|
|
A párizsi zeneszerző-szemlén már 1971-ben díjat nyert, s a 70-es évek végétől sorra kapta a megrendeléseket olyan intézményektől, mint a Koussevitzky vagy az Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Alapítvány, illetve a Bostoni Szimfonikus Zenekar. Zenéjét rendkívüli műfaji változatosság, gazdag invenció és erőteljes lírai kifejezés jellemzi, utóbbi összefügg a vokális zene és a költészet iránti különleges érzékenységével.
|
|
|
Balassa received his diploma in composition in 1965, at the age of thirty. In the subsequent years his compositions attracted considerable international attention. He won a prize at the Paris Rostrum of Composers already in 1971, and from the late eighties was receiving commissions from institutions like the Koussevitzky or the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundations or the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The main characteristics of his music are the extraordinary diversity of genres, the rich invention and the strong lyrical quality; the latter is connected with his special sensitivity towards vocal music and poetry. His early style, based on free dodecaphony, gradually gave way to a more diatonic way of thinking, and the influence of the European musical past and of Hungarian folk tradition became a decisive element. His tonal musical language, more accessible to the public, played a role in the remarkable success of his stage works.
|
