The History of Editio Musica Budapest
The Hungarian State Music Publisher (the legal predecessor of Editio Musica Budapest) was founded by government decree seventy years ago on July 1, 1950.
Music publishing has a great tradition in Hungary. The oldest firm (the reputable Rózsavölgyi & Co.) started its activities 165 years ago, and was the most prominent domestic music publisher for a century; it built up a rich and diverse catalogue during these decades. At the beginning of the century it was the first publisher of Bartók and Kodály, and although the two great composers changed to foreign companies after the 1910s in hopes of better international distribution, Rózsavölgyi remained the publisher and promoter of several excellent Hungarian composers between the two World Wars, including Ernst von Dohnányi, Leo Weiner, and László Lajtha.
