Articles by Initial Letters
A "Breuer-vita"
- Issue: 2015/x
- Starting page: 12
- Author: Breuer János , Kiss Dénes , Kónya Lajos , Vargyas Lajos , Vitányi Iván
- =>
Five articles from 1968-69 on the so-called ‘Breuer argument’.
Heated discussion between Vargyas Lajos and music critic Breuer János arose just before the first “Röpülj páva” Hungarian folk song contest was televised on Hungarian TV in 1969-70. Their discussions focused on issues surrounding the future of folk music, its support and preservation.
Titles of the articles are: “Where has folk song gone?”, “Do we need Hungarian folk song?”, “Folk song and society”, “Folk song’s future”, “Do we want folk song to live on?” They were originally published in the Hungarian journal “Élet és Irodalom”.
The article by Breuer János that set off the controversy begins like this [translated]: “At the mid-level finals of the [televised song talent contest] “Ki mit tud”, an opera singer competed against a Hungarian folk singer. The folk singer was girl from Vas County with a spicy and luscious voice, who without piano accompaniment belted out folk songs with a completely natural frankness and didn’t aspire to any more than what she could do. But she didn’t get as many points from the jury as the competitor that performed a soprano aria from Puccini’s Manon Lescout. Those waiting for me to praise the honorable jury’s decision will be disappointed – actually, I scold them……even the knowledgeable artistic director of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Rábai Miklos, voted for the opera….”
Heated discussion between Vargyas Lajos and music critic Breuer János arose just before the first “Röpülj páva” Hungarian folk song contest was televised on Hungarian TV in 1969-70. Their discussions focused on issues surrounding the future of folk music, its support and preservation.
Titles of the articles are: “Where has folk song gone?”, “Do we need Hungarian folk song?”, “Folk song and society”, “Folk song’s future”, “Do we want folk song to live on?” They were originally published in the Hungarian journal “Élet és Irodalom”.
The article by Breuer János that set off the controversy begins like this [translated]: “At the mid-level finals of the [televised song talent contest] “Ki mit tud”, an opera singer competed against a Hungarian folk singer. The folk singer was girl from Vas County with a spicy and luscious voice, who without piano accompaniment belted out folk songs with a completely natural frankness and didn’t aspire to any more than what she could do. But she didn’t get as many points from the jury as the competitor that performed a soprano aria from Puccini’s Manon Lescout. Those waiting for me to praise the honorable jury’s decision will be disappointed – actually, I scold them……even the knowledgeable artistic director of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Rábai Miklos, voted for the opera….”