Márk Rózsavölgyi

Márk Rózsavölgyi (; born Mordecai Rosenthal; 14 August 1787 – 23 January 1848) was a Hungarian composer and violinist. He has been called “the father of csárdás”. Life and music Rózsavölgyi was born to a poor tradesman’s family in Balassagyarmat, where his bust (made by Jelena Veszely in 1973) can be found in the Palóc-parkland. His family is believed to have had klezmer connections. From the ages of 11 to 19 he worked as a clerk in Vienna, Pressburg (now Bratislava), and Prague, teaching himself to play the violin. Returning to Pest, he dedicated himself to music, composing in the Hungarian traditional styles, including the verbunkos. His first works were published in Pest in 1811; eventually he published over 200 works. In 1812, he was appointed conductor of the orchestra at the German Theater in Pest. Basing himself in Pest, he travelled through the Habsburg Empire for many years, including extended stays in Baja and Temesvár (now Timișoara, Romania). In 1824, he was made a regular salaried member of the Philharmonic Society of the county of Veszprém, and his name “Rosenthal” was Magyarized to “Rózsavölgyi” (both mean ‘rose valley’ in German (or Yiddish) and Hungarian respective