Education
Kókai studied composition with János Koessler and piano with Emánuel Hegyi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
composer music educator musicologist
Kókai studied composition with János Koessler and piano with Emánuel Hegyi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
In 1933 he received his doctorate in musicology from the University of Freiburg where he wrote the thesis Franz Liszt in seinen frühen Klavierwerken (Franz Liszt in His Early Works). Between 1926 and 1934 he was professor of piano at the National Conservatory, and from 1929 taught composition, aesthetics, music history, and pedagogy at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Kókai was director of music for the Hungarian Radio from 1945 to 1948.
Rezső Kókai composed in a variety of forms including stage works, orchestral compositions, a violin concerto, chamber music, works for piano, as well as film and radio scores.
His scores are largely published by Editio Musica Budapest and Zeneműkiadó Vállalat.