Around the Music Festival

Hungarian composer and conductor Eötvös Péter died on March 24 in Budapest at the age of 80. One of the leading figures in the world of composition, he also conducted numerous orchestras as a conductor. He was also an active educator, giving master classes and workshops for young composers and conductors in many parts of the world.

He was born on January 2, 1944 in Szekay udvarhely, Transylvania, Romania, which was then a Hungarian territory. After studying composition at the Budapest Conservatory, he studied at the Cologne University of Music from 1966 to 1968.

He influenced by his encounter with Karlheinz Stockhausen, he performed regularly with his ensemble (1968-1976), and from 1971 he served as electronic music advisor to the West German Broadcasting Cologne (1971-1979).

He became familiar with Japanese culture through his collaboration with the Stockhausen Ensemble at the 1970 Osaka World’s Fair, and was inspired by Yukio Mishima, who committed suicide in 1970, to compose “Harakiri” in 1973.

In 1978, He was invited by Pierre Boulez to conduct the inaugural concert of IRCAM (French National Institute of Acoustic Music). This led to his appointment as music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain (-1991).

As a composer, his style is characterized by a sophisticated fusion of a wide range of musical materials, from traditional Western music to contemporary music, electronic music, and folk music. In the 1990s and after, the success of large-scale works such as “Atlantis” for voice and orchestra in 1995 and the opera “Three Sisters” in 1997 established his international reputation.

In 2002, he released “IMA,” a sequel to “Atlantis,” and in 2004, “Angels in America,” based on Tony Kushner’s play of the same name. In 2006, he presented “Seven” for violin and orchestra in memory of the Columbia astronauts, and in 2008, “Lady Saracina,” based on “The Diary of a Young Girl,” both of which were highly acclaimed.

Recently, in 2021, he conducted the premiere of the opera “Sleepless Night” at the Berlin State Opera, and was selected as “World Premiere of the Year” by the German opera magazine “Opernwelt”. In the 2023/24 season, his 13th opera and first Hungarian work, Valska, will be premiered at the Hungarian National Opera.

Since his conducting debut at the “BBC Proms” in 1980, he has conducted various orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1985-1988), the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (2004-2005), and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2003-2007).

As an educator, he founded the “International Eötvös Institute” in Budapest in 1991; in 2004 he founded the private “Peter Eötvös Foundation for Contemporary Music”, which since 2013 has been part of the Budapest Music Center. He was a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Karlsruhe (1992-1998, 2002-2007) and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Cologne (1998-2001).

PHOTO：HarrisonParrott　/　Csibi


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