“Who was \u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151?” someone asks. That’s a great question. Right here we stand before the \u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151 Bust. It commemorates a significant figure in Hungarian music. \u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151 was born in Szigetszentmikl\u00f3s on December 12, 1896. He passed away in Budapest on May 15, 1982.
\u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151 was a Hungarian composer, music pedagogue and conductor. He also researched folk songs. He began studying violin and piano early in life. From 1911 to 1915, he studied organ and music theory. This was at the Budapest Teacher Training Institute.
During World War I, \u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151 was captured by the Russians. He was a prisoner of war from 1916 to 1920. While in Russia, he directed a male choir and a symphony orchestra. In Tatarsk, he even founded a music school.
From 1921 to 1925, he studied composition at the Budapest Academy of Music. His teacher was Zolt\u00e1n Kod\u00e1ly. In the 1920s and 1930s, he collected Hungarian folk songs. In 1929, he became a professor at the Budapest Academy of Music. He led the choir and orchestra of the academy. He directed the orchestra until 1939. He led the choir until 1954. From 1933 to 1935, he studied conducting with Felix Weingartner in Basel.
From 1939 to 1959, he taught Hungarian folk music and choral conducting. He also taught methodology at the Music Academy. He headed the music teacher seminar. He was a professor of singing at the Music Academy from 1942 to 1957.
\u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151’s conducting career began in 1929. He conducted a performance of Haydn’s “The Seasons”. From that year until 1934, he was the Second Conductor. This was at the Budapest Choir and Orchestra Association. With the Budai Dal\u00e1rda men’s choir, he toured extensively. These tours took him to Yugoslavia, Germany, and Scandinavia. From 1935 to 1936, he led the Budapest Palestrina Choir. In 1941, he conducted the Hungarian premiere of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas”. He was a leading Hungarian conductor of Handel’s works.
From 1935, he worked closely with Kod\u00e1ly. Together, they reformed music education in Hungary. He also published a series of textbooks with Kod\u00e1ly. This made him a co-founder of the Hungarian music education system. In 1955, he was named a Merited Artist. In 1957, \u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151 received the Kossuth Prize.
Now you know more about the man memorialized by this \u00c1d\u00e1m Jen\u0151 Bust. He left a lasting impact on Hungarian music and education. His work continues to inspire.