The Dunakeszi Local History Collection and Library, in collaboration with the Ferenc Kölcsey City Library, has launched a new lecture series titled Lí/yra: Music plus Literature. The aim of the series is to explore the intersections between music and literature by inviting artists whose work is deeply connected to both fields. The first guest was composer Máté Bella
Despite his relative youth, Bella is already regarded as one of the defining figures of 21st-century Hungarian composition. As he remarked at the beginning of the discussion: “Perhaps János Vajda once said that a composer is considered a young talent until the age of fifty, and immediately afterward becomes one of the nation’s grand old masters. At forty, I still belong to the ‘young talent’ category.”
A recipient of the Junior Prima Prize, the Ferenc Erkel Prize, the Bartók–Pásztory Award, and the Artisjus Prize, Bella is best known for his chamber and vocal works, though his output also includes orchestral compositions and pop songs. His stylistic breadth makes him an ideal guest for a series devoted to exploring the boundaries between genres and forms of expression.
Bella’s musical path began early. After attending a music-specialized primary school, he continued his studies at conservatory level before enrolling in the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, where he graduated in composition. Among his most influential teachers were Miklós Kocsár, György Orbán, and Gyula Fekete. He earned his doctoral degree at the Academy in 2018 and now teaches there himself. For Bella, teaching is as much a vocation as composing.
Breaking the rules
The conversation also touched on the relationship between craft and intuition. According to Bella, composition—like writing—exists on many levels. While talented amateurs certainly exist, writing for symphony orchestra or composing contemporary works requires rigorous professional training. At the same time, technical mastery must not come at the expense of spontaneity.
When asked whether formal training risks trapping composers in formulas, Bella responded candidly:
“The entire profession struggles with how to forget what it has learned—or at least how not to be constrained by rules. To create new art, we must constantly break the rules.”
Gyombolai also asked how Bella is able to move so fluently between different genres. The composer describes his career in distinct creative periods, each reflecting shifts in his personality and thinking. As his perspective evolved, so did his musical language: the emphasis changed, and his expressive vocabulary became more nuanced. Yet one principle has remained constant. As he put it:
“The point is not to write contemporary music, but to write TRUE music.”
The search for truth and authenticity has remained a central driving force throughout his work.
A Hungarian composer on the international stage
The relationship between music and literature plays a central role in Bella’s oeuvre. During the event, the audience heard an excerpt from his 2009 composition based on Lőrinc Szabó’s poem Zhuangzi’s Dream. Written primarily for professional audiences and contemporary music festivals, the piece reflects the composer’s artistic thinking at the time.
The poetry of Gyula Juhász has also had a profound impact on Bella. He describes Juhász’s verse as both accessible and stylistically unified, and has set several of the poet’s works to music. At one point, he actively sought out Juhász poems that would lend themselves to musical adaptation.
One particularly notable moment in his international career came in 2014, when the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) organized a major commemorative concert in Paris marking the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. Fourteen composers—one from each participating European country—were commissioned to write a choral work in their native language. Bella represented Hungary, composing a mixed-choir piece based on Juhász’s poem Peace. His work was ultimately selected as the closing piece for the combined choir and performed in Hungarian by singers from across Europe. To prepare the performers, Bella recorded and sent a pronunciation guide in advance.
Beyond the myth of candlelit inspiration
The discussion also addressed whether one can speak of a recognizable “Máté Bella style.” According to the composer, such a style does exist, though not in the form of recurring motifs or easily identifiable musical signatures. Each genre involves different performers, audiences, and artistic contexts, which naturally shape the compositional approach. What remains constant is not the surface, but the underlying artistic mindset.
Bella also sought to dispel the romantic myths surrounding composition.
“Composers are often surrounded by mythology, but it’s important to strip that away,” he explained. “Being a composer is solitary and demanding work. I wish I could say that composing means sitting at the piano in candlelight and simply writing down ideas whispered by Pallas Athena or some divine force.”
The reality, he emphasized, is disciplined, sustained effort: experimentation, revision, false starts, setbacks, and breakthroughs.
For Bella, the greatest reward comes when a piece is finally performed and he can experience it as a listener. That moment, he believes, is what makes the entire process worthwhile.
His working methods are equally diverse. He composes in traditional ways—at the piano, with pencil and manuscript paper—but also makes extensive use of modern composition software. During the event, the audience was given a glimpse into how a piece takes shape step by step in the digital environment.
At the end of the evening, Bella answered questions from the audience, bringing the event to a close. The conversation offered not only insight into the career of a major contemporary composer, but also a vivid illustration of how music and literature continue to intersect in 21st-century artistic practice.