Rezső Seress

Rezső Seress IPA2|rɛʒøː ˈʃɛrɛʃ (* 3 November 1889 - 11 January 1968) (originally Spitzer) was a Hungarian pianist and composer.

He taught himself to play the piano, and composed the song "Szomorú Vasárnap" (Gloomy Sunday) in 1933, which gained infamy as it became associated with a spate of suicides. Many American and European radio services found it too depressing for broadcast (though it is unclear how much of this is fact and how much is urban legend). Probably the best known version of the song "Gloomy Sunday" in English was sung by Billie Holiday.

Although taken for forced labor, and beaten heavily several times, the composer survived the Holocaust, unlike his mother. Rezső Seress committed suicide in Budapest in January, 1968, by jumping out of a window.

The song was originally written when writer László Jávor broke up with his girlfriend and asked Seress to compose a song for Jávor's Hungarian text.

In Budapest, the restaurant "Kispipa Vendéglő" is still there today, and the pianist continues the tradition of playing the song.