Győrffy István
Composer
Place of Birth
Budapest
Date of Birth
1954
István Győrffy, composer, was born in Budapest in 1954. He graduated from the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music in 1972, as a student of József Soproni and Éva Bántainé Sipos, among others. In 1977 he graduated as a composer and music theory teacher at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where he studied with Professors Albert Semyonovich Lehmann and Yuri Nikolayevich Holopov.
From 1977 to 2018, he was a teacher at the Pécs Art High School, where he re-launched the composition department in 1987. He has also taught at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Pécs and its predecessor institutions (music theory, analysis, counterpoint, composition practice). After his retirement, he is a lecturer at both institutions.
He was awarded a ministerial commendation in 1985. Between 1987 and 1993 he was deputy conductor of the choir of the Evangelical Congregation of Pécs. Since 1988 he has served as Lutheran cantor in Egyházaskozár. In 1994 his textbook "A guide to Bach chorales" was published by the Tárogató publishing house.
Member of the National Music Committee of the Hungarian Evangelical Church.
Music:
- Chamber pieces for various arrangements
- Song cycles and choral works on poems by Lajos Kassák, Árpád Tóth, Gyula Sipos, Jenő Dsida, Barnabás Antal and old Japanese poets
- Organ and piano pieces
- Three symphonic episodes - for symphony orchestra (Diploma thesis 1977)
- Lutheran and Reformed congregational hymn arrangements for mixed and single-sex choir, wind chamber ensemble
- wind orchestra pieces, orchestrations
Writings:
- Harmonic guide to Bach chorales (Publisher: Tárogató, 1994)
- Classical Generalbass (Publisher: Rózsavölgyi - since 2009 3 Hungarian and one English edition)
- Articles, music theory studies and translations from Russian
Prizes and awards:
- Ministerial Commendation (1985)
- Golden Cathedral commemorative plaque (2011)
- Teacher's Service Medal (2018)
- Bonis Bona Award (2021)
- Diploma of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (2024)
From 1977 to 2018, he was a teacher at the Pécs Art High School, where he re-launched the composition department in 1987. He has also taught at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Pécs and its predecessor institutions (music theory, analysis, counterpoint, composition practice). After his retirement, he is a lecturer at both institutions.
He was awarded a ministerial commendation in 1985. Between 1987 and 1993 he was deputy conductor of the choir of the Evangelical Congregation of Pécs. Since 1988 he has served as Lutheran cantor in Egyházaskozár. In 1994 his textbook "A guide to Bach chorales" was published by the Tárogató publishing house.
Member of the National Music Committee of the Hungarian Evangelical Church.
Music:
- Chamber pieces for various arrangements
- Song cycles and choral works on poems by Lajos Kassák, Árpád Tóth, Gyula Sipos, Jenő Dsida, Barnabás Antal and old Japanese poets
- Organ and piano pieces
- Three symphonic episodes - for symphony orchestra (Diploma thesis 1977)
- Lutheran and Reformed congregational hymn arrangements for mixed and single-sex choir, wind chamber ensemble
- wind orchestra pieces, orchestrations
Writings:
- Harmonic guide to Bach chorales (Publisher: Tárogató, 1994)
- Classical Generalbass (Publisher: Rózsavölgyi - since 2009 3 Hungarian and one English edition)
- Articles, music theory studies and translations from Russian
Prizes and awards:
- Ministerial Commendation (1985)
- Golden Cathedral commemorative plaque (2011)
- Teacher's Service Medal (2018)
- Bonis Bona Award (2021)
- Diploma of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (2024)
| Title | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Madrigals to Poems by Jenő Dsida | Mixed choir | 1987 |
| 3 szimfonikus epizód | Symphony orchestra | 1977 |
| 4 Madrigals to Poems by Árpád Tóth | Mixed choir | 1975 |
| 5 Plaques | Choir and chamber ensemble | 1997 |
| Poem of the Little Red BZMOT | Instrumental solo | 2005 |
| The Pskovian Woods | Mixed choir | 2018 |
| The Heart Must Rise | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 2016 |
| The Fruitless Fig Tree | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 2014 |
| Amen dicto vobis | Mixed choir | 0 |
| Bonyhádi Booklet | Instrumental solo | 2005 |
| For Farewell | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| Confessione | Chamber Music | 1991 |
| Elegy and Choral | Instrumental solo | 2018 |
| Woodwind Quartet | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| Fantasy | Instrumental solo | 2000 |
| Whitework | Chamber Music | 2001 |
| Duos for Flutes | Chamber Music | 2004 |
| Alleluia | Choir with solo voice(s) | 0 |
| Six Songs to Lajos Kassák´s Poems | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 1976 |
| Violin Duets | Chamber Music | 1990 |
| Three Pieces for Cello and Piano | Chamber Music | 2013 |
| Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet | Instrumental solo | 2018 |
| Three Symphonic Episodes | Instrumental solo | 1977 |
| Three Pieces for Piano | Instrumental solo | 1981 |
| Three Pieces for Piano to the Memory of István Garamvölgyi | Instrumental solo | 1975 |
| Seven Choral Preludes | Instrumental solo | 2014 |
| Little Sextett | Chamber Music | 1979 |
| Little Trio | Chamber Music | 2013 |
| Chrysanthemums - 17 Old Japanese Haikus | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 1974 |
| Two Invocations | Chamber Music | 1985 |
| Hungarian Fantasy | Chamber Music | 1990 |
| Mediation | Chamber Music | 1993 |
| Motet to the Memory of Yuri Nikolaevich Kholopov | Choir with solo voice(s) | 2012 |
| Four Songs to Poems by Gábor Garai and Lajos Kassák | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 1973 |
| Four Songs to Poems by Lajos Parti Nagy | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 2007 |
| Partita | Orchestral work | 1995 |
| Partita | Instrumental solo | 2014 |
| Recitativo and Aria | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 2018 |
| Rondo | Chamber Music | 2004 |
| Siciliano | String orchestra | 1974 |
| Serenad of Szekszárd | Chamber Music | 1983 |
| Toccata | Instrumental solo | 1990 |
| Tornyaiáda | Chamber Music | 2004 |
| Triptych to the Memory of Imre Benyovszky | Chamber Music | 2002 |
| Ungaresca | Wind orchestra | 2010 |
| String Quartet | Chamber Music | 0 |
| Piano Pieces | Instrumental solo | 2018 |
| Zsolnay-Overture | Wind orchestra | 2025 |
| Song for a Home | Instrumental solo | 1995 |
| From Isaiah´s Verbs | Solo voice(s), choir & solo instrument(s) | 2007 |
| Gossamer | Mixed choir | 1985 |
| Five Pieces for Tuba and Piano | Chamber Music | 2012 |
| Festive Sounds for the Siklós Castle Festival | Wind orchestra | 1994 |
| Messages from Charon´s Boat | Chamber Music | 2018 |