István Kardos

István Kardos was born on 6 June 1891 in Debrecen (Hungary), the son of the lawyer and writer Samuel Kardos. From 1910 he studied composition and choral conducting under Viktor Herzfeld at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, graduating in 1913. At the same time he also completed a law degree.
After his studies Kardos worked as a pianist, accompanist and conductor. In 1913 he accompanied the young violinist Ibolyka Gyárfás on a concert tour through Italy. From 1918 to 1919 he was employed as a répétiteur and chief librarian at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest, and from 1919 to 1924 he taught at the private Fodor Music School. During these years he also began to establish himself as a composer. In October 1921 his symphonic fantasy "Ünnep" was performed by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra under Ernst von Dohnányi.
In 1922 Kardos married the opera singer Olga Váradi. Three years later the couple moved to Germany, with temporary engagements in Switzerland, where Kardos worked as a conductor at the Municipal Theatre in Bern. He subsequently settled in Berlin and, from 1929, directed the vocal ensemble "Five Songs". In 1932 he founded his own vocal quartet, the "Kardosch-Sänger", which became successful through numerous gramophone recordings, radio broadcasts and film appearances. In German-speaking countries Kardos also used the name Stephan Kardosch.
Following the rise of National Socialism, Kardos came under increasing pressure because of his Jewish ancestry. In 1935 he and his wife were forced to leave Germany and returned to Hungary. From 1936 to 1937 he worked as a conductor at the Csokonai Theatre in Debrecen and subsequently at various theatres in Budapest. From 1939 onwards, antisemitic legislation made it increasingly difficult for him to obtain employment. During the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Kardos and his wife went into hiding in Budapest with forged identity papers. They survived the persecution, but numerous members of his family were murdered during the Holocaust.
After the Second World War Kardos resumed his musical activities, initially working as a pianist for Hungarian Radio. From 1949 to 1957 he taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and from 1952 to 1963 also at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts.
Kardos continued to compose throughout his life. His extensive output includes four symphonies, six string quartets, two piano concertos, numerous orchestral and chamber works, and several hundred songs and choral compositions. He was particularly interested in setting poetry to music, frequently using texts by Hungarian poets such as Sándor Petőfi, Endre Ady, Attila József, Dezső Kosztolányi and Gyula Illyés. Several collections of his songs were published during the 1960s. In 1971 he received the Gold Grade of the Hungarian Order of Merit of Labour.
István Kardos died on 22 December 1975 in Budapest (Hungary).

In my possession is a collection of nine autograph music manuscripts by István Kardos, each signed by the composer. The manuscripts contain settings for voice and piano of poems by six Hungarian poets, most of them composed between 1963 and 1966.

The collection includes:

Nem háborítom-e nyugalmad… (text by Sándor Petőfi, undated)
Nem hiszem (text by Gyula Illyés, 1963)
Zsolozsma (text by Sarolta Lányi, 1964)
Dúdoló (text by Sarolta Lányi, 1964);
Tücsök (text by István Pákolitz, 1964)
Szerelem (text by István Pákolitz, 1964)
Ódon ónémet cifra óra (text by Dezső Kosztolányi, 1964)
Önző (text by István Pákolitz, 1966)
Áldásadás a vonaton (text by Endre Ady, undated)

The manuscript of Szerelem is dated Budapest, while the other manuscripts do not indicate a place of composition. The final blank page of "Áldásadás a vonaton" includes a crossed-out musical sketch with the opening of another composition by Kardos, titled "Malagabor".

Three of the compositions can also be traced in contemporary publications. "Nem hiszem" was published in the collection "14 dal" in 1966, while "Áldásadás a vonaton" and "Ódon ónémet cifra óra" appeared in "Irodalmi sanzonok", published in 1965. Furthermore, "Áldásadás a vonaton" is documented as having been performed on 23 April 1963 in Budapest by the singer Etelka Kürthy, accompanied at the piano by the composer himself.