The Hungarian P.E.N.-Le P.E.N. Hongrois No. 8. [antikvár]

THE HUNGÁRIÁN P.E.N. LE P.E.N. HONGROIS N° 8 * 1967 DÁVID CARVER MEETING ZOLTÁN KODÁLY It was in October 1960 that I first met Zoltán Kodály*. I had arrived the previous day —a Sunday—to pay a visit to Hungary of somé ten days as the guest of the Hungárián P.E.N. Knowing of my deep interest in music my thoughtful hosts had arranged for me to spend an evening at the House of the Musicians' Federation, and it was there I encountered the strikingly distin-guished figure of the great composer, with his long, still luxuriant hair, white close-trimmed beard and quizzical yet penetrating gaze. Kodály presented me to his young wife, and we three sat on a sofa together and listened to a programme of music, mostly of Kodály's composition, per-formed by talented artists of whom I particularly remember the charming, sensitive soprano Judith Sándor and the accomplished pianist Péter Solymos. Before becoming International Secretary of P.E.N. I pursued an active career as a baritoné singer and had alsó written a number of songs which had enjoyed a measure of success, and which I performed frequently myself. Kodály in conversation that evening showed a keen interest in my work as a musician and even expressed a wish to see somé of my songs. It was an evening of keen and deeply satisfying enjoyment and this and the visit I paid later in my stay to the Hungárián Academy of Sciences where I was introduced to the Folk Music Research Group by the great composer, proved the highlights of this my first stay in your beautiful country. I have always been deeply interested in Folk Music and have sung many folk songs myself and was, needless to say, well aware of the wonderfül work Zoltán Kodály had done for the folk heritage of his native country, first in collabora-tion with Béla Bartók, his great contemporary, and then with other devoted colleagues. * Mr Carver's address was delivered at the Kodály Memóriái Evening of the Hungárián P.E.N. Club on May 12, 1967.