The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1985 (12. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1985-02-01 / 2. szám
COMPOSER SPEAKS IN LANGUAGE OF MUSIC BAY VILLAGE — Janos Kiss had trouble learning English when he came to the United States following the 1956 Hungarian revolution. But that didn’t stop him from communicating with others in the language he masters — music. “My language is music,” said Kiss, who is a composer, conductor and teacher. Currently he is conductor and music director of the West Suburban Philharmonic Orchestra. Kiss believes that music is an international language, the only language that is the same all over the world. “Music is the best communication between people,” he said. “Everyone likes some kind of music, some tone or rhythm. All of life is a rhythm, just as the universe is.” Kiss, a native of Budapest, Hungary, came to the United States to settle in Cleveland in 1956. He received his musical education in Budapest and holds teaching and conducting degrees from the Bela Bartók Conservatory of Music and the People’s Educational Institute. From 1960 to 1964, Kiss studied the English language and music education science at Western Reserve University. “I was married here in 1963,” Kiss said. “Josie (his wife) is a real American, born and reared in Cleveland. She was my first English teacher, and she’s still teaching me. “I had good professors at Western Reserve, who later became good friends,” he said. “The language is no problem now, although some of my pronunciation is not the same. You see, the Hungarian language is not related to Latin or German or any other, so it’s difficult to learn a new language.” The walls of the composer’s studio are covered with honorary degrees, memberships in musical societies, pictures of world-renowned composers and conductors and letters of thanks from famous DeoDle. Queen Elizabeth of Great Britian sent a picture and letter of thanks for an original composition by Kiss, “In Homage,” which he wrote in her honor. Richard Nixon’s letter of thanks hangs next to it, for a composition honoring this country which Kiss wrote in 1973, when he became a United States citizen. Page 10 Many of his works — among them “Benedictus Dominus,” “Bauet for Harps” and “Praise the Lord Jesus with Didak Keleman” — have been broadcast on Vatican Radio. “Writing music is a mechanism of my inner feelings,” Kiss said. “People come to me and want to study music and I tell them that musical instruments are only tools, that a violin is just a bunch of wood and strings. The real music comes from inside. I never compose at the piano. It’s all inside my head and I just write it down.” The religious works that Kiss composes are ecumenical. He has composed for the Catholic church, the Lutheran church and is writing a choral work about John Calvin for the West Side Hungarian Reformed Church at West 150th and Puritas Road. The composition, using orchestra, harp and organ, will be presented at the dedication of the new pipe organ at the church, where Kiss is choir director. Kiss was music educator at the Cleveland Music School Settlement from 1964 to 1979. He has also taught at a number of other area schools “Music is much more than a bunch of notes,” Kiss said. So many times I can help the young with their problems. They may not be important problems, but they’re important to that young person. I find out in the first five minutes whether a student is troubled. First we have to make contact with each other, and when we have a good relationship, I can help him. “There must be peace and balance and the music must go inside. It’s just one way I can help, and I like to help people and be their friends.” By Eioise Neeson Sándor (Alexander) Körösi Csorna (1784-1842) Explorer, Compiler of English-Tibetian Dictionary. A European in Asia Aurel Stein A beehive of excited scholars was poring over the large-scale map of central Asia in a passionate debate over the border lines of the territories they had explored. They were trying to make themselves understood: Prznevalsky, Radlov and Khozlov in Russian, Sven Hédin in Swedish, Biihler, Hoernle and Grünewedel in German, Le Coq and de Rhins in French. For one group, however, language presented no problem. They spoke in their mother-tongue Hungarian. Sándor Körösi Csorna, Ármin Vámbéry, Lajos Lóczy and Béla Széchenyi, were listening to the words of an impeccably dressed gentleman with a moustache and a hard look—Sir Aurel Stein. To the world he was one of the greatest British scholars and archeologists but to Hungarians he was one of Hungary’s most famous travelers and explorers. Although the 120th anniversary of his birth is round the corner, laying hands on detailed information about his life and activity is no easy task, since Hungarian language accounts of his findings and explorations are rare collectors’ items. Stein began his studies at outstanding schools which determined his interest at an early age. After the Kreuz-Schule of Dresden he went Eighth Hungarian Tribe
