Rezső Sugár

Erkel and Kossuth Prize laureate Rezső Sugár (1919–1988) was a Hungarian composer and music educator. His father was the organist and choir master of the Church of St Emeric, Budapest. He started his studies at the academy of music in 1937, at the age of eighteen, in the composition class of Zoltán Kodály. He earned his teaching diploma in 1942. Between 1943–1946, he taught at a secondary school, and then at the conservatory and the academy of music. Between 1968–1979, he was head of the composition programme of the Liszt Academy of Music. Generations of artists acknowledge him as their master.

As is the case with several of Kodály’s pupils, his oeuvre is marked by a strong influence of the master, in whose tradition he worked, maintaining the Hungarian national style. Whilst characterized by an original flavour, his works are often inspired by folk music. He worked in a variety of genres, writing symphonic and chamber music pieces, oratorios, and works for the piano. Heroic Song, an oratorio, is one of his best-known compositions.