Ede Reményi or Eduard Reményi (January 17, 1828

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

May 15, 1898

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

) was a Hungarian violinist and composer. His birth date is disputed, and variously given from 1828 to 1830.

Biography

Reményi was born in

, Hungary, as Eduard Hoffmann. He studied under

Joseph Böhm Joseph Böhm (; 4 April 1795 – 28 March 1876) was a Hungarian violinist and a director of the Vienna Conservatory. Life He was born in Pest, to a Jewish family. He was taught by his father and by Pierre Rode. His brother Franz Böhm (1788 ...

at the Vienna Conservatory from 1842 to 1845. Banished from Austria for participation in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

, he went to Germany, where he befriended the 15-year-old

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

and introduced him to Hungarian music. Pursued by German authorities, he fled to the United States in December, 1849. He returned to Europe in 1852, toured with Brahms in 1853, and then sojourned for a time at Weimar, where he received the benefit of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

's instruction and friendship. In 1854 he became solo violinist to Britain's

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. He obtained his amnesty in 1860 and returned to Hungary, being soon afterward appointed soloist to Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. He then retired for some years. While born Eduard Hoffmann, he started using the name Ede Reményi by the time of the Revolutions of 1848, and his entire family followed suit sometime by 1862. In 1865 he made a brilliant tour through France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland. From 1871 to 1877 he was in Paris, whence two years later he proceeded to London and then to the United States (where he took up residence), Canada, and Mexico. A concert tour round the world was undertaken by him in 1886, in the course of which he visited Japan, China,

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...

, and the Cape of Good Hope. He died during a concert he was giving in

in 1898, aged 70.''

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', 5th ed., 1954, vol. VII, pp. 122–123 Reményi made numerous transcriptions of piano pieces such as Chopin's

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

es,

polonaise The polonaise (, ; , ) is a dance originating in Poland, and one of the five Polish folk dances#National Dances, Polish national dances in Triple metre, time. The original Polish-language name of the dance is ''chodzony'' (), denoting a walki ...

s, and

mazurka The Mazurka ( Polish: ''mazurek'') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character defined mostly by the prominent mazur's "strong accents unsystematically placed on the seco ...

s, and pieces by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, and others, all of which were published under the title of '. Among his original compositions is a Violin Concerto.

Gallery

E Remenyi and J Brahms.jpg, Ede Reményi and

(1852) Reményi Ede.jpg, Ede Reményi (1856) Ede Reményi concert program, Boston, 1891.jpg, His concert program in Boston (1891)

Bibliography

*
Gwendolyn Dunlevy Kelley and George P. Upton, Edouard Remenyi Musician, Litterateur and Man, A. C. Mclurg, 1906

References

External links

* * * Robert W. Eshbach: "Reményi Before Brahms" http://josephjoachim.com/2014/09/29/remenyi-before-brahms/ 19th-century births 1898 deaths 19th-century composers 19th-century Hungarian people 19th-century classical violinists Hungarian male classical violinists Musicians from the Austrian Empire Hungarian classical violinists Emigrants from the Austrian Empire to the United States Hungarian Jews Jewish classical composers Jewish Hungarian violinists Jewish violinists People from Miskolc Musicians who died on stage 19th-century Hungarian classical composers Hungarian male classical composers 19th-century Hungarian male musicians 19th-century Hungarian musicians 19th-century American musicians 19th-century American composers {{Hungary-composer-stub