Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-01-01 / 1. szám
traveling back and forth from America. In the meantime his father revealed his inventive genius. In 1913, Dr. Wayditch secured a patent on 3-D Motion Picture Films. This great development, almost half a century ahead of its time, was rejected by the film industry because of “the necessity of wearing glasses.” Dr. Wayditch’s patent expired in 1930, and the inventor, who died in 1924, was not able to reap any rewards for his advanced thinking. It seemed almost as though the disappointments that haunted the father were to plague the son as well. Continuing Struggle Without financial backing, and unwilling to compromise the nature of his work just to fit in with what “society” expected from its composers, von Wayditch moved ahead with his grand operas. His themes were, truthfully, in a more or less classical tradition — stories about ancient Egypt (like Aida), about the Orient and the great deserts, and about religious matters — “Jesus Before Herod.” But it was in his treatment of the themes and in the nature of the music that von Wayditch encountered difficulties in getting production of his work. In 1938 von Wayditch took his opera “Horus” — a two and a half hour work — to the legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini. The Maestro took one look at the score — orchestrated for 110 musicians, and composed in what became von Wayditch’s typical “wild ultramodern” fashion — and stated that he “wouldn’t do it for a million dollars.” Not despairing, von Wayditch invested his own hard-earned savings, induced the conductor Fritz Mahler, cousin of the famous composer Gustav Mahler to lead the orchestra, and during 1938 the opera was produced with only 65 musicians. Critics wrote about “the terrifying score,” and the work was not sufficiently successful in its premiers performance to pay for subsequent engagements. This disaster left von Wayditch further in debt. Making a Living It was obvious that none of the great houses would be interested in presenting his operas. Von Wayditch, therefore, became a member of various chamber music groups and played on the radio, making appearances wherever possible. During this period he made the friendship of Bela Bartók. A curious commentary on the nature of von Wayditch's work is noted here. During a conversation with Bartók, von Wayditch acknowledged that he did not use a chorus in his opera “Horus.” Bartók seemed pleased with this, expressing scorn for those modern composers who clung to the “archaic” use of choruses except in very rare and special cases during operatic works. This gives us a glimpse of von Wayditch’s musical ideas. In some judgments this composer had notions of operatic creation very similar to those of the contemporary Robert Wilson, whose huge and amorphous opera “The Civil War” is being played throughout the world at present. Wilson makes use of film, varied lighting, and extraordinary special effects. The music for Wilson’s opera is composed by Philip Glass, one of the most avant-garde of modern composers. Von Wayditch's composition requires even more grandiose presentation — this is one of the reasons for the difficulty in securing backing and performance. Sunset Years Toward the end of his life — von Wayditch died in 1969 at his home in Baldwin, Long Island — the composer was hurriedly trying to bring to completion his largest and greatest work — “The Heretics.” This enormous opera, consisting of two parts, runs for eight hours. It is this masterpiece that is in the Guinness Book of Records. Accepting his fate — a composer destined never to hear the performances of the bulk of his life’s work — von Wayditch stated, “My music shall slowly start to rise only after my coffin goes down.” The New Day Gabriel von Wayditch’s legacy, in addition to the mass of unperformed music, includes a devoted and dedicated son, Walter von Wayditch. Walter has established, in Kew Gardens, New York, the Gabriel von Wayditch Music Foundation. This institution consists of a number of devoted followers of Gabriel’s music who, under Walter’s leadership, have been working steadily to keep the light of Gabriel’s genius burning. And now, almost twenty years after the death of the composer, things are moving in the direction of introducing his works to the world. Von Wayditch’s second opera, “The Caliph’s Magician”, has been recorded and distributed by the Budapest National Opera; the San Diego Symphony introduced von Wayditch’s third opera, “Jesus Before Herod”; the Egyptian Government is to present “The Caliph’s Magician” at the opening of the new Cairo Opera House. And finally, the New York Metropolitan Opera will perform “Horus” in the near future. It is to be hoped that the playing and presenting of these operas will create the interest and love of Gabriel von Wayditch and his works which were missing during the composer’s lifetime. There will be at least some compensation for his suffering and frustration when this old-new genius triumphs before the music-loving world. JANUARY 1987 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 7
