Liszt Academy Concert Magazine September-December 2015

LISZT ACADEMY CONCERT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER—DECEMBER 2015

Autumn 2015 marks the 140th anniversary of the start of teaching at the Liszt Academy. Seventy aspiring musicians applied for the first year, thirty-nine students were subsequently enrolled, and these were tutored by five teachers in a rented apartment. Today, we have more than 800 students, and including our external colleagues, there are more than 150 professors teaching in three locations: the superbly restored Art Nouveau music palace on Liszt Ferenc Square, the modern, recently inaugurated György Ligeti building, and the Old Academy of Music, where the Liszt Museum can be found in the former apartment of Ferenc Liszt.

Our past is of universal significance; the school founded by Liszt and Erkel has left an indelible impression on the 20th century; and given the many hundreds of gifted students applying to us each year, we can confidently state that, with regard to young people, the Liszt Academy continues to play a key role in domestic and international music. Since 2013 the Liszt Academy has operated with a dual profile; as president, I accepted both the opportunity and the challenge to take responsibility for the first time for the professional management not only of the university but of the concert centre, too.

As you have been able to experience for yourselves in previous seasons, concerts given by our professors and students have been just as important on the programmes organized by the Liszt Academy as the presence of significant international and Hungarian stars (and thank goodness, there is a considerable overlap between the two groups!).

This season, once more, there will be no dearth of world stars: Vilde Frang, Charles Dutoit, Rachel Podger, Mischa Maisky, Till Fellner, Denis Matsuev and the jazz pianist Brad Mehldau are just a few of the ‘big names’ visiting us this autumn. But let me draw your attention to university-related events among the concerts taking place in the autumn semester of the 140th academic year. I invite you to savour our birthday concert, in which Barnabás Kelemen plays on the violin and Zoltán Kocsis directs the symphonic orchestra made up of our students; the legendary concerts of the 20th century ‘replayed’; the solo evenings exploring the history of the Liszt Academy held by two of our popular music history professors, András Batta and Sándor Kovács; a performance of Spring Awakening, an opera by our youthful professor of composition, Máté Bella; the joint concert of our orchestra, operating according to the new teaching set-up, together with Pinchas Steinberg; the two series we are putting on: On the Spot, which introduces our departments, and last but not least the Talent oblige concerts, showcasing our most outstandingly talented artists.

There is much talk these days about the crisis of classical music and of high culture in general. I believe that by building on our professionalism, and drawing on appropriate humility and devotion, we will be able to carry forward the intellectual heritage passed down from our predecessors, so that the next 140 years of the history of the Liszt Academy will be a worthy progression to all that which was launched on 14 November 1875. dr. Andrea Vigh President of the Liszt Academy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CONCERTS IN SEPTEMBER

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CLASSICAL MUSIC AND WOMEN

12 15 17

“JAZZ IS NOT A STYLE” – INTERVIEW WITH LESZEK MOŻDŻER CONCERTS IN OCTOBER “THE CIMBALOM IS JUST A MEANS” INTERVIEW WITH KÁLMÁN BALOGH

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NOT DEAD… AND LOVING IT

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HARMONY AND FREEDOM

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“I STILL LOVE MUSIC EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME” INTERVIEW WITH MISCHA MAISKY

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CONCERTS IN NOVEMBER

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AFTER THE MARTON SINGING COMPETITION

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THE LIFE IN FRONT OF HIM

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PARITY – INTERVIEW WITH SÁNDOR KOVÁCS AND LÓRÁNT PÉTERI

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COMMEMORATIVE SUPPLEMENT 140 YEARS

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GOOD FRIENDS…

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BAROQUE SOUL

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CONCERTS IN DECEMBER

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LISZT ACADEMY ARTIST MANAGEMENT

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PLAYING PIANO IN RUSSIAN?

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THE LISZT ACADEMY PRESENTS: ZOLTÁN KODÁLY MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES

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LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY YOUTH PROGRAMMES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC

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SILVER HUGO AND EUROPA NOSTRA

