Hungarian American Children's Piano Literature for Beginners: a Newly Discovered Genre? (Accepted)

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Abstract (max. 250 words):
Bartók Béla composed a number of well-known piano pieces for children at the beginner-level, including Gyermekeknek (1908-9) and Mikrokozmosz (1926-39). He was prolific during his years in Hungary, but his immigration to the United States in 1940 signaled the end of an era for his children’s compositions. By contrast, a number of lesser-known Hungarian musicians began to write notable children’s piano works for beginners after immigrating to the United States. Not commonly played today and difficult to find in print, some of these piano works might be considered lost were it not for their recognition in an annual survey of the best quality new American children’s piano music published by the Music Library Association in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s. Among the recognized composers of beginners’ literature are Jámbor Ági, a student of Kodály; Balogh Ernő, a student of Kodály and Bartók; and Ágay Dénes, also a Liszt Academy graduate. Angela A. Chong proposes that these children’s pieces share markers of quality articulated by Kodály and Bartók, such as folk-music inspiration from both Hungary and the US, and might be considered their own genre of twentieth-century Hungarian American beginners’ piano literature. The pieces make a unique contribution to our historical understanding of the pedagogical practices of some of Kodály’s and Bartók’s students who later established themselves in the United States. This presentation is informed by Chong’s work with her own small children, teaching them Jambor’s “Three Pieces for One Piano, Four Hands” (1965) at home during COVID-19.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Angela A. Chong (née Wu) was a 2001-2002 U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Hungary, studying at the Kodály Intézet in Kecskemét. Her research under Dr. Ittzés Mihály culminated in a paper entitled, “Moral and Political Education and Kodály,” presented at the Hungarian Fulbright Commission’s 10th Anniversary Conference. Ms. Chong received her B.A. in Religion and Government at Harvard College, writing a magna cum laude thesis entitled, “Moral and Political Education: Twin Pillars of a Democratic, Pluralistic Society.” With a J.D. from Harvard, she now practices law in Los Angeles and teaches her 5- and 6-year-old children music using innovative Kodály-based pedagogies.