Ödön Pártos facts for kids
Ödön Pártos (born October 1, 1907, in Budapest – died July 6, 1977, in Tel Aviv) was a famous Hungarian-Israeli violist and composer. He won the important Israel Prize for his work. He also taught music and was the director of the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, which is now called the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Music Studies
Ödön Pártos was born in Budapest, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He loved music from a young age and studied at the famous Franz Liszt Academy of Music. There, he learned to play the violin from Jenő Hubay and studied how to compose music with Zoltán Kodály.
After finishing his studies, Pártos became a lead violinist in an orchestra in Lucerne, Switzerland. He then played in other orchestras across Europe, including in Berlin. In 1934, when Hitler came to power in Germany, Pártos returned to his hometown of Budapest. He became the lead violinist in the city's symphony orchestra.
Joining the Palestine Orchestra
In 1936, a musician named Bronisław Huberman started the Palestine Orchestra. This orchestra helped Jewish musicians who had lost their jobs in Europe. Huberman wanted Pártos to join. However, Pártos had a contract to teach violin and composition in Baku, Azerbaijan, which was part of the USSR at the time.
Pártos left the USSR in 1937 because he refused to join the Communist Party. He went back to Budapest and continued to play with the orchestra and tour Europe. Huberman then invited Pártos to a meeting in Florence, Italy, and offered him the main violist position in the Palestine Orchestra. Pártos turned down other offers and moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1938 to join the orchestra.
Leading Music Education
From 1938 to 1956, Pártos was the main violist for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He also performed many solo concerts in Israel and other countries. In 1946, he helped start the Samuel Rubin Israel Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. This school is now known as the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.
Pártos also helped create the Thelma Yellin High School of Art in Tel Aviv in 1959. In 1951, he became the director of the Rubin Academy. He held this important role until he passed away.
His Music and Legacy
Ödön Pártos is considered one of the most important Israeli composers. In 1954, he was the very first person to receive the Israel Prize for music.
Pártos, along with his friends and fellow composers Alexander Uriah Boskovich and Mordecai Seter, believed that Israeli music should include local sounds and cultural influences. Many students learned from Pártos, including Cecylia Arzewski, Dvora Bartonov, Menahem Breuer, Ilan Gronich, Rami Solomonow, Rivka Golani, Uri Mayer, Rami Bar-Niv, Yehoshua Lakner, Avraham Sternklar, Shelemyahu Zacks, and Noa Blass.
Awards and Recognition
- In 1954, Ödön Pártos was given the Israel Prize for his contributions to Music.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
- List of Hungarian Jews
- Pártos