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CONCERT CHRONOLOGY

LISZT ACADEMY (1908) © ANTON SCHROLL /BTM KISCELL MUSEUM

We had not reckoned that, after the reopening of the Liszt Academy, we would have hosted as many concerts as we have. Orchestras, concert organizers, social organizations and corporations contact us virtually every day requesting dates for their programmes. Occasionally, it is almost impossible to meet their needs because, at the same time, the Liszt Academy has tasks associated with the teaching of music at university level, and naturally we also organize our own concerts. With regard to the latter, we receive dozens of brilliant suggestions; in fact, we often struggle with a surfeit of worthy ideas when putting together our programmes. There is no doubt that we are right in the mainstream feeding the majority of large performing art centres in Europe. However, we remain more distinctive than most since we also offer programmes that are only performed here, programmes that performers have devised just for us. Our uniqueness is further enhanced by appearances by our talented students, our symphonic orchestra and our professors, which are an integral and important part of our programmes. These concerts allow music lovers to keep track of the training of the new generation, to enjoy gifted young artists who will shortly be stepping onto the international stage. This is probably our most important task and mission when we devise the concert programme for the Liszt Academy. Seeing this season’s ‘line-up’, we can safely say without fear of contradiction that Hungary remains a major force in music.

András Csonka Cultural Director, Liszt Academy

ANDRÁS CSONKA & IMRE SZABÓ STEIN © LISZT ACADEMY / ANDREA FELVÉGI 2

This is the fifth edition of the Liszt Academy Concert Magazine. When in spring 2013 our former president András Batta, witness to, teacher and member of generations of grand masters, called on me to join in this unequalled adventure to formulate, to reformulate the essence of the Liszt Academy on the occasion of the reopening – in the meantime I organized a strong, responsive team for this purpose – providing me room for manoeuvre and a free spirit, this difficult-to-define entity immediately appeared to me as a ‘World Instrument’. It has substance, mechanics, history, and although everything can be grasped, still it seems to float in time, independent of circumstances and influences, constructing a world of a higher order with a continuity that is temporally indivisible, emanating music.

Liszt brought about something that plumbs the most profound depths of things, something that goes beyond his obvious genius. It could almost have been a biblical moment: it is so mystic and pure that it can only be mentioned in secret commentaries. And that breath that he brought into this world settled into spheres and has since protected, animated and made fertile like a nourishing atmosphere. We, for whom it was decided that we not should sit at this instrument as players, still somehow have become components of it in a vital moment of timelessness, somewhere between the mechanics and the sound, perhaps a part of resonance. Without doubt the Liszt Academy exists in this World Instrument dimension, almost unconnected with the concrete, the specific. The Liszt Academy is eternal – so far for 140 years.

Imre Szabó Stein Editor-in-Chief / Director of Communications, Marketing and Media Content Development of the Liszt Academy

© JUDIT MARJAI

FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

FOUR BY FOUR VILDE FRANG, NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT & KELEMEN QUARTET Schubert: String Quartet in D minor (D. 810, ‘Death and the Maiden’) Ravel: String Quartet in F major Brahms: String Sextet in G major, Op. 36 Vilde Frang (violin) Nicolas Altstaedt (cello) Kelemen Quartet: Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas (violin); Oszkár Varga (viola); László Fenyő (cello)

NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT © MARCO BORGGREVE

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ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA EMBRACED BY THE ARTS Barnabás Dukay: Trees of the Hill J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major (BWV 1048) Mozart: Serenata notturna (K. 239) Dohnányi–Sitkovetsky: Serenade Máté Vizeli : ‘What I Know’ – Concerto grosso of Szászcsávás Host: János Lackfi (poet) Góbé Band; Soma Dinyés (harpsichord); Pál Péter Seprűs (photographer) Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: László G. Horváth)

Thirty-six- year-old Kossuth Prizewinning violinist Barnabás Kelemen founded his string quartet in 2010, and very shortly after they were regulars on the domestic and international chamber music scene. Since then the formation have played with countless international stars: at this concert they take to the stage with a couple of representatives of the young musicians’ generation who themselves stand on the threshold of global stardom to perform together a Brahms masterpiece following the two core works of the glorious string quartet repertoire. Norwegian Vilde Frang was just ten when she first played with an orchestra; a short time later Mariss Jansons invited her to be a soloist, Nicolas Altstaedt is also a distinguished player on the international music scene, so much so that Gidon Kremer appointed him as his successor to the post of artistic director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival; moreover, from next season he will take over the baton from Ádám Fischer at the head of the Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra.

The Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, one of the most innovative Hungarian instrumental ensembles of our day, give a concert entitled Embraced by the Arts in the Solti Hall.

