Different Improvisations. Controversies, Concepts and Ideologies in Hungarian Composition of the 1970s

Dalos, Anna (2025) Different Improvisations. Controversies, Concepts and Ideologies in Hungarian Composition of the 1970s. In: Musik-Diskure nach 1970. Musikforschung der Hochschule der Künste Bern (19). Ergon, Baden-Baden, pp. 363-370. ISBN 978-3-98740-227-2

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Abstract

A budapesti Új Zenei Stúdió improvizációs gyakorlata körül kialakult vitákról szóló tanulmány. | This paper explores the experimental New Music Studio in Budapest, founded in 1970, which introduced American experimental music to Hungary, especially John Cage’s ideals. It discusses the Studio’s collective improvisation techniques, which were initially met with scepticism by Hungarian composers like Zsolt Durkó, Rudolf Maros and András Mihály, who preferred structured composition over free improvisation. This paper delves into the differences between composed improvisation and free improvisation, focusing on Hungarian composers born in the 1930s and the role of improvisation in their works. The Studio’s collective improvisations, although perceived as experimental, were meticulously planned and later used in compositions by the members of the group, among them Péter Eötvös, Zoltán Jeney, Zoltán Kocsis, László Sáry and László Vidovszky. Despite these innovations, Hungarian composition continued to find a balance between fixed structures and improvisation, thereby reflecting the broader cultural and political dualities of the time.

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