Mária Mohayné Katanics – obituary
The Liszt-prize winning choral conductor, music teacher and a former lead teacher of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Mária Katanics died on 23 January, 2017, at the age of 88. The funeral service will take place on Thursday, 9 February at 2:30pm in the Makovecz Hall of the Farkasrét Cemetery.
The Liszt Academy is taking farewell from this legendary teacher with the words of Professor István Párkai:
Hungary’s world of music has suffered a great loss: Mária Mohayné Katanics, this outstanding choral conductor and music teacher passed away after a prolonged illness on the 23 January. She attended the Department of Secondary Music Education and Choral Conducting at the Liszt Academy; she collaborated with Lajos Bárdos, Miklós Forrai and László Lajtha. Soon after her graduation, she immediately landed in the thick of action. First, she established an excellent choir at the Cinkota Teacher Training College, then she was transferred to the Erzsébet Szilágyi Grammar School as the successor of the highly renowned choral conductor, Adrienne Sztojanovits. It was where she founded the long-standing internationally acclaimed Erzsébet Szilágyi Women’s Choir. Having embraced the sensitive musicality and imagination of the choral conductor, Mária Katanics, the ensemble achieved to become one of the best choirs in Hungary. „Her daughters”, who also looked up to her for her personal qualities, greatly admired and loved their conductor, and even after the official termination of the choir, they often got together for some informal singing just for the sheer joy of it.
Mária Mohayné Katanics was a great music educator, who was also active a lead teacher at the Szilágyi Grammar School and at the Marczibányi Square Music Primary School. Later, she was member of the academic staff at the Zsámbék Teacher Training College and the Music Department of the Eötvös Loránd University, where she exerted great influence on generations of musicians. She was often invited to give masterclasses both in Hungary and abroad, and to be guest conductor with various professional choirs (Choir of the Hungarian Radio, Hungarian National Choir). Her accomplishments were acknowledged with the Liszt and Kodály Prize, the Small Cross from the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, and the Bartók-Pásztory Prize. The greatest recognition of all, however, is that her memory will reside in the hearts of those who ever had the opportunity to work with her.
Her memory will be cherished.