1882 | born on 16th December in Kecskemét (Hungary) |
1900 – 1904 | studies at the Conservatory in Budapest – among others composition as a student of Hans Kössler and linguistics at the University of Budapest |
1904 | trips to Bayreuth, Munich and Salzburg |
1905 | beginning of folk music research together with Béla Bartók which causes him to become one of the greatest Hungarian composers |
1906 | publication of the first collection of folks songs Twenty Hungarian Folks Songs |
1906/07 | move to Paris and Berlin where his compositions are strongly influenced by Debussy |
1907 – 1940 | Professor of theory and composition at the University of Music in Budapest |
1908 | trips to Switzerland and Italy |
| Kodály works as a critic for several Budapest newspapers and foreign magazines |
1910 | first concert performances in Budapest and abroad of 1st String quartet op. 2, Piano music op. 3, Sonata for violoncello and piano op. 4 etc. |
| marries the composer and pianist Emma Sándor who was his student |
1917 | publication of the study Pentatonik in der ungarischen Volksmusik |
1918 | first performances of Duo op. 7, Solo sonata op. 8, song cycle Verspätete Melodien op. 6, 2nd String quartet op. 10 |
1919 | leave from teaching for two years |
1921 | world premiere of 2 Gesänge op. 5 |
1923 | commission to write a composition for the 50th anniversary of the union of Buda und Pest (together with Bartók) – creates the work Psalmus Hungaricus op. 13 and the world premiere takes place in the same year. This composition earns him world-wide recognition. |
1925 | publishes ideas to reform teaching methods in singing and sight-reading |
1925 – 1932 | cycle of folk music arrangements Magyar népzene, published in 10 books |
| more works about folk music follow |
1926 | world premiere of Háry János in Budapest |
Ab 1927 | conducts in Hungary and abroad |
1945 | President of the State Art Council |
1946/47 | guest trips to England, USA and former Sowjet Union |
1946 – 1949 | President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences |
1957 | In honour of his 75th birthday he receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Budapest |
1958 | Member of the Belgian Academy of Sciences |
1961 | appointment as chief editor of the scientific magazine ‘Studia musicologica’ |
1967 | Zoltán Kodály dies on 6th March in Budapest |
