International Kodály Society

International Kodály Society

Megosztás

Zoltán Kodály, music, education
Since its foundation in 1975, the Society has been serving as an i

The International Kodály Society is active in 34 countries and has Affiliated National Organizations in 16 countries. It was founded in 1975 in Kecskemét, Hungary to promote the musical, educational and cultural concepts associated with Zoltán Kodály for the benefit of music generally and in particular for the educational advancement of youth.

09/08/2026

65 éve, 1961 augusztusában választotta elnökévé Kodály Zoltánt a Nemzetközi Népzenei
Tanács (IFMC – International Folk Music Council).
Megválasztása a magyar népzenekutatás nemzetközi rangjának elismerése is volt, mint
reflektál erre Richter Pál írása a Magyar Zene 62. évfolyamának 2. számában. Elnökként azt
az elvet képviselte, hogy a népzenekutatás a nemzeti kutatóműhelyek együttműködésére
kell épüljön, ösztönözte a tudományos alapkutatásokat, a hiteles hangfelvételek gyűjtését és
közzétételét, valamint hozzájárult ahhoz, hogy az etnomuzikológia egyre inkább a zene
társadalmi és kulturális összefüggéseit is vizsgálja. Az ő elnöksége idején rendezhette meg
Budapest az IFMC 1964-es konferenciáját, amely tovább erősítette Magyarország
nemzetközi szakmai tekintélyét. A döntés kölcsönösen gyümölcsözőnek bizonyult: a Tanács
világhírű, nagy tekintélyű vezetőt nyert, Kodály Zoltán pedig nemzetközi fórumok egész
során fejthette ki véleményét a népzene megőrzésének és kutatásának fontosságáról.
A képen 1960-ban látjuk Kodályt, Londonban.

Sixty-five years ago, in August 1961, Zoltán Kodály was elected President of the International Folk Music Council (IFMC).
His election also signified international recognition of Hungarian folk music research, as reflected in Pál Richter’s article published in issue 2 of volume 62 of Magyar Zene. As president, Kodály advocated the principle that folk music research should be built upon the cooperation of national research communities. He encouraged fundamental scholarly research, the collection and publication of authentic sound recordings, and contributed to the development of ethnomusicology as a field increasingly attentive to the social and cultural contexts of music. During his presidency, Budapest hosted the IFMC conference in 1964, further strengthening Hungary’s international professional reputation.
The decision proved mutually beneficial: the Council gained a world-renowned and highly respected leader, while Zoltán Kodály had the opportunity to express his views on the importance of preserving and researching folk music across numerous international forums.
The photograph shows Kodály in London in 1960.

31/07/2026

MUSIC AND BRAIN NETWORKS
- When should children start learning music?

The latest episode of the Hungarian Kodály Society podcast series, MUSIC AND BRAIN NETWORKS, has been released.
In this episode, pianist Balázs Fülei, co-president of the MKT, talks to Prof. Dr. Zoltán Vidnyánszky, director of the HUN-REN TTK Brain Imaging Center. The link to the full broadcast is in the first comment.

Photos from Kodály Intézet's post 31/07/2026

Beth Mattingly, Pamela Stover and Zsuzsanna Polyák

Photos from IKS Symposium 2027 Cork's post 20/07/2026
Photos from Kodály Intézet's post 18/07/2026
16/07/2026

"We believe that folk music stays alive when children not only get to know it, but also experience it together."

Living tradition, shared experiences, value-creating community
Thanks to the support of the Csoóri Sándor Program in the 2026 school year, numerous valuable folk music programs were once again implemented at Búzaszem.
🎼 A total of 54 students participated in folk music education,
🎻 Our children were able to learn from excellent masters in instrumental and vocal master classes,
🏕️ In June, they were able to deepen their knowledge in a five-day folk music camp and experience the joy of making music together.
Thanks to the support, it was also possible to repair our instruments and purchase new instrument cases, so the program not only served to transfer knowledge, but also to preserve our valuable instrument collection.
We believe that folk music stays alive when children not only get to know it, but also experience it together.

Szilárd Horváth, founder and director of Búzaszem Catholic Primary School and Primary Art School, Hungary, Göd

16/07/2026

"A child who takes one singing lesson a day according to the Kodály method, by the end of the fourth grade, that child can perform better in certain things, and he found that by the end of the fourth grade, the child who took at least one singing lesson a day performs 15-20% better in everything. In mathematics, in reading comprehension, in social matters, in everything... So this music, dance, it not only affects how we are in society, but it also affects our knowledge, our intellectual level. Since then, many people have studied it, the result has always been the same, so you don't have to study it, you have to do it, and do it a lot. And folk tradition, because this applies to all music and all dance."

Szilárd Horváth, founder and director of Búzaszem Catholic Primary School and Primary Art School, Hungary, Göd

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