composer Zoltán Kodály

Zoltán Kodály (December 16, 1882 - March 6, 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist and philosopher.

Though born in Kecskemét, Kodály spent most of his childhood in Galánta and Nagyszombat (now Trnava, Slovakia). His father was a keen amateur musician, and Kodály 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, Kodály 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, Kodály 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 Béla Bartók, 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, Kodály went to Paris where he studied with Charles Widor. There he discovered, and absorbed influences 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.

Kodály 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 (Bartók's Dance Suite premiered on the same occasion.) Following this success, Kodály travelled throughout Europe to conduct his music.

Kodály 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 "Kodály 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 believed that singing should be the base of all music education. He believed learning music through singing makes music easier and be able to have the most direct path to the insightful understanding of music. Sol-fa is a system that uses syllables to represent the notes of the diatonic scale. This system helps in musical analys sight-singing and aural comprehension. Kodály didn't invent the Sol-fa system. Sol-fa was first developed as a teaching tool by aBenedictine monk, Guido of Arezzo, who made it from a Latin hymn which was written around 770 A.D. The best known aspect of the Kodály method is the hand signs which are based on the principles of Curwen.

He continued to compose for professional ensembles also, with the Dances of Marosszék (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 Háry János (1926) also became well known, though few productions of the opera itself take place.

Kodály 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 Kodály's death, the Kodály Quartet, a string quartet named in Kodály's honour, formed.

Dr. Shinichi Suzuki

Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, whose method for teaching music to the young spread throughout the world to hundreds of thousands of children, died at his home in Matsumoto, Japan, on January 26, 1998. The ideas Suzuki implemented have become a major force in music education, and his belief in teaching peace and understanding through music has gained worldwide acceptance. Dr. Suzuki^"s goal was to help children fulfill their capabilities as human beings. He said "Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens, noble human beings. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth, and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautifulheart."Suzuki built his ideas around the fact that children naturally and easily Suzuki built his ideas around the fact that children naturally and easily learn their native language. His approach to teaching violin was modeled after the way in which children learn language. He called it the Mother-Tongue Approach or Talent Education. In the supportive environment fostered by the Suzuki method, children learn to enjoy music and develop confidence, self-esteem, self-discipline, concentration, and the determination to try difficult things--qualities that are sorely needed in our time.The Method was introduced in the U.S. in 1964 when the first group of young Japanese violin students performed for the Music Educators^" National Conference and the American String Teachers^" Association. Though originally intended for the violin, the approach has been officially adapted for viola, cello, bass, flute, piano, harp, guitar, and recorder. Today thousand of parents and teachers in over 40 countries worldwide have joined Dr. Suzuki^"s effort to nurture loving human beings through the mother-tongue approach to music. Children the world over are now able to gather together and overcome linguistic and cultural barriers through the language of music and bringing Dr. Suzuki^"s dream to life. After hearing Suzuki children play, the great cellist Pablo Cassals remarked, "Perhaps it is music that will save the world."

Fearless at Four

The Suzuki Orff School for Young Musicians

Information on our classes in musicianship, violin, cello,flute, guitar and piano for children aged 3 and up. The Suzuki Orff School for Young Musicians is located on Chicago's near north side.