Hevesi András (1942–2009) karmester, zeneszerző: Emlékkönyv
András Hevesi (1942–2009) conductor, composer: Memorial book

Author(s): Anna Tüskés, Tamás Aknai, Csaba Varga, Katalin Keserü, Kristóf Weber, Sándor Balatoni
Contributor(s): Anna Tüskés (Editor)
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Music, Visual Arts, History of Art
Published by: Pécsi Tudományegyetem Művészeti Kar Művészettörténet Tanszék
Keywords: composer; theater; cultural life of Pécs; Csiky Gergely Theater; Pécs Ballet; modern Hungarian musical; theatrical culture
Summary/Abstract: This memorial volume presents the life and artistic legacy of the Hungarian conductor and composer András Hevesi (1942–2009), one of the last great representatives of the traditional theatre conductor profession in Hungary. The book combines scholarly studies, personal recollections, interviews, photographs, reviews, and archival documents in order to reconstruct his multifaceted career and cultural influence. Born in Zalaegerszeg, Hevesi came from a cultivated but politically persecuted family whose difficult postwar circumstances deeply shaped his worldview, artistic ethics, and lifelong attachment to Hungarian culture. Despite poverty and political discrimination during the socialist era, he pursued musical studies in Pécs, working numerous manual jobs while developing extraordinary musical talent and intellectual curiosity. His artistic career unfolded in three major phases associated with Pécs, Kecskemét, and especially Kaposvár, where he served for more than three decades as conductor and composer at the Csiky Gergely Theatre. Hevesi worked across a remarkable range of genres, conducting operas, operettas, musicals, ballet productions, puppet theatre performances, and experimental stage works while also composing original scores and arrangements. The volume emphasizes his important contribution to Hungarian theatre music, including productions such as West Side Story, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, and numerous classic operettas by Lehár, Kálmán, Huszka, and others. Special attention is devoted to his close connections with the artistic and intellectual circles of Pécs, his involvement in jazz culture during the 1960s, and his collaborations with choirs, literary stages, and the Pécs Ballet. The contributors portray Hevesi as an exceptionally charismatic, generous, and independent-minded artist whose work was driven more by artistic integrity and human relationships than by career ambition or public recognition. Overall, the book argues that András Hevesi’s oeuvre occupies a unique place in modern Hungarian musical and theatrical culture, deserving broader scholarly recognition and preservation for future generations.

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