Katinka Dániel and Her Contributions to Kodály Pedagogy in the United States

Beginning with her work in Budapest, Hungary, and continuing in the United States and Canada, Katinka Scipiades Daniel (b. 1913) has been involved with the Kodaly concept of music education for over sixty years. (1) A tireless educator and reformer, she has been a pioneer in curriculum development and music literacy for children and adults since her immigration to the United States in 1960. Her work, and that of her students, has changed the course of music education and given rise to Kodaly organizations and teacher training programs in colleges and universities throughout the United States. Daniel was born and raised in Hungary. Her formal musical training began at age five in Budapest at the Liszt Ferenc Zenemuveszeti Foiskola (Franz Liszt Music Academy), Preparatory Division. Admission to the preparatory program was by audition, and lessons were given twice a week. The students attended many concerts, not only of pianists, but also of other soloists and ensembles such as vocalists and symphony orchestras. Daniel credits her rich experiences at the academy and in her home for her lifelong interest in music. (2) For the two piano preparatory levels, Daniel studied with Istvan Thoman, who had also taught Erno Dohnanyi and Bela Bartok. Thoman supervised the lessons given by a student teacher at the academy. After completing the preparatory division, Daniel continued to study piano at the Music Academy throughout her elementary and high school years. Hungarian students entering the Gymnasium, or high school, choose either a vocational or classical course of study and are admitted by passing exams in the subject area. Daniel's father encouraged her to study elementary education in order to earn a living. Because of the rigors of the Gymnasium, she had only one year of study to complete her elementary education degree from the Notre Dame Teachers College in Pecs, Hungary. She then studied music education at the Franz Liszt Academy and was awarded the degree in 1932. As she continued her study at the Franz Liszt Academy, Daniel planned for a career as a concert pianist, having the security of two education degrees as her father suggested. She studied the next six years for a degree in piano performance, graduating in 1938. Although Daniel did not become a concert artist as she had planned, her training was thorough and rigorous. She describes one of her first lessons as follows: When I went to my first chamber music class, I was prepared to play a trio by Mozart. When it was my turn to begin, Professor Weiner asked me if I knew all the Mozart trios. I humbly answered that I did not. He told me, "Go back home and learn all of them so as to truly know Mozart. Then, come back and I will tell you which one to play!" Without question this is what I did. (3) When Daniel graduated in 1938 with her piano performance degree, Antal Molnar, her solfege and theory professor at the academy, asked what her plans were. She told him of her desire to begin a concert career. The professor advised her to consider continuing her education because there would be little chance during the war for a successful performance career. Daniel applied for a music teaching position in the public schools and began pursuing an advanced degree from the Pazmany Peter University in Budapest. Because of the public school schedule, Daniel attended class at the university in the morning. During the afternoon she taught solfege and piano in the Szekes Fovarosi Zene Iskola [Municipal Music Schools] in Budapest and general music classes in the Budapest City Schools. She also maintained a private piano studio in her home. In 1943 Katinka married Dr. Erno Daniel, professor of piano at the Franz Liszt Music Academy. The wedding party included Dr. Erno Dohnanyi, conductor, pianist, composer, and then president of the Liszt Academy, and Ede Zathoreczky, violinist and later successor to Dohnanyi as president of the academy. …