musical skills should be carefully sequenced into patterns that
reflect an understanding of child development. Great care is taken to lead the child from the known to the
unknown and from direct experience to abstract concepts and symbols.

Traditionally, Kodly curriculums are structured by beginning with a repertoire of folk songs (Choksy,
1999a) and themes from Art Music (Choksy, 1999b). The teacher first analyses this repertoire, observing
the frequency and occurrence of various musical elements such as rhythmic, melodic and harmonic
patterns. Using this analysis as a starting point, pedagogical objectives are formulated and the musical
elements are organized into a sequence that takes into account the developmental stage of the students,
the musical abilities of the student, and the need to progress logically from the known to the unknown
(Tacka & Houlahan, 1995).

Children's songs, singing games and folk dances are an integral part of early training and are used to
enhance learning and enjoyment.
Kodly musical training always involves active music-making. Musical learning evolves from a variety of
experiences including singing games and dances, folk songs and art songs; singing songs in unison,
rounds, canons and in parts; singing themes from great instrumental music; and listening and moving to
music. All these are the cornucopia from which musical concepts are drawn and through which musical
skills are practiced (Choksy et al., 2001, p.101).

Music literacy remains a key component of the approach and is developed gradually and sequentially.
Kodly envisaged a deep literacy that went beyond just knowing letter names. Instead, the musically
literate should be able to look at notation and think sound. The good musician understands music without
a score as well as understands the score without the music. The ear should not need the eye nor the eye
the (outer) ear (Schumann as quoted by Kodly (1994)).

Sol-fa syllables and the moveable-do system are used to teach skills in pitch discrimination, intervals,
harmony and analysis. These skills are reinforced with a system of hand signs originally developed by
John Curwen in England. Rhythmic skills are developed by means of a system of rhythm duration
syllables (French time names) in which common rhythmic patterns are given a sound name that reflects
the way they sound.





Emergence

Although he was a major figure in the transformation of music education in Hungary during the early to
mid 1900s, Kodly never set out to create a Kodly Method. Instead, he sought to address what he saw
as some major weaknesses in the music education offered in his country. These weaknesses were
evidenced by a low level of musical literacy amongst Hungarian musicians, a glaring ignorance of the
musical traditions of their own heritage and the inadequate training of music teachers (Wicks, 2002).

Under Kodlys guidance, an approach to music education evolved that sought to address these
weaknesses and that drew upon the best of educational thought from around the world. The approach
was later codified by Kodlys students and adopted in a great many Hungarian schools with remarkable
success. As a result, the 1964 Budapest Congress of the International Society for Music Education held
up Hungary's methods and achievements as worthy examples to be followed by music educators of the
world (Bacon, 1993). The musical literacy of the generation of Hungarian youth that emerged now
became a model and an incentive for educators all over the world to adapt the Kodly concept for their
own culture and students.
References
Bacon, D. (1993). Hold Fast to Dreams: Writings Inspired by Zoltn Kodly. Masachusetts: Kodly
Center of America.
Choksy, L. (1999). The Kodly Method I (Third ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Who was Zoltn Kodly?

Zoltan Kodly was a prominent Hungarian composer, educator, ethnomusicologist, linguist, author and
philosopher. Along with Bartk and Ligeti, he is one of the three major figures in Hungarian music this
century. Kodly's many compositions show a strong affinity with the folk traditions of his country and
include ballad operas, orchestral works, chamber music, choral works, songs, folk song arrangements
and music for children.
Kodly was born on December 16, 1882 in Kecskemt, a small town in central Hungary. Much of his
childhood was spent in the Hungarian villages. It was here that Kodly developed a great love for the
Hungarian countryside and for the folk traditions of his culture.
From a young age Kodly showed great aptitude and interest in music. His father, an amateur musician,
encouraged this interest, particularly the young boy's interest in composition. By the time Kodly reached
secondary school he was composing his own music. After completing his school education, Kodly
studied at The Franz Liszt Academy (Hungary's most prestigious music institution) and the University of
Hungary where he earned a degree in Hungarian, German and then, later, a Doctor of Philosophy in
linguistics.
As a composer, Kodly did much to bridge the gap between Hungarian folk music and the European art
music tradition. The political climate of Hungary during the 1900's was such that it had strong economic
ties with Austria. The music of the Hungarian upper class was Viennese Classical music and the
language spoken by educated Hungarians was German. The peasant population, on the other hand,
spoke Hungarian and had a thriving folk music tradition of its own. Yet this distinctly Hungarian music was
not regarded highly by both professional musicians and the upper class that made up the concert
audiences.
In the early 1900's, Kodly and his colleague, Bla Bartk turned their backs on the European music
culture of Hungary and focused their attention on their own native folk music traditions. In 1905 they set
off on the first of many expeditions to collect and gather traditional Hungarian folk music. Within a year
they had arranged and published a collection of twenty folk songs.
Kodaly's work was not immediately accepted by " the establishment" who regarded this folk music to be
uncultured, and unrefined. Yet, undeterred, Kodaly went on many more expeditions to collect and
transcribe folk music. In a number of his compositions he began to incorporate actual folk melodies that
he had gathered. In 1921 and 1937, Kodly and Bartk published two significant books on the subject of
Hungarian folk music. The quality and scholarship of these works caused them to receive worldwide
recognition in the field of ethnomusicology.
In later years Kodly was president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, president of The International
Folk Music Council, and honorary president of the International Society for Music Education. In addition to
his more than busy schedule, Kodly spent a lot of time visiting schools and talking to music educators.
He was actively involved in the development and refinement of music textbooks and other materials for
use in the classroom. On the day he died, March 6, 1967 he was to carry out one of his many school
visits.