Zoltán Kodály, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1946-1949)

Although the history of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences between 1945 and 1949, and the process of its forced transformation along the Soviet model, have previously aroused the interest of researchers, the activities of Zoltán Kodály as president during this period have not been the focus of investigation so far. This short monograph - relying on archival and press sources that have not been used in Kodály research so far, and reinterpreting Kodály's presidential speeches in the light of the context - attempts to determine the scope and place of the composer-folk music researcher president in the dramatic events surrounding the fate of the Academy.