Ábrányi, Kornél
Ábrányi, Kornél
Ábrányi, Kornél, Hungarian pianist, pedagogue, writer on music, and composer, grandfather of Emil Ábrányi; b. Szengyörgyábrány, Oct. 15, 1822; d. Budapest, Dec. 20, 1903. He came from a wealthy family originally named Eordògh, which means “devil.” His father changed the name to Ábrányi, the name of his estate. He toured as a pianist throughout Hungary After studying piano with Fischhof in Vienna (1846–47), he went to Pest and studied composition with Mosonyi. In 1860 he helped to found the first Hungarian music journal, the Zenészeti lapok, which he edited until 1876. He also was founder-director of the National Assn. of Choral Societies (1867–88) and an asst. prof. at the Budapest Academy of Music (1875–88). Ábrányi took a major part in the formation and encouragement of the Hungarian national school of composition. His own works include much piano music, choral pieces, and songs. His most important writings include biographies of Mosonyi (1872) and Erkel (1895), Képek a múlt és jelenbl (Pictures from Past and Present; 1899), and A magyar zene a 19. században (Hungarian Music in the 19th Century; 1900). He also wrote an autobiography, Éle-tembl és emlékeimbl (From My Life and Memories; 1897).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire