Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator. Growing up in the Hungarian countryside, he demonstrated musical talent from childhood and was frequently exposed to folk songs sung by his peers. He played several instruments, sang in the school choir, and even composed. In 1902, he began studying composition and music education at the Academy of Music in Budapest. While working on the thesis for his PhD, he began traveling around Hungary recording folk songs on phonograph cylinders. It was during this endeavor that he became acquainted with composer Béla Bartók, who shared his interest in Hungarian folk music. The two worked together for years, collecting and publishing anthologies of folk songs and supporting each other’s musical endeavors. 

Kodály eventually joined the faculty at the Academy of Music, first teaching theory, then composition, and eventually becoming the Music Director. However, his compositional career did not take off until 1923, when his work Psalmus hungaricus was performed at the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the joining of the cities Buda and Pest. Soon after, other compositions, such as his opera Háry Janos and the famous Dances of Galánta, catapulted him onto the international stage. His compositions blended together romantic, impressionist, and modernist techniques with qualities of Hungarian folk music. 

Kodály was also passionate about musical education and sought to reform the way music was taught to young students in Hungary. He advocated for group learning, the use of hand signs, and connecting music education with the students’ heritage and background. The principles he developed for music education became the basis for what is now referred to as the “Kodály method.” He also published several books and other scholarly writing on the subject. The composer died in 1967, having made an indelible mark on Hungarian classical music and music education.