Hungarian Heritage Review, 1989 (18. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1989-02-01 / 2. szám
-----------^Mungartan^mmcan Profile... THE TRANS ATLANTIC CONDUCTOR OR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS ISTVÁN JARAY Music, as the old saying goes, is the international language. It comes as no surprise, then, that through music there has been a linkage between Hungary’s Budapest and Pennsylvania’s Johnstown. And the means for this joining of the two cities - and, indeed, the two nations - has been the music director and conductor of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, István Jaray. Commenting upon his selection to conduct both the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Savaria Symphony Orchestra in Hungary, Jaray says: "After guest conducting in Italy a f ew years ago ... I found that although we live in an age of jet travel, there is still a definite division between the American and European musical worlds. Because choosing guest conductors on the basis of letters or other papers can lead to enormous problems, the ‘entrance’from one musical world to another must ultimately be made through a personal contact." "I found that contact this past season when Csaba Onczay, the noted Hungarian cellist appeared with the Johnstown Symphony on his annual American tour. Mr. Onczay was quite impressed with Johnstown, the quality of the or - chestra, and my work as its conductor. When he returned to H ungary, Mr. Onczay recommended me to his colleagues, and that opened the door to further conversation while I was travelling abroad this past summer. To my greatest joy, two Hungarian orchestras have István Jaray engaged me for the upcoming season." On his trip to Europe last month, Jaray scheduled programs that featured music by American composers, particularly that of Aaron Copeland and George Copeland. Jaray is both enthusiastic and optimistic about the results of his visit to Hungary: "I am Hungarian, I studied in Hungary; my musical roots are in Hungary, but I grew up professionally in America. And so it is with great pleasure that I return to Hungary to conduct the music of the country that is now my home." In addition to the sheer pleasure of revisiting his homeland and conducting there, however, Jaray feels that this international relationship will have important, positive repercussions for both nations: " 7 accepted this offer with much anticipation. It is a great honor for me to be invited; it can also be the beginning of something wonderful for our city. I hope this relationship will mature to the point where, as ‘sister-orchestras’, we will be able to invite their conductor here; perhaps one day we can even exchange orchestras." István Jaray’s musical journey to Johnstown began in Sarostapak, Hungary. Here he began his study of the violin at the age of five. At the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest, Jaray studied with, among others, the great Zoltán Kodály. Leaving Hungary in 1956, Jaray settled in London where he received a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, studying both the violin and conducting. During the period between 1959 and 1965, Jaray was assistant concertmaster of the world famous Sadler’s Wells Opera Orchestra; it was also during this period that he founded his own company, the ‘Opera Comique,’ which was dedicated to the performance of chamber music. In 1969, after a sojourn in Canada, Jaray finally came to the United States where, in 1967, he joined the faculty of music at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. And it was in 1984 that he accepted the post of Music Director of the Johnstown Symphony. Interestingly, for the opening concert of the Sixtieth Season of the Johnstown Symphony, Jaray had as his guest artist, the brilliant young Hungarian - American pia - nist, Diana Kacso, whose story has been told in the pages of the "Hungarian Heritage Review." 10 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW FEBRUARY 1989
