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Early life. Miklós Rózsa was born in Budapest and was introduced to classical and folk music by his mother, Regina (née Berkovits), a pianist who had studied with pupils of Franz Liszt, and his father, Gyula, a well-to-do industrialist and landowner who loved Hungarian folk music. Both parents were of Jewish origin.
While writing the score for The Thief of Bagdad (1940), Rózsa relocated to Hollywood where he remained gainfully employed over the next four decades. An expert at orchestration and counterpoint with a great flair for the dramatic, he often concentrated on the psychological aspects of a film.
- April 18, 1907
- July 27, 1995
Rózsa, Mikiós (b. 18 April 1907 in Budapest, Hungary; d. 27 July 1995 in Los Angeles, California), composer whose urgently exotic music enriched the concerto literature and the soundtracks of such films as The Thief of Bagdad, Double Indemnity, Spellbound, and Ben-Hur (1959).
A year later, Rózsa received an invitation from the Hungarian Legation in London to come to England and compose the music for a ballet. The composer loved London and decided to live there after his ballet “Hungaria” was very well received.
Miklós Rózsa. Music Department: Ben-Hur. A child prodigy, Miklos Rózsa learned to play the violin at the age of five and read music before he was able to read words. In 1926, he began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory where he was considered a brilliant student. He obtained his doctorate in music in 1930.
- January 1, 1
- Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]
- January 1, 1
- Los Angeles, California, USA
Apr 28, 2023 · To preserve his memory and keep his musical legacy alive, in 2016 the Hungarian Hollywood Council and a Los Angeles NGO unveiled a plaque commemorating the world-renowned composer’s childhood years in the town of Nagylóc. Three years later, the Council declared April 18th Miklós Rózsa Memorial Day.
Town life appealed little to young Miklós, especially when set against the manifold attractions of the family's country estate, which lay north of Budapest in a village called Nagylócz in the county of Nógrád, at the foot of the Mátra mountains.
