Csaba Szabó

Csaba Szabó (1936-2003) was a Hungarian composer, musicologist, folk music researcher and teacher. He began his studies at the Marosvásárhely Conservatory under József Trózner, himself a student of Franz Schmidt, before going on to graduate from the Kolozsvár Academy of Music, where he studied under Gábor Jodál and János Jagamas.

His orientation and activities, both as a composer and a scientist, were governed by the traditions of Hungarian folk music and the musicology of his native Transylvania. The cause of Hungarian folk music, its teaching and preservation from generation to generation, as well as its study, are all important parts of his intellectual heritage.

He began his career as the conductor of the Marosvásárhely State Székely Folk Ensemble. As a composer, he played a role in establishing the ensemble’s repertoire between 1957 and 1967. From 1963 to 1987 he was a teacher at the István Szentgyörgyi School of Dramatic Art, where he taught music theory, music history and a subject called ‘rhythm and intonation of Hungarian speech’.

Between 1961 and 1987 he was a member of the Association of Romanian Composers and Musicologists. From 1979 to 1986 he was the head of the Marosvásárhely division of the Association of Romanian Composers and Musicologists. In 1987, when he told the Romanian authorities of his intentions to migrate to Hungary, he was sacked from his positions and his works were removed from the national repertoire.

After his move to Hungary, he taught at the Dániel Berzsenyi College in Szombathely from 1988 until his death in 2003. His compositions include songs, choral works, chamber works, symphonic works, masses and stage music.