Building on a European-level sound and Hungarian music traditions, the formation constantly seek new challenges. This performance perfectly illustrates their breadth of approach: works by Bach, Mozart and Dohnányi are bookended by contemporary pieces written by Barnabás Dukay and Máté Vizeli. Host for the evening, poet János Lackfi also takes to the stage; as he puts it, not for the first time he joins in the ensemble’s projects with a few simple words. Similarly close ties bind photographer Pál Péter Seprűs and harpsichordist Soma Dinyés to the orchestra: the latter, as an accomplished doyen of the Baroque age, has a key role in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The excitement is further heightened by the appearance of Góbé, who are responsible for the unique atmosphere and explosive release of energy in the ‘Szászcsávás concerto’.

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centr

THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL

SONG RECITALS AT THE LISZT ACADEMY TETIANA ZHURAVEL & NATALIA KOROLKO Works by Handel, Purcell, Mozart, Liszt, Thomas, R. Strauss, Bernstein, Verdi, Stetsenko Tetiana Zhuravel (soprano) Natalia Korolko (piano)

TETIANA ZHURAVEL © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

TALENT OBLIGE IVETT GYÖNGYÖSI PIANO RECITAL Frédéric Chopin Barcarolle, Op. 60 Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 55/2 Etude in F major, Op. 10/8 Etude in B minor, Op. 25/10 Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22 Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45 Sonata in B minor, Op. 58

Although the Liszt Academy has hosted countless music competitions, the 2014 International Éva Marton Singing Competition was the first the Academy had organized itself. More than 130 singers from 30 countries applied to the competition, which was founded by the professor emerita of the Liszt Academy and former head of department, and which offered total prize money of €42,000. Ukrainian Tetiana Zhuravel won both second prize and the audience prize. Zhuravel completed the piano faculty of the Cherkasy Conservatoire in 2004, after which she studied at the Arts Institute of the National Teacher Training University, before continuing at the Tchaikovsky Academy of Music, Kiev, where she graduated in 2013 from the class of Evdokia Kolenyk. Alongside her studies she played an active part in the performances of the institution’s opera studio: she played Marfa in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride, Juliet in Gubarenko’s Monologues of Juliet, and Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. She also took part in King Arthur by Henry Purcell and in The Fairy Queen. Her recital at the Liszt Academy samples from a repertoire spanning 300 years.

Ivett Gyöngyösi started playing piano at the tender age of seven under the guidance of Erzsébet Antalovszky in her hometown of Vásárosnamény. Four years later she was taken on at the Special School for Exceptional Young Talents at the Liszt Academy, where her teacher was Attila Némethy. She joined the Piano Department in 2011, and currently her studies are directed by Kálmán Dráfi. She won her first prize at the age of ten at the National György Ferenczy Piano Competition, and this was followed by a series of domestic and international triumphs, including the 10th Darmstadt International Chopin Piano Competition in 2013. Her rise to national fame was sealed when she won the MTVA Virtuosos show, where her playing was lauded not only by the general public but the profession as well: the jury celebrated her as the ‘new Annie Fischer’.

Tickets: HUF 1 300, 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Ivett Gyöngyösi (piano)

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CLASSICAL MUSIC AND WOMEN “Girls don’t do that.” This was the argument of the music teacher of the young Marin Alsop, whose dream it was to become a conductor. Luckily, Marin Alsop paid no attention whatsoever to her teacher, and today she is principal conductor of the symphony orchestras of Baltimore and Sao Paulo. In 2013 she accepted the offer to conduct the legendary Last Night of the Proms, then in its 119th year, at London’s Royal Albert Hall, becoming the first woman to do so. “I’m still quite shocked that it is 2013 and there can still be firsts for women,” she said in connection with the concert.

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Shortly before the Proms concert, Russian-born Vasily Petrenko, the young director of music of the Liverpool and Oslo philharmonic orchestras, said in an interview that ensembles “react better” to male conductors, and that “a sweet girl on the podium can make one’s thoughts drift towards something else.” These comments came from a conductor who, based on his behaviour on stage and in photos on his website, is more than happy to exploit the fact that he could be regarded as handsome in the interest of furthering his own success. Of course, Petrenko is just fitting into a long-established tradition in which even more ossified thoughts than his are sometimes voiced. Yuri Temirkanov, one of the greatest figures of the Russian choral school (and coincidentally a mentor of Petrenko), once said: “The essence of the conductor’s profession is strength. The essence of a woman is weakness.”

This train of thought is not confined to Russia alone: the great Herbert von Karajan was unhappy not only about women conductors but female orchestral musicians as well. As he put it: “A woman’s place is in the kitchen, not in a symphony orchestra.” (In this respect he did not mention the bedroom.) When, however, the amazing clarinettist Sabine Meyer made her appearance, Karajan decided to experiment by contracting her to the Berlin Philharmonic as the first female member in the history of the ensemble (in fact in 1982, on the 100th anniversary of the company).

