Music and Man

In our three-part study, we address the musicologist János Maróthy’s (1925–2001) career path and shifting forms of utopianism. One of the most significant Hungarian scholars in his field, Maróthy’s oeuvre was interwoven with the history of East-Central European socialism fraught with profound contradictions, real or imagined prospects, consolidations, and crises. 
In the first part of the project, we discuss the period of Maróthy’s activities spanning from the 1948 communist takeover to the revolution in 1956. What possibilities and constraints did Stalinist Hungary offer to one of its most promising young talents? Drawing on actor-network theory, we argue that a predominantly favorable set of opportunities arose for Maróthy’s varied roles and activities – as scholar, policy-maker, lecturer, critic, and composer by the institutional and ideological regime aiming to fundamentally democratize the country’s musical culture. Especially in the first few years, his passion and energy conformed with the Zeitgeist of the times. However, the Rákosi-era with its narrow-minded Sovietized academia and Maróthy’s own ideological commitments to the communist party rendered his creative accomplishments and critical acumen subject to increasing criticism by his colleagues.