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From sword to bow: Marczi Zöldy

2026-01-30T10:45:00

1900 Zoldy

The young Hungarian soldier who became known as virtuoso violinist Marczi Zöldy at the turn of the 20th century was skilled in many areas, not least as a musician and a fencer. Grzegorz Kaproń tells his eventful, colourful life story

In September 1900, popular newspapers in Austria–Hungary reported on an unprecedented event. János Zöldi, a lieutenant in the 15th Hungarian Infantry Regiment stationed in Trenčín, resigned from his officer’s rank to devote his life to music. This change in lifestyle by an officer or civil servant, though unacceptable to the elites of the time, was an expression of freedom and artistic passion…

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