Geza Zichy

Count Géza Zichy
(b Sztára, Hungary [now Slovakia], 23 July 1849; d Budapest, 14 Jan 1924). Hungarian pianist and composer.

Although he lost his right arm in a hunting accident when he was 14, he became a celebrated piano virtuoso and made frequent concert tours from 1880. He studied composition with Robert Volkmann and the piano with Liszt, who orchestrated his ballad Der Zaubersee (now lost), transcribed his Valse d’Adèle (originally for left hand) and wrote a preface to his Six études pour la main gauche seule (Paris, 1878); the two became intimate friends and performed together in benefit concerts. Zichy also attained prominence as a jurist and administrator in Budapest; between 1891 and 1894 he was Intendant of the Royal Hungarian Opera, his appointment precipitating Mahler’s resignation as music director. From 1895 to 1918 he was president of the National Conservatory. In 1911 he was elected to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, giving an inaugural address on Liszt (in Akadémiai Értesítő, Budapest, 1911). His music shows little individuality. His numerous piano pieces and transcriptions, written to enrich his concert repertory, are interesting chiefly for their use of specialized left-hand techniques. In addition to these and several choral and instrumental works, he wrote five operas to his own texts: Alár (produced in Budapest, 1896), Roland mester (Budapest, 1899) and a trilogy on the life of Rákóczi (Budapest, 1905–12); he also wrote a ballet, Gemma (Prague, 1903). He published two volumes of poetry and an autobiography.