János Decsényi was born in Budapest in 1927.
He studied composition with Rezső Sugár at
the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music in
Budapest, and with Endre Szervánszky at the
Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest (1952–
1956). He received his undergraduate degree
in composition in 1957. In 1956, he was a prizewinner at the Vercelli Composers’ Competition
in Italy, going on to be award-winner of the
Erkel Prize in 1975 and receiving the Hungarian
Critics’ Prize in 1981 and 1991. Since 1986, he
has been awarded the title of Merited Artist and
since 2009, Honored Artist. His interests cover
a broad spectrum of musical genres: symphonic and chamber music, choral
works, film scores, music for radio and theaters, as well as electroacoustic
works. It was his idea that sparked the creation of the renowned “Ars Nova”
broadcast-series for the Hungarian Bartók Rádió; still running to this day, it
broadcasts a daily 60 minutes of contemporary classical music. Decsényi’s
most notable achievements, include: the Erkel Prize (1975); “Diplome” – a
l’occasion du centième anniversaire de la naissence de Zoltán Kodály “votre
activité créatrice” (Comité Commemorativ Zoltán Kodály, 1982); Merited Artist
(1986); Bartók–Pásztory Award (1999); Vox Electronica Prize of Hungarian
Broadcast (2002); Gold Certificate of Past Fifty Years (Liszt Academy of Music
in Budapest, 2008), and Honored Artist (2009).
STAGE WORKS
Joyful Brigade – Little Operetta (1951)
Don’t You Back, Orpheus – Sketch of a Little Opera (1959), 1 Act Lib: György Rácz
CANTATAS, ORATORIC WORKS
Old Hungarian Texts – Scenes for Soprano, Basso, Two Pianos and Chamber
Ensemble (1988) Lib: Péter Bornemisza, György Bessenyei, Sándor Petőfi,
József Eötvös and Unknown Authors of Old Sources SR: HCD 31713
Farewell to a Vanished Century – Oratorio on Lines by 20th Century
Hungarian Poets (2001), solos voices, SATB, children’s chr., symph orch.
Lib: Endre Ady, Mihály Babits, Gyula Illyés, Attila József, László Nagy,
Ottó Orbán SR: HCD 32372–73
Távolról a Mostba/From Far Away to Present – Cantata for Bass and Chamber
Ensemble (2002) Lib: Endre Ady
Four Preludes to Saint-Exupéry (2004), narr., SATB, chbr. orch. Lib: SaintExupéry
Earth Unknown – Cantata for Baritone and Two Pianos (2008) Lib: Kristóf
Csengery
Apocrypha-Cantata (2019), MS, T, wind instr. Lib: Composer
Leselkedő magány/Solitude Watching – Cantata (2020), T, str. quartet
Lib: Jenő Dsida
CONCERTOS
Concertino (1957), vl., youth str. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Divertimento per clavicembalo e orchestra da camera (1960) Pub: UMP EMB
Variations for Piano and Orchestra (1976) SR: SLPX 12122 Pub: UMP EMB
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1984) Pub: UMP EMB
ORCHESTRAL WORKS
Suite (1961), youth str. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Ten Etudes (1962), youth str. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Sinfonietta per archi (1963), youth str. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Öt Csontváry-kép/Five Csontváry Pictures – Variations for Full Orchestra
(1967) Pub: UMP EMB SR: SLPX 12122, HCD 32372–73
Melodiae hominis – per orchestra da camera (1971) Pub: UMP EMB
Commentary to Marc Aurel (1973), 16 str. instr. Pub: UMP EMB SR: SLPX 12122
Concerto Boemo (1976), symph. orch.
Concerto grosso (1978), chbr. orch.
“Who Understands the Chirp of the Cricket?” – Sound Game with Variations
to Chamber Orchestra and Tape (1983) [Transcribed for piano and tape:
“A tücsökszóra emlékszel-e még?”/“Do You Remember the Chirping of
Crickets?” (1994)]
Symphony, No. 1 (1986), symph. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Symphony, No. 2 – Vocis imago (1991), symph. orch.
Symphony, No. 3 – The 23rd Letter (2006), Bar, SATB, symph. orch. Lib: Old
Hebrew and Aramean Texts
Symphony, No. 4 – In Shakespeare’s Footsteps (2013), Bar, pno., symph. orch.
CHAMBER WORKS
Two Movement for Violin and Piano (1949)
Trio for Wind Instruments (1952), 2 cl., bs.
