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The Hungarian pianist, harpsichordist and pedagogue, József Gát, was a one-time student of Béla Bartók.
József Gát taught piano and methodology at the Academy of Music in Budapest. He became interested in early instruments, and acquired an Ammer harpsichord and, assisted by an engineer friend, tried to install a discreet amplifier that touched the strings - similar to the guitar - so that there was no need for a complicated solution with microphone. To support the experiment, Neupert also provided an instrument. There later surfaced a spinet and a clavichord. This collection of instruments was then presented by József Gát at the great hall of the Academy of Music in 1955. Thus, the introduction of harpsichord culture to Hungary was associated with the name of József Gát. Although he concentrated on methodology all his life, he had an excellent sense for style and was familiar with the "soul" of the harpsichord.
József Gát rarely appeared on stage, but luckily enough the Hungarian recording company recorded with him Bach's Goldberg Variations in 1963 and works by François Couperin in 1966. Both were released on CD as part of Hungaroton's "Echo" series in 1999. He died at the early age of 54 in 1967. His book The Technique of Piano Playing (1954), later translated into four languages, was the first publication in Hungarian to contain several pages devoted to the harpsichord and the development of early keyboard instruments. |
