Mátyás Seiber's body of work is distinguished by a natural versatility, and by the wide range and eclecticism of his musical interests. It incorporates the successful pop song "By the Fountains of Rome" (1956), which hit the Top 10 on the charts; his score for the animated film Animal Farm (1954); and numerous examples of incidental music for radio and television. Born in Budapest on May 4, 1905, Mátyás Seiber began to learn the cello at the age of ten. He studied composition at the Budapest Academy of Music under Kodály from 1919 to 1924, and in 1925 he entered his Serenade for Wind Sextet in a Budapest competition. When it failed to win the prize, Bartók resigned from the jury in protest! On September 24, 1960 - at the age of 55 - Seiber was killed in a car crash in South Africa during a lecturing tour of the country's universities. At the time of his tragically early death, he was one of the most respected composition teachers in Britain.