Sonatina pastorale (1956), fl., pno. Pub: UMP EMB SR: HCD 32578
String Quartet, No. 1 (1979) Pub: UMP EMB SR: SLPX 12556
A harmadik/The Third (1985), 15 str. inst. Pub: UMP EMB
Sonata concertante – For Violoncello and Piano (1991)
Trio divertimento – The Three Kings of Bethlehem (2007), 2 cl., bs.
CHORAL WORKS
Three Elegies (1956), 2 SATB Lib: Salvatore Quasimodo
Three Madrigals on Folk Texts (1956), SATB
Ballad of Endre Ságvári (1958), children’s chr., chbr. orch./pno. Lib: János
Kövesdi Pub: EMB
Song of Balaton (1958), female chr., chbr. orch. Lib: Ernő Rossa
Álomba dúdoló/Humming to Sleep (1966), female chr., pno. Lib: György Végh
Songs of Kati – European Folk Song Arrangements (1966), children’s chr.,
youth orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Tréfás dal/Funny Song (1967), children’s chr., chbr. orch. Lib: Béla Kapuvári
SR: BLKA CD 001
Two Spring Songs (1968), female chr., pno./chbr. orch. Lib: Zseni Várnai,
Ferenc Jankovich Pub: KÓTA
Three Little Choruses (1971), children’s chr. Lib: Lőrinc Szabó SR: BLKA CD 001
Two Little Choruses (1973), children’s chr., pno. Lib. Sándor Weöres Pub:
Népművelési Propaganda Iroda SR: SLPX 31102, SLPX 31128
Ének a piros fejfákról/Song of the Red Tombstones (1975), SATB, pno.
Lib: József Fodor
Little Picture – Book of Animals (1978) children’s chr., chbr. orch./pno.
Lib: Sándor Weöres Pub: Népművelési Propaganda Iroda
Gyermektemető/Churchyard of Children (1985), male chr. Lib: Gyula Juhász
Congedo – Three Choruses (1997–2009), SATB, solo instr.(s) Lib: György
Czigány, Rainer Maria Rilke, Giosuè Carducci
Carmina puerorum (2010–2011), children’s chr., pno. Lib: Composer, György
Czigány, László Győri, Anna Szabó T., Folk Texts from Collection of
János Kriza
Epitaph (2011), 2 SATB Lib: Rainer Maria Rilke Pub: UMP EMB
Dark Words – From the Old Aquincum (2018), SATB, cl.
VOCAL WORKS
Love – Five Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra (1957) Lib: István Vas,
Sándor Weöres, Miklós Radnóti, Ferenc Jankovich, Jenő Dsida [Diploma
Work]
Barbarian Songs (1958), Bar, pno. Lib: Sándor Weöres
Metamorfosi (1964), S, pno.
Three “Pol-beat” Song – Score of Peter Wolf (1967), Bar, chbr. orch.
Gondolatok – nappal, éjszaka/Thoughts – by Day, by Night – Reply to Th. W.
Adorno (1973), S, symph. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Epitaph from Aquincum (1979), S, electric org., str. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
SR: SLPX 12556, HCD 32372–73
Folk Song (1981), solo vocal, str. orch. Pub: UMP EMB
Shades and Flames – Songs and Duets to Poems by Sándor Weöres (1998),
S, T, pno.
Frauengesänge (1998–2008), MS, pno. Lib: Friedrich Schiller, Heinrich Heine,
Rainer Maria Rilke (Transcribed for MS, pno., str. orch., perc. in 2008)
“When you are Old” – Two Songs to Poems by Pierre de Ronsard and William
Butler Yeats (1998), Bar, pno.
Des Dichters R. M. Rilke Begegung mit dem Tod (2001–2011), T, pno., chbr.
ens. [Rewrited for T, chbr. ens. in 2010]
Eszedbe jutok-e még/Do I Still Come to Your Mind? – Two Womenmonologues (2002) MS, str. quartet Lib: István Ágh
Blind Texts (2004), S, A, T, B, chbr. ens. Lib: Kristóf Csengery
“While” – For Words of a Pop-Song (2010), female, male voice, pno. 4 hands
Quintet for Wind Instruments with Inlay (2014) voice, fl., ob., cl., hn., bs.
