Sarasotai Magyar Hirmondó, 2003 (9. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
2003-11-01 / 9. szám
THE MESSENGER Newsletter of the Kossuth Club November, 2003. Vol. 9. No. 9. Statue of a Hungarian-born American Patriot. On October 11th a statue of Colonel- Commandant Michael de Kováts de Fabriczy was dedicated in Washington, D.C. to honor a Revolutionary War-era Hungarian patriot who had fought and died for America. Kováts, who had been a Hussar in his native Hungary, crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1777 and offered his services to the American Colonies fighting for freedom and independence from England. He became known as the father of the U.S. cavalry and was killed in the Battle of Charleston in 1779. The life-size bronze statue depicts a mortally wounded Kováts seated on his dying horse. Kováts is holding aloft the flag of the 13 American Colonies. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz attended the dedication ceremony at the Hungarian Embassy. He praised the U.S.-Hungarian military partnership and recalled Hungary’s gallant but unsuccessful attempt to free itself from Soviet rule in 1956. The First California Hussar Regiment provided the honor guard at the commemorative event. The Kossuth Club contributed $300 to the Michael Kováts Memorial Fund to help in the nationwide effort that made the project possible. The Liszt Academy’s Concert Tour in Florida. At the invitation of the Kossuth Club, eight members of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest will be touring Florida in November. Professor and Chair of the Opera Singing Department Éva Andor leads the group of artists who will perform in three concerts. On November 19th they perform in Dohnányi Hall on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee. The concert is dedicated to the memory of Ernst von Dohnányi, Hungarian composer, pianist and former director of the Liszt Academy, who was Professor of Music on the FSU campus from 1947 to his death in 1960. The late Bálint Vázsonyi, Dohnányi’s last piano pupil and biographer will also be remembered. The program features works by Hungarian composers Franz Liszt, Ernst von Dohnányi, Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály and Rezső Sugár. There will be two concerts in Sarasota. On November 21st there will be an operetta concert in the Sarasota Opera House (call 941-366-8450 for tickets) featuring Hungarian and Viennese operettas. Singers Gabriella Gál, Veronika Szabó, Gábor Bretz and Tibor Szappanos will be accompanied on the piano by Wanda Mazalin, Assistant Professor of Piano Accompaniment at the Academy. Pianist László Borbély and violinst Ernő Kállai complete the list of performers. On November 24th the Tallahassee concert will be repeated at The Church of the Redeemer (222 West Palm Avenue) and followed by a reception afterward in the Parish Hall. Tickets will be sold on the site. The concerts will benefit the Kossuth Scholarship Fund. You are cordially invited to kick off this holiday season listening to joyous music provided by the young artists of the Liszt Academy! 4
