Egon Kenton

Egon Francis Kenton (born Egon Ferenc Kornstein; May 22, 1891 – December 3, 1987) was a Hungarian and American musicologist, violist, music librarian, and educator born in the Transylvanian village of Nagyszalonta, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Salonta, Romania) on May 22, 1891 and died in Paris on December 3, 1987. Kenton began studying viola and violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music (known at the time as the National Royal Hungarian Academy of Music) in 1905 and graduated in 1911. Upon graduation he played in the , known simply at the time as the Hungarian Quartet, or as Kenton remarked, “the old one—the first Hungarian quartet.” Kenton’s tenure with this group led to encounters and friendships with some of the most significant composers of the twentieth century. The group performed Claude Debussy’s Quartet in Budapest with the composer in attendance, who was so impressed that he arranged for them to perform the work again in Paris. On his trip to Paris, Kenton became well-acquainted with Debussy and his family, having recounted instances of the French composer’s penchant for sarcasm. Of a performance by a well-known Hungarian pianist, Debussy commented, “‘I myself can’t go t