Hungary
Hungary became
Christian in the 11th century, and has mostly been dominated by foreign settlers
and invaders till the 20th century, especially from
Austria.
It became a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the end of the 17th century.
After the 1st World War it was briefly independent, but after the second world
war it became a satellite of the Soviet Union, which it remained until it became
an entirely free and independent country in 1989.
The
classical
period saw Haydn, who was born in
Austria, work in Eszterhazy, in Hungary, for 30 years. Although born in
Hungary, Liszt did not speak Hungarian,
but German, and he lived abroad most of his life. However, in 1875 he returned
to Budapest to become president of the Budapest Academy of Music. From then on
he had a strong influence on the development of Hungarian music.
Lehar,
Bartok and Kodaly are more recent composers from Hungary.