Endre Szervánszky

Szervánszky first came to public attention with his First String Quartet (1936–38) and his works of this period were influenced by his compatriots, Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók.

From the early 1950s Szervánszky embarked on a series of larger compositions, one of the longest being the Concerto for Orchestra in memory of Attila József.

Both the String Quartet no.2 (1956–57) and the Wind Quintet no.2 (1957) also demonstrate the composer's increasing interest in serialism.

Szervánszky did not compose another major work until 1963 – the oratorio Requiem, based on a text by János Pilinszky which takes the concentration camp of Auschwitz as its theme.

Endre Szervánszky was given the "Righteous Among the Nations" award by the State of Israel to honour non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis.