Anhalt, István

Anhalt, István, Hungarian-born Canadian composer, teacher, and writer; b. Budapest, April 12, 1919. He studied composition with Kodály at the Budapest Academy of Music (1937–41), and pursued training in Paris at the Cons, with Fourestier (conducting; 1946–18) and privately with Boulanger (composition) and S. Stravinsky (piano). In 1949 he joined the faculty of McGill Univ. in Montreal, where he was founder-director of its electronic music studio (1964–71). In 1969 he also was the Visiting Slee prof. at the State Univ. of N.Y. in Buffalo. From 1971 to 1981 he was head of the music dept. at Queen’s Univ. in Kingston, Ontario, where he was made prof. emeritus in 1984. In 1967 he was awarded Canada’s Centennial Medal, in 1982 an honorary D.M. from McGill Univ., in 1991 an honorary LL.D. from Queen’s Univ., and in 1993 the Commemorative Medal for the 125 th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Among his writings are Alternative Voices: Essays on Contemporary Vocal and Choral Composition (1984), Oppenheimer (1990), and A Weave of Life Lines (1992). In a number of his works, he utilizes synthetic sounds.