László Lajtha

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László Lajtha (IPA: /ˈlaːsloː ˈlɒjtɒ/) (in Hungarian Lajtha László) (30 June 1892 – 16 February 1963) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist and conductor.

Born in Budapest, Lajtha studied in that city and then in Leipzig, Geneva and finally Paris where he was a pupil of Vincent d'Indy. After the First World War, Lajtha taught at the Budapest Conservatoire and the National Academy. In collaboration with Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, he undertook the study and transcription of Hungarian folk song, heading up a project to produce a series of folk music recordings.

After the Second World War, Lajtha was appointed Director of Music for Hungarian Radio, a post from which he was later dismissed (and his own music largely suppressed) due to his support for the 1956 uprising.

Lajtha's works include

nine symphonies
ten string quartets
three ballets: Lysistrata (1933), The Grove of the Four Gods (1943) and Capriccio (1944)
an operetta: The Blue Hat (1950)

along with many other orchestral, chamber and solo instrumental works, church music and film music.

Lajtha is regarded as the foremost Hungarian symphonist. Awareness of his music has however suffered, both in Hungary and abroad, as a result of its suppression under the Communist regime and a ban on Lajtha travelling abroad which denied him performance opportunities, and it is only in recent years that his reputation has begun to be established as one of Hungary's most important composers.