Hungarian quartet plays at Doon School

Dehradun, April 23
After performing to full house in Mumbai and Pune, the famous Hungarian chamber ensemble Kodály String Quartet has several programmes lined up in Dehradun.
They gave a charming performance at the Rose Bowl of Doon School here today. The quartet played classical pieces of Beethoven, Mozart and Franz Peter Schubert.
Facilitated by the Dehradun chapter of SPICMACAY and the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre (New Delhi), the quartet’s visit to Dehradun is to provide the younger generation a glimpse of the rich Hungarian classical music tradition.
“The Kodály Quartet was established in 60s as a tribute to the legendary Zoltán Kodály, who was not only an excellent composer but also a chronicler of the Hungarian folk songs. In his lifetime, he roamed the villages, busy collating old folk songs written nowhere but often heard song by people of that time. Later, he simplified learning of music by giving sound names based on tonality. The pedagogue developed by him is popular in schools across the world,” said Erika Toth, a violinist in the quartet.
Buoyed by the response that the quartet received in Pune and Mumbai, the ensemble members say, “Even though were told about the limited audience for the western classical music in India, the audience in Mumbai and Pune was quite responsive and floored us with their minute observations, “ said János Fejérvári, the viola player of the quartet.
The leader of the string quartet, Attila Falvay and the first violin player joined the Kodály String Quartet in 1980. He said, “We never had a chance to play with the Indian classical musicians.
There is lot of improvisation even in the Indian classical music but this cannot be said about the chamber music that we play. We adhere to the principle of sight-reading and sight-playing,” he added.
The fourth member György Eder performed on cello.