Photographs of Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) in the Hungarian Museum of Photography – introduction

Zoltán Kodály is the son of Kecskemét. His native town is definitely proud of him, since an elementary music school was named after him during his life, where music has been and is still taught to children on the basis of the pedagogical method elaborated by him. After his death his home town establish the Kodály Institute, that unfalteringly promotes the reputation of the famous teacher and composer, and is the centre of the research of Kodály’s oeuvre. There was a sculpture too, which stood, until it was allowed to, on the main square.

But what else did Kodály have to do with Kecskemét? When he was born, his father was a stationmaster here, but let’s see how Kodály writes about it: „It is by accident that I was born in Kecskemét. And still there is something that makes me the son of this town. When I was six month old, my fate swept me away from here. As a young boy, my father brought me back here to show me my native town. While we were walking the streets, he stopped at a window and said to me: This is the place where I first saw your mother. If nothing else, this one and only feeling my father was seized by makes me the son of Kecskemét.” (Zoltán Kodály: Kecskemét, In: Kodály Zoltán: Visszatekintés (Looking back), volume 3, Budapest, Zenemûkiadó, 1989, p. 496.)

The life and oeuvre of Zoltán Kodály is well known, in contrast to the photographs taken of him during his life. Kodály was „lucky”: excellent photographers took pictures of him.

The Hungarian Museum of Photography (MFM) keeps more than two hundred photos of Kodály, from such artists like for example Károly Koffán, Irén Werner, Károly Gink, Klára Langer, Erzsébet Zinner, Marian Reismann and the photographer who photographed several years of his life with true artistic inspiration, László Vámos.

Among these pictures there are some masterpieces: the masterfully illuminated photos of Károly Gink and Edit Molnár, radiating with the force of spontaneity, as well as László Vámos’s series, about which the fellow photographer Gink spoke with the following words in his exhibition-opening speech: „I can clearly feel from these photographs, that Vámos did not take them during an off-handed afternoon of shooting, but he almost lived together with this man for a while, sharing troubles, grief and happiness with him for days and weeks. These pictures reflects the great reverence and human humbleness, László Vámos felt and expressed towards Zoltán Kodály.” (Károly Gink: For the opening of an exhibition (Egy kiállítás megnyitója elé), 1969)

Seeing this mass of photographs one might ask, how Kodály endured the almost ceaseless bustle around himself, since he was notoriously reserved and taciturn. A story of Piroska Novák, who is spending her professional practice at the museum as a photographer may answer this question. Piroska’s grandfather was in the escort of Kodály during the opening ceremony of the Elementary Music School of Kecskemét and after the event they all went out to have lunch. The company was in the middle of the meal when a little boy appeared at the tables, with a Pajtás camera in his hands, and asked Kodály if he could take some photos of him. Kodály interrupted his lunch and said yes. The boy asked him to move outside because the restaurant was not adequately illuminated for taking photographs. Kodály agreed to do so, so they went out, the little boy took a shot, then both of them went back to finish their meals.

Just a few minutes later the little boy was at Kodály’s table again, blushed all over, and said: „Mr. Kodály, I forgot to take off the lens cap”, Kodály was sympathetic – he was an amateur photographer too* – and walked out once again so that the boy could at last take the picture. *( The memorial of Béla Bartók Jr. (ifj. Bartók Béla visszaemlékezése), In: Így láttuk Kodályt (As we saw Kodály), Budapest, Zenemûkiadó, 1982, 29. old.)

We do not know what happened to this photo but one thing is certain: we do hope that the photographs on this CD will add something to the Kodály-image formed or just being formed in all those interested in his life.

Balázs Zoltán Tóth, employee.of the Hungarian Museum of Photography

Imprint:

Zoltán Kodály’s (1882-1967) Photographs in the Hungarian Museum of Photography

Publishing was made possible through the support of the Educational and Cultural Department of Mayor’s Office of Kecskemét

© pictures: Angelo, Ata Kandó, Sándor Bojár, Zoltán Forrai Endre Friedmann, Károly Gink, László Kemény, Gyula Kertész Károly Koffán, István Kotroczó, Klára Langer, Béla Liebmann Ödön Markó, Edit Molnár, Zsolt Nagy, Jenõ Papp, Márta Redner Marian Reismann, Miklós Rév, Endre Schwanner, Dezsõ Sziklai, Lászó Vámos, Irén Werner, Erzsébet Zinner and the copyright holders

English translation: Perfekt Fordító Iroda
Reproduktion: Csaba Endre, Per Bjerre, Szabolcs Salánki, Balázs Zoltán Tóth, Veronika Uhl
Cover design: Kálmán Fehér, Veronika Uhl

On the disc: Vámos László: Kodály Zoltán "80. születésnap" (1962) On the cover: Vámos László: Kodály Zoltán a Mátrában (1961) részlet
Angelo: Kodály Zoltán portréja (1936) részlet
Zoltán Forrai: Kodály Zoltán (1965) részlet

Hungarian Museum of Photography, 2005
Publisher: Károly Kincses, director
Printing: Color Fotó Digital Kft.