After her trial period the plan failed in a vote of the orchestra: male colleagues were 73:4 against her. The fact that Meyer has gone on to enjoy a glittering solo career is to the detriment of the Berlin Philharmonic.

However, the apogee of macho prejudice was reached not by the Berlin Philharmonic but the Vienna Philharmonic, when a few members of the orchestra stated in a radio interview in 1996 that if women were allowed into the ensemble, it would “threaten that emotional solidarity that is characteristic of us”; moreover, it would not be a good idea to employ women musicians because: “Pregnancy brings problems.

It brings disorder.” At the time there was one female member of the orchestra, the harpist Charlotte Baltzereit, and her presence was explained by saying, “this instrument is so far at the edge of the orchestra that it doesn’t disturb our emotional unity.”

And while we had to wait until the late 20th century for the presence of women in symphony orchestras to become generally accepted, and the early 21st century for the sight of a woman on the conductor’s podium to elicit any response other than astonishment, certain music ‘trades’ – at least in the western world – have been open to women since their inception. Thus, for instance, women have played a significant role as pianists right from the very beginning, from the dedicatees of the so-called ‘ladies’ sonatas’ by Mozart and Haydn, through Clara Schumann and Annie Fischer, to the present day. The role of women in opera is equally important; naturally, the presence of sopranos and altos has been essential since the genre was born. The situation is less positive as far as composition goes, given that this sort of creative activity, as opposed to performance

art, has always been considered a male privilege in European cultural history. It is not as though one could not draw up a strong list of female composers from the past one thousand years as exceptions that prove the rule – Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677), Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847), to mention just a few – but they were regarded differently from their male peers despite the high quality of their work.

Since composition is not an intuitive activity but requires considerable study, and the publication and performance of works assumes that the creators have access to the necessary resources, until the 20th century the social situation of women made it practically impossible for them to deal with the composition of music. Seeing that women did not compose music, it became widely assumed that there was a biological reason for this, that creative music composition was a ‘man’s job’. And even when, despite all these barriers, fate did allow a woman to become a composer, she was still not guaranteed of success. The case of Frenchwoman Cécil Chaminade (1857–1944) is typical. (Male) critics attacked her either because her music was not sufficiently masculine, or precisely because the masculinity of her musicality was seen as not fitting for a woman.

Of course, it is an open question as to whether there exists specifically women’s music (or men’s music, for that matter). In any case, it is undeniable that gender stereotypes have defined the way of thinking and talking about music for centuries. Even today, music theory books occasionally use the expression ‘feminine cadence’ for a tonal chord coming on an unstressed beat (if such a cadence is weak, then it is ‘feminine’). Equally common is the interpretation of the martial and firm main theme of the sonata form as being ‘masculine’, while the lyrical and gentle second theme is regarded as ‘feminine’. Feminist musicologists say the latter is interesting because the essence of the tonal dramaturgy of the sonata form is that in the first part the ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ music is played in different tonalities, in conflict with each other, but following the dramatic development section the ‘feminine’ theme submits to the ‘masculine’ theme, being played in the same key, and this acquiescence brings about peace between the two ‘subjects’.

Just as there are ever more women playing in orchestras and conducting from the podium, and an increasing number of professor emeriti teach in music academies, so there may also be a gradual shift in the general way of thinking, to the point that the ‘male society’ of musicians will eventually come to accept that women have equal status in music. After all, music teaches us that roles can be reversed (a melody instrument can also accompany, and a bass can play a melody); it teaches us that we are all people first and foremost, and only after this are we men and women.

Gergely Fazekas

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SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 19.30 SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

ROST / PETRENKO / BARÁTI / KELLER CONCERT OF CONCERTO BUDAPEST Beethoven: Romance in F major, Op. 50 Berg: Violin Concerto (‘To the memory of an angel’) Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle (BB 62) Kristóf Baráti (violin) Andrea Rost (soprano) Mikhail Petrenko (bass) Concerto Budapest Conductor: András Keller Born in 1916, Manon Gropius was the daughter of the widow of Gustav Mahler and the founder of Bauhaus, Walter Gropius. Her early death shocked many artists of the time, among them Alban Berg, who was then working on a violin concerto (and the opera Lulu). He completed the violin concerto, which was to become his most popular work, in a month and dedicated it ‘to the memory of an angel’. In an inspired choice, music director of Concerto Budapest, András Keller, has paired this work with Bartók’s only opera, Bluebeard’s Castle, a work whose lead female role, Judit, is a similarly angelic, pure and naive being to Manon (who in her short lifetime was courted by numerous ‘bluebeards’). Soloist for the concerto is Kristóf Baráti, recent recipient of the Kossuth Prize, while the female role in the Bartók work, which plumbs the depths of the soul, is taken by Andrea Rost, also a Kossuth Prize laureate, who performs this part for the first time. Her partner playing the duke is Russian bass Mikhail Petrenko.

