feast day, followed a similar pattern, emphasizing Stephen's role as the first king of Hungary. Poets described Stephen as the symbol of national identity and independence and of the ability of the Hungarian nation to survive historical cataclysms during the Communist regime between 1949 and 1989. A popular hymn, still sung in the churches, was first recorded in the late . It hails King St. Stephen as "radiant star of Hungarians". Ludwig van Beethoven composed his King Stephen Overture for the inauguration of the Hungarian theatre in Pest in 1812. According to musician James M. Keller, "[t]he descending unisons that open the King Stephen Overture would seem to prefigure the opening of the Ninth Symphony [a]nd then a later theme, introduced by flutes and clarinets, seems almost to be a of the famous Ode 'To Joy''' melody of the Ninth Symphony's finale". Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel named his last complete opera from 1885, István király ("King Stephen"), after him. In 1938, Zoltán Kodály wrote a choral piece titled Ének Szent István Királyhoz ("Hymn to King Stephen"). In 1983, Levente Szörényi and János Bródy composed a rock opera—István, a király ("Stephen, the King")—about the early years of his reign. Seventeen years later, in 2000, Szörényi composed a sequel called Veled, Uram! ("You, Sir"). See also Catholic Church in Hungary History of Christianity in Hungary Isten, hazánkért térdelünk SMS Szent István St. Stephen's Mausoleum References Sources Primary sources "Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary" (Translated by Nora Berend) (2001). In Head, Thomas. Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology. Routledge. pp. 378–398. . John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057 (Translated by John Wortley with Introduction by Jean-Claude Cheynet and Bernard Flusin and Notes by Jean-Claude Cheynet) (2010). Cambridge University Press. . "Life of the Five Brethren by Bruno of Querfurt (Translated by Marina Miladinov)" (2013). In Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries) (Edited by Gábor Klaniczay, translated by Cristian Gaşpar and Marina Miladinov, with an introductory essay by Ian Wood) [Central European Medieval Texts, Volume 6.]. Central European University Press. pp. 183–314. . Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg (Translated and annotated by David A. Warner) (2001). Manchester University Press. . "Rodulfus Glaber: The Five Books of the Histories" (2002). In Rodulfus Glaber Opera (Edited by John France, Neithard Bulst and Paul Reynolds) [Oxford Medieval Texts]. Oxford University Press. . Simon of Kéza: The Deeds of