ABSTRACT
Erwin Nyiregyházi was born at Budapest, on the 19th of January 1903. His parents belonged to the educated middle classes, his father, as well as his grandfather on the father’s side, being tenor singers in the chorus of the Royal Opera of Budapest. The family, therefore, had been connected with music for the last two generations. Indeed his father, although unable to devote himself to a more thorough study of the art, being obliged to work for his living, and having risen gradually from very poor circumstances, had, nevertheless, a deeper understanding of musical matters than is usually found in chorus singers. Erwin’s mother also possessed considerable musical talent and appears to have been a better musician than the father; he, on the other hand, seems to have had a more intimate inner relation to music than his wife. It may therefore be said that Erwin owes his musical talent, in so far as it may be considered an inheritance, to his parents. 1 If it were feasible in this case to employ the genealogical method, and trace the musical record of Erwin’s forbears, it might be possible to ascertain to which line of ancestors the transmission of inherited musical ability is particularly to be ascribed. But this, to our regret, is impossible, and we must confine our researches to their still living descendants, as the only data concerning the previous history of the family, which I have been able to obtain by questioning some of its members, are regrettably vague and, in fact, extend only to the immediately preceding generation.