Tickets: HUF 3 200, 4 200, 5 600, 6 900 Organizer: Concerto Budapest 8

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC ÁGNES HERCZKU ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT ‘BANDÁZOM’ Ágnes Herczku (vocals) Máté ‘Kishega’ Hegedűs, Bence ‘Pálesz’ Pálházi (violin); Márton ‘Kispuma’ Fekete (viola, contra); Péter ‘Mojmoj’ Molnár (bass); Sándor ‘Fodo’ Födő (drums, percussion, accordion); Nikola Parov (violin, bouzouki, kaval, dudu, vocals, harmonica, kanun) In the wake of her album Tüzet viszek (Guarding Fire, 2011), Ágnes Herczku has brought out a new solo recording.

Bandázom was released in November 2014 by Fonó Records. The ‘everyman’ of the new album, in other words, the creative brains behind it (as composer, arranger and producer), is Nikola Parov, a regular partner of Ági since 1999.

This was the same year the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble staged the major production Sun Legend, which is still an important part of the company’s repertoire to this day. Two earlier duet albums are also worth mentioning: Volt nékem szeretőm (I Had a Lover, 2005) and Megéred még (You will see, 2009). The latest offering is a commendable successor to these, enhancing the ‘toolbox’ with new sounds, specifically a folk string orchestra. Together, the seven musicians have been forged into a genuine community of artists in the course of concerts and tours, so Ági’s choice of title for the album (Bandázom – I’m playing with the band) comes as no surprise. Abroad there has also been a great response to the release of this offering, with the album currently 10th in the World Music Charts Europe.

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ÁGNES HERCZKU AND THE ’BAND’ © RÓBERT LÁSZLÓ BÁCSI

A hír mindenkié – adja tovább!

TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

PURE BAROQUE BALTHASAR-NEUMANN-CHOR & ORCHESTRA SKY, EARTH, SEA Ale Möller: Trilo Carissimi: Jonas Thomas Jennefelt: Villarosa sarialdi Monteverdi: Orfeo (excerpts); Dixit Dominus Purcell: Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes mei Purcell: Chaconne Sven-David Sandström: A New Heaven and a New Earth D. Scarlatti: Iste confessor Balthasar-Neumann-Chor & Orchestra Conductor: Olof Boman

OLOF BOMAN © KRISTOF FISCHER

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HOMMAGE À DÉNES KOVÁCS Kreisler: Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Pugnani Tchaikovsky: Valse-Scherzo, Op. 34 Liszt: The Three Gypsies J. S. Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor (BWV 1043) Vivaldi: Violin Concertos, Op. 8/1–4 (‘The Four Seasons’) Eszter Perényi, Júlia Pusker, Miklós Szenthelyi, Tamás Kocsis, Tamás Déri, Péter Tfirst, Julianna Gaál, Kristóf Tóth, Bálint Kruppa (violin) Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: János Rolla)

Thomas Hengelbrock founded the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor in 1991; the orchestra followed four years later (their name derives from the most significant German architect of the Baroque age). Although the repertoire of the chorus runs right up to contemporary music, the principal focus of both ensembles is rooted in 17 th and 18th century music. Both audiences and the profession consider them one of the foremost formations of authentic early music performance.

They visited the Liszt Academy in spring 2014, bringing two orchestral works and an opera pasticcio compiled from Händel arias. This time they arrive in Budapest armed with a special programme of Baroque rarities and contemporary choral works in which very different music history periods (the present and the 17 th century) are linked, as works by Italian Baroque composers interact with choral pieces by three contemporary Swedish artists: Thomas Jennefelt (1954), Sven-David Sandström (1942) and Ale Möller (1955).

“He was the servant of two masters.

One was music, the other the Liszt Academy. He was a great violinist and a great teacher. He had an air of authority and certainty: rigour.