Lib: St. Paul
Postludium – Scenes from a Newer Century (2015), female, male voices, chbr.
ens. Lib: György Czigány
Sotto pretesto di Michelangelo – Cinque movimenti per tenore e trio ad arco
per i versi dell’artista (2016)
“Ars poetica” – Poem of Sándor Weöres (2018), Bar, str. quartet
SOLO WORKS
Sonatina (1958), pno./harps. Pub: EMB
Sonata for Violoncello (2017)
ELECTROACOUSTIC WORKS
Three Soundscapes, No. 1–3 (1987–1991), tape SR: HCD 32449 (No. 1)
Book of Verses (1994–2000), narr., voice, tape Lib: Sándor Weöres, Percy Bysshe
Shelly, Christian Morgenstern, José-Maria de Heredia, Aldo Palazzeschi
SR: HCD 31624 (Movement, No. 2), HCD 32347 (Movement, No. 3)
“Is it Better with Cranes?” – Symphony on the Hungarian Plain Hortobágy
(1996), narr., folk singer, vl., YAMAHA DX-7, tape SR: HEAR 101
French Nostalgies (2002), T, harps./synth., electronics Lib: Gerard de Nerval,
Paul Verlaine
Narratives (2005–2006), electronics SR: HCD 32637 (Part No. 2)
INCIDENTAL MUSIC
A rabló/The Robber (1963) Lib: Karel Čapek
Ellopták a holdat/The Moon Was Stolen (1964) Lib: Ludvík Aškenazy
Iphigénia a tauruszok között/Iphigenia in Taurus (1964) Lib: Euripides
Parancsra tettem/I Did It on Order (1964) Lib: Samuel Lewitt
Trójai nők/The Trojan Women (1965, 1985) Lib: Euripides – Jean-Paul Sartre
Magyar Élektra/Hungarian Electra (1966) Lib: Péter Bornemisza
Tévedések vígjátéka/Comedy of Errors (1968) Lib: William Shakespeare
Csizmás Kandúr/Puss-in-Boots (1975) Lib: Eszter Tóth
Odüsszeusz/Odysseus (1982) Lib: Béla Horgas
Kalevala (1984) Lib: Ákos Koczogh
A vihar/The Tempest (1988) Lib: William Shakespeare
Rámájana (1989) Lib: Dezső Szilágyi
RADIO PLAYS
A 79-es sofőr/Driver, No. 79 (1959) Lib: Indridi G. Thorsteinsson
A mezei muzsikus/The Country Musician (1959) Lib: Ákos Tordon
Földrakéta/Earth Rocket (1980) Lib: Gyula Németi
Az utolsó kocsiban/In the Last Carriage (1960) Lib: Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Lucullus a bírák előtt/The Trial of Lucullus (1961) Lib: Bertolt Brecht
Herkules és az Augiász istállója/Hercules and the Augean Stables (1962)
Lib: Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Vívódás/Struggle (1962) Lib: András Berkesi
Hotel Universum (1963) Lib: Miklós Gyárfás
Az év első napja/New Year’s Day (The First Day of the Year?) (1963) Lib: Péter
Bokor
Gombóc/Dumpling (1963) Lib: Ágnes Bálint
A japáni halászok/The Japanese Fishermens (1964) Lib: Wolfgang Weihrauch
Az akharnabeliek/The Acharnians (1964) Lib: Aristophanes
Puntilla úr és a szolgája, Matti/Mr? Puntilla and his servant, Matti (1965)
Lib: Bertolt Brecht
Határidőnapló/Calendar? (Desk Diary?) (1965) Lib: Max Gundermann
A hetvenkedő katona/The Boasting Soldier (1966) Lib: Plautus
Hellász/Greece (Ancient Greece?) (1967) Lib: Percy Bysshe Shelly
Csaló az üveghegyen/Imposter in Glass Mountain (1967) Lib: Éva Fésűs
A szamár árnyéka/The Donkey’s Shadow (1967) Lib: Friedrich Dürrenmatt
A nők ünnepe/Lysistrata (1968) Lib: Aristophanes
Halmazállapotámia/The Land of Physical States (1969) Lib: Ivan Hribar
A bögre/The Pot? (The Mug?) (1969) Lib: Plautus
A kérők/The Suitors (1970) Lib: Károly Kisfaludy
Élektra (1970) Lib: Sophokles
Peer Gynt (1971) Lib: Henrik Ibsen
Az ember tragédiája/The Tragedy of the Man (1972) Lib: Imre Madách
Kleofás (1974) Lib: Ivan Cankar
A mi erdőnk alján/Under Milk Wood (1975) Lib: Dylan Thomas
Cyrano de Bergerac (1976) Lib: Edmond Rostand
Zalán futása/The Flight of Zalán (1977) Lib: Mihály Vörösmarty
Heilbronni Katica (1979) Lib: Heinrich Kleist
Az elvarázsolt testvérek/The Enchanted Children (Siblings?) (1980)
Lib: Evgeny Schwartz
Bizánc/Byzantinum (1986) Lib: Ferenc Herczeg
Újszövetség/New Testament (1987) Lib: László Bozó
