Sarolta Péczely

Sarolta Péczely Kodály (born 5 November 1940) is a Hungarian singer and associate professor. She was the second wife of composer Zoltán Kodály from 1959 until his death in 1967.[1]

Biography

Sarolta Péczely was born in Dombóvár on 5 November 1940. Her father, László Péczely, was a literary scholar and a teacher at the Royal Catholic Esterházy Miklós Nádor High School in Dombóvár.

At the age of five, she won a folk song singing competition in her hometown. This was where she first met Zoltán Kodály, who was staying in Dombóvár between 23 November 1945 and 8 January 1946.[1]

She completed her primary schooling in Dombóvár at the St. Ursula Order's educational institution, then completed secondary school in Pécs, graduating in 1958. Wishing to continue her studies in Budapest, she was admitted to the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where she studied singing and choral conducting under Ilona Andor. Her father, who knew Kodály personally, asked the composer for help in obtaining student accommodation in the capital.[2]

Kodály had lost his first wife, Emma Sándor, on 22 November 1958. After a year of mourning, on 18 December 1959, the 77-year-old composer married Péczely, who was 19 at the time. Kodály died in 1967 at the age of 84.[1]

Sarolta Péczely Kodály studied in Berlin between 1970 and 1980 at the Hanns Eisler School of Music as a student of Dagmar Freiwald-Lange. Later, she taught at the University of Theatre and Film Arts and at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, attaining the title of associate professor. She has regularly held master classes and recitals in Japan, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the United States, in addition to Hungary.[2]

Memberships

Founding member

  • Zoltán Kodály Music Pedagogy Institute, Kecskemét
  • Zoltán Kodály Memorial Museum and Archive, Budapest

Awards and recognitions

Further reading

  • Eősze, László. Kodály Zoltán életének krónikája [Chronicle of the life of Zoltán Kodály]. Budapest: Zeneműkiadó, 1977. ISBN 9633301793
  • Székely, András (ed.). Ki kicsoda a magyar zeneéletben? [Who's who in the Hungarian music scene?]. 2nd ed. Budapest: Zeneműkiadó, 1988. ISBN 9633306728
  • Takács, Istvánné. Arcok Dombóvárról [Faces from Dombóvár]. 2000.
  • Bónis, Ferenc. Élet-pálya: Kodály Zoltán [Career: Zoltán Kodály]. Budapest: Balassi, 2011. ISBN 9789635068302

References

  1. ^ a b c Koltai, Bojtor (5 November 2025). "A Kodály-hagyaték szimbolikus koronaőre Születésnapján köszöntjük Péczely Sarolta énekművészt, Kodály Zoltán özvegyét" [The symbolic guardian of the Kodály legacy: We congratulate singer Sarolta Péczely, widow of Zoltán Kodály, on her birthday]. Nemzeti Archívum (in Hungarian). Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Zoltán Kodály Mrs. Sarolta Péczely". Csaba Szabó International Society. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "A díszpolgári címmel 2018. évben kitüntetett személyek bemutatása" [Presentation of the persons awarded in 2018 with the title of honorary citizen]. Dombóvár (in Hungarian). Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  4. ^ "Péczely Sarolta". dombopedia.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 8 January 2026.
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