Mátyás Seiber (1905-1960). Hungarian composer

Mátyás Seiber was a Hungarian born composer who worked in Britain. He studied cello with Adolf Schaffer and composition with Zoltan Kodály at the Liszt Conservatory, and his eclectic compositional style utilised a fusion of jazz and Hungarian folk songs with 12-tone composition and serialism. His most prolific works were his folk songs, which are informed by many cultures following his research tours with Kodály. They include French, Hungarian, Greek, American and Medieval tunes that informed the development of his melodies in larger orchestral works. His ballet The Invitation (1960) was commissioned by Kenneth MacMillan for The Royal Ballet Touring Company. Seiber’s score specifically focuses on the psychological turmoil of the characters in a state of distress and grief; the ballet became controversial because of its depiction of rape. The ballet premiered at the New Theatre, Oxford.