Gonda János
piano
Place of Birth
Budapest
Date of Birth
1932
11 January 1932 Budapest - 10 March 2021
Jazz pianist, composer, music historian, music teacher, a dominant figure of the Hungarian jazz scene.
János Gonda studied music at the musicology department of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Budapest (1953-1958) being pupil of Bence Szabolcsi and Dénes Bartha. Between 1956 and 1961 he also studied piano with Péter Solymos and Zoltán Horusitzky.
He worked as music director at the Hungarian Record Company (1961-1964). In 1962 he founded the group "Qualiton" and recorded the first album of the "Modern Jazz" album series. He performed in a number of formations and recorded albums in solo, with his sextet and with the Gonda-Kruza Quartet that was established in the late '60s. He was regularly invited to abroad and had concerts in Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. In 1965 and 1972 he spent a longer period in Australia as guest performer.
In 1965 he organized the Jazz Department of the Béla Bartók Secondary School for Music and for many years he also directed the department, which first became department of the Teacher Training Institute of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Budapest (1990) and then of the Music Academy. Between 1972 and 1984 he was vice president, and then from 1984 he's been board member of the International Jazz Federation. He was also board member of the Association of Hungarian Musicians and director of its jazz department. He is honorary president of the Hungarian Jazz Federation that was founded in 1990.
His compositions are mainly jazz tunes but he has also composed soundtracks, musicals, songs, theatrical music and dance music, as well as a symphonic jazz work titled Australian Concerto. His activity as art and educational manager is significant, too. In 1993 he established the International Creative Music Teaching Institute of Tatabánya, where he is art director at the moment. He regularly holds master courses and lectures at foreign universities, and he edited the professional magazine "Jazz" for two decades. His books "Jazz - History, Theory, Practice" (1965) and "What is jazz?" (1982) are considered as classics of the Hungarian jazz literature.
Prizes:
1974 Erkel Prize
1987 Pro Arte Budapest Award
1992 Officer's Cross of Merit of Order of the Hungarian Republic
1993 Gábor Szabó Prize
1996 Leó Weiner Prize
2000 MAOE Artist Grand Prize
2001 Pro Budapest Award
2002 Middle Cross of Merit of Order of the Hungarian Republic
2011 András Pernye Prize
2012 Széchenyi Prize
Jazz pianist, composer, music historian, music teacher, a dominant figure of the Hungarian jazz scene.
János Gonda studied music at the musicology department of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Budapest (1953-1958) being pupil of Bence Szabolcsi and Dénes Bartha. Between 1956 and 1961 he also studied piano with Péter Solymos and Zoltán Horusitzky.
He worked as music director at the Hungarian Record Company (1961-1964). In 1962 he founded the group "Qualiton" and recorded the first album of the "Modern Jazz" album series. He performed in a number of formations and recorded albums in solo, with his sextet and with the Gonda-Kruza Quartet that was established in the late '60s. He was regularly invited to abroad and had concerts in Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. In 1965 and 1972 he spent a longer period in Australia as guest performer.
In 1965 he organized the Jazz Department of the Béla Bartók Secondary School for Music and for many years he also directed the department, which first became department of the Teacher Training Institute of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Budapest (1990) and then of the Music Academy. Between 1972 and 1984 he was vice president, and then from 1984 he's been board member of the International Jazz Federation. He was also board member of the Association of Hungarian Musicians and director of its jazz department. He is honorary president of the Hungarian Jazz Federation that was founded in 1990.
His compositions are mainly jazz tunes but he has also composed soundtracks, musicals, songs, theatrical music and dance music, as well as a symphonic jazz work titled Australian Concerto. His activity as art and educational manager is significant, too. In 1993 he established the International Creative Music Teaching Institute of Tatabánya, where he is art director at the moment. He regularly holds master courses and lectures at foreign universities, and he edited the professional magazine "Jazz" for two decades. His books "Jazz - History, Theory, Practice" (1965) and "What is jazz?" (1982) are considered as classics of the Hungarian jazz literature.
Prizes:
1974 Erkel Prize
1987 Pro Arte Budapest Award
1992 Officer's Cross of Merit of Order of the Hungarian Republic
1993 Gábor Szabó Prize
1996 Leó Weiner Prize
2000 MAOE Artist Grand Prize
2001 Pro Budapest Award
2002 Middle Cross of Merit of Order of the Hungarian Republic
2011 András Pernye Prize
2012 Széchenyi Prize
| Year | Title | Publisher | Code | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Modern jazz IV-V. - Anthology 64 | Hungaroton | LPX 7279-80 | |
| 1967 | Modern jazz VI. - Anthology 67 | Hungaroton | LPX 17372 | LP |
| 1968 | Modern jazz VII. - Anthology 68 | Hungaroton | LPX 17392 | LP |
| 1969 | Modern jazz VIII. - Anthology 69 | Hungaroton | LPX 17406 | |
| 1976 | Sámánének | Pepita | SLPX 17484 | |
| 1999 |
Gonda János - Berkes Balázs: Képek, emlékek
(Pictures, Memories) |
Binder Music Manufactory | BMM 9904-26173630 |
Own |