Ernst von Dohnányi, 2022

This Week in Classical Music: July 25, 2022.  Dohnányi, Conductor and Composer.  Ernst von Dohnányi (Ernő Dohnányi in Hungarian), was born on July 27^th of 1877 in Pozsony, now Bratislava, Kingdom of Hungary, then part of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Ernst von Dohnányi is the German version of his name and how he used to sign his compositions.  Dohnányi studied the piano and composition at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music (and convinced his friend, Béla Bartók, to join him there).  In 1898, one year after he graduated, the conductor Hans Richter took Dohnányi to London where he played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 4 to great acclaim.  He was also composing (Brahms liked his Op. 1, a Piano Quintet), and by 1900 the young Dohnányi was acknowledged as the greatest Hungarian pianist-composer since Liszt.  He became friends with the famous violinist Joseph Joachim, 46 years his elder; Joachim invited Dohnányi to Berlin, to teach at the Hochschule für Musik.  In 1915 Dohnányi returned to Budapest where he embarked on a very ambitious program of reshaping the musical life of Hungary, first as the Director of the Budapest Academy, and then in the position of Music Director of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.  He promoted the music of Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Leo Weiner and other Hungarian composers, and also played extensively, for example, performing all of the piano works of Beethoven, and taught at the Academy.  Among his students were Annie Fischer, Georg Solti, Georges Cziffra and many other musicians who later made big careers.  In 1934 Dohnányi was again appointed Director of the Academy of Music while keeping his position at the Philharmonic Orchestra. 

These were difficult times in Hungary, which was ruled by Miklós Horthy, an autocrat and semi-fascist.  Hungary was anti-Semitic under Horthy, but became murderous once Germany occupied it and replaced Horthy with a “real” fascist, Ferenc Szálasi.  564,000 Jews out of the 825,000 pre-war population perished during the Holocaust.  (This history is vividly depicted in a poignant 1999 film Sunshine made by the renowned Hungarian director István Szabó; we highly recommend it).  Dohnányi was an anti-Nazi and tried to help Jewish musicians.  In 1941, with anti-Semitism gaining steam, he quit the Academy of Music rather than following the demands of anti-Jewish legislation.  At the Philharmonic Orchestra he kept all his Jewish musicians till after Germany occupied Hungary in March of 1944 and his position became untenable.  He also helped several Jewish musicians to escape Hungary.  In November of 1944 Dohnányi moved to Austria, then under the Nazi regime and part of Germany, and that lead to the unfair and unfounded criticism that somehow Dohnányi was pro-Nazi, which haunted him for years.  Despite the support and testimonials from his Jewish friends, these rumors made Dohnányi‘s life in Europe difficult and were the reason that Dohnányi emigrated to the US.  He settled in Tallahassee and taught at Florida State University.  He continued to compose and conduct, and died in New York in February of 1960 while making a recording of Beethoven’s piano sonatas.

As composer, Dohnányi was rather conservative, following the Romantic traditions of the 19^th century.  Still, his chamber music is of very high quality.  Here for example, is his Serenade in C Major for String Trio, Op. 10, from 1902.  It’s performed by the Spectrum Concerts Berlin.  And here’s is his Konzertstück op.12.  János Starker is the soloist, with the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Walter Süsskind in this 1956 recording.  As conductor Dohnányi was famous for his interpretation of the music of Béla Bartók, which shows how open-minded Dohnányi was, as the music of his friend was different from his own in every possible way.