Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-01-01 / 1. szám
GABRIEL VON WAYDITCH: THE HUNGARIAN GENIUS TIME FORGOT Gabriel von Who? Just look at this: Composer of fourteen Grand Operas! Composer of “Hudson River” — declared the official song of the New York Bicentennial Celebration in 1976. (Note: The song was never performed at any of the Bicentennial festivities!) Opera JESUS BEFORE HEROD performed and recorded by the San Diego Symphony in 1979! Operas recorded in their entirety under agreement with the Hungarian government — 1974! Opera THE CALIPHS MAGICIAN to be performed for the grand opening festivities for the new Cairo Opera House —■ 1988-89! Mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records: “The Heretics” 'by Gabriel von Wayditch, a Hungarian-American, is orchestrated for 110 pieces and lasts m hours.” (The Longest Opera)! Who is This Man? It is logical, isn't it, to assume that a man who has created so much, a man who has been called a “dormant genius and giant” and whose work has been hailed as “ein Meisterwerk — a masterpiece!" — that such a man would be known throughout the world — or at least the musical part of it? Of course, it is logical to think so. But, as has been written: “Even the most unfortunate of the masters had some sort of recognition during life, but Wayditch. though he was absolutely prolific, was nevertheless a complete unknown. ” The world regards it as a tragedy when it is revealed that Von Wayditch at age: 29 During the Creation of His 2nd Music Drama: ‘The Caliph’s Magician’ in the New York of 1917. some play, novel, painting or piece of sculpture by an ancient master is lost, destroyed, or simply never discovered. The world would shake its head sadly if it were revealed that some great natural resource — oil, coal, gold or even water — lay in some inaccessible place, so that its benefits could not be tapped for use. But is it not an even greater tragedy and loss when the monumental works of one man, already written and ready for performance, are simply buried and forgotten through nothing more than neglect? This is the story of a man, creator of a body of works exceeding that of Wagner, Mozart, Beethoven and other giants of music, who is simply unknown. And it is, in addition, the tale of the ongoing struggle to rectify the great injustice that has been done. Origins On December 28, 1888, in Budapest, a son was born to the eminent Dr. Aloysius Wayditch von Verbovac, Professor of Physics at the University of Pecs, and his wife, the former Baroness Helena von Donhoff. This youngster was named Gabriel; his early leanings indicated that a life of music would be his. Gabriel was graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied composition with musicologist Hans Koessler, teacher of Hungary’s two great composers, Kodály and Bartók. Young Gabriel went on to become conductor at the Royal Orpheum Theater while he was still in his early teens. Young Wayditch’s genius brought him and his work to the attention of many outstanding musicians and conductors; he completed work on his first opera, “Opium Dreams,” and the director of the Budapest Opera House, when he saw the still uncompleted work, declared the score “worthy of a master!” Hard Times The presperity and social position of the von Wayditch family were lost as a result of bad investments and the loss of holdings in the coal mines of Silesia. Dr. Wayditch, now separated from his wife, left Hungary with his son, and in 1911 the two sailed into New York Harbor to take up residence in the United States. A Father’s Genius Gabriel encountered continuing difficulty with his music and his composing. He had to earn his living playing in ships’ orchestras and —continued next page 6 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JANUARY 1987
