What about Bartok and Kodàly?

Béla Bartok (1881-1945) and Zoltàn Kodàly (1882-1967)  both made undeniably important contributions in the fields of ethnomusicology and music education throughout their careers as Hungarian composers (Brincker and Brincker 2004, 586). It seems like a natural extension, then, that the National Arts Centre would want to celebrate the careers of both Bartok and Kodàly. Therefore, before discussing if and how the busts of these composers should be displayed, we should discuss the contributions of these composers and any controversial political affiliations.

Béla Bartok’s career in music centered around travelling to rural areas of Hungary to learn Hungarian folk tunes from their source in an effort to define a Hungarian musical style rooted in these folk tunes. These efforts contributed greatly to the creation and development of the field of ethnomusicology (Brincker and Brincker 2004, 586). Without Bartok, we wouldn’t have musicologists studying, transcribing, and spreading folk music that has been passed down through generations orally for thousands of years. His efforts also contributed substantially to creating a sense of Hungarian cultural identity, by defining a Hungarian national style that included both folk elements and elements of Western musical style (Brincker and Brincker 2004, 587). The inclusion of Hungarian folk tunes in musical genres suitable for orchestral performance in the eyes of Western music culture provided Hungarians with a sense of cultural identity through the dissemination of their folk music to symphonic stages worldwide (Brincker and Brincker 2004, 587). While we cannot say whether or not Bartok was a supporter of the Hungarian Communist Party as he died before they truly took control of Hungary, we do know that Bartok was vehemently anti-Nazi and incredibly outspoken of his disapproval of the Hungarian government’s relationship with Nazi Germany (Dreisziger 2005, 289). Regardless of Bartok’s political affiliation, his music was still appropriated by the Hungarian Communist Party and he was listed as one of their approved composers (Rockwell 1982).

Zoltàn Kodàly, on the other hand, was an outspoken supporter of the Hungarian Communist Party and Soviet political goals. Furthermore, he worked with them to develop the music curriculum for state-funded schools (Hooker 2013, 134). Kodàly is best known today for his theories on music education, including the belief that music was for everyone and the development of important pedagogical tools such as moveable-do solfege (Hooker 2013, 133). These theories and tools for music education inspired the creation of the Kodàly Method, a popular framework for music education. Despite Kodàly working as a state-funded and supported composer, he was not necessarily unproblematic for the Hungarian Communist Party.  The Communist regime had an official anti-nationalism stance. However, Kodàly’s extensive use of Hungarian folk tunes in both his compositions and his music curriculum were inherently nationalist (Hooker 2013, 133 ). Luckily for Kodàly, his popularity with the people of Hungary made it nearly impossible for the Hungarian Communist Party to punish him only for using Hungarian folk tunes in his music (Hooker 2013, 133).

Much like we discussed with Pál Pátzay, Kodàly’s alignment with the Hungarian Communist Party may have been the only way he could compose with Hungarian folk tunes and promote a Hungarian cultural identity through music without risking punishment by the government. Music and music education in Communist Hungary, just like visual art discussed earlier, was state-controlled (Hooker 2013, 136). Music education in state-funded schools in Communist Hungary required students to listen to, learn, and perform music by both Bartok and Kodàly (Fulford 1997). As a result, many Hungarian-Canadians who attended these state funded schools before fleeing to Canada are reminded by the trauma that they experienced in Hungary when they hear music from these composers (Fulford 1997). The possibility of Hungarian-Canadians re-living trauma when they view these busts without any acknowledgement of the horrors of the Communist regime that many Hungarians fled is therefore another important point of view to consider when deciding how and if we should display busts celebrating the careers of Bartok and Kodàly.