But his playing was similarly strict: strictly precise, strictly faithful to the composer and work. He was a precise person. Puritan, with not a scrap of marketing. Thus a stranger to the modern world. Dénes Kovács not only died. He died out from amongst us.”

These are the words Iván Bächer chose to bid farewell – ten years ago – to one of the 20th century’s most significant violinists, and to one of the most influential rectors of the Liszt Academy, who ran the institute between 1971 and 1980. On the 85th anniversary of his birth and tenth anniversary of his death, his former students, teachers and students of the Strings Department, his spiritual grandchildren, gather to pay tribute to the memory of Dénes Kovács.

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

GENESIS © SEBASTIAO SALGADO

“JAZZ IS NOT A STYLE” Classically trained artist Leszek Możdżer, a leading light of the middle generation of Polish jazz, performs solo in the Liszt Academy.

He spoke to the Concert Magazine about the situation of Polish and European jazz, his music influences and the future of the genre.

How do you explain the special situation of Polish jazz in Europe and that Poland has gifted the world with so many jazz musicians of international renown over the decades?

Music represented a refuge for Poles in times of trouble. It was a form of escape from the extremely circumscribed and fearful historical reality.

And even though the government made the performance of works by Russian composers compulsory in Polish secondary schools, this was still great music bearing pithy messages from major intellectuals (Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, et al). This music was performed alongside the greatest classical traditions (Beethoven, Bartók, Chopin, Szymanowski, Debussy); in other words, it was possible to learn a fantastic repertoire.

Music is an abstract language, so it quickly became a means of free selfexpression for souls drummed into servitude. Europe’s first free jazz band was Tomasz Stańko’s The Jazz Darings. Jazz became the symbol of freedom in the 1960s. It functioned as one of the rare forms of expression in which it was possible to freely speak, so it grasped every sensitive intellect.

This is the reason we have so many great jazz musicians here in Poland.

In the course of your career you have played Chopin works on several records. Is this your way of acknowledging a great Polish composer, or is it more to do with Chopin being easy to set to jazz?

In my case, all that happened was that a producer contacted me. In truth, this producer had already sought out several Polish pianists. This is how the Chopin fashion in Polish jazz started. I was twenty at the time and hated the idea of performing Chopin in a jazzy way, but I was also attracted to the possibility of making my first solo album in a studio.

I had to do the whole thing in secret because I was fully aware that my music academy professors would not have supported the idea. A few years later I got another call, this time from a French record label. I was given a massive opportunity to make an album abroad for distribution throughout Europe. My third recording was a DVD with my friend Tymon Tymanski. We were then given the chance of playing in front of 200,000 people at a rock festival in Poland. I couldn’t refuse! Such requests rarely arrive by phone…

The album Komeda was released a few years ago. Several of your fellow musicians have also remembered the pianist Krzysztof Komeda (who died at a young age) on recordings. Why were you attracted to his music?

Komeda was one of the greatest figures in the history of Polish jazz. Later legendary jazz musicians like Stańko, Muniak, Namysłowski, Delag, Bartkowski, Wróblewski and Milian all played in his formations. He was an excellent leader of an orchestra, a smart person, a composer of originality, and an influential figure. A rare combination indeed.

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LESZEK MOŻDŻER © PIOTR TOPPERZER

“JAZZ IS NOT A STYLE”

His music was simple and pure, but at the same time it was personal and groundbreaking. He once made an appearance in Hollywood alongside Roman Polanski and became an instant hit. He died young yet had an impact on generations of Polish musicians. Luckily, a few of his recordings have survived.

What was the turning point at which you decided you would be a jazz musician and not a classical pianist?

I first heard the Chick Corea Elektric Band at the age of eighteen, and then a few days later Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue album. Now this is jazz.

The quality of music is astounding… A bit later I had the opportunity to get to know the music of Petrucciani, Kirkland, Garner, Peterson, Jarrett and Evans. Each one played the piano differently. I recognized that they were giving themselves to the music. It became clear that if I wanted to realize myself, then I had to become a jazz musician.

More than a decade ago you featured on a joint recording with one of the grand old men of Polish jazz, Adam Makowicz. Tell us about this!

I was around six when my grandfather bought a Makowicz record and told me to listen to it. It was Unit, a drums and electric piano duo.

I listened and didn’t understand a thing. Two weeks later I started to grasp certain parts-indeed, I even began to like bits of it. I never thought that one day I would play together with him. For me it was like meeting the Master himself: the great virtuoso, the teacher, the ultimate source.

It was a marvellous lesson for me. I did everything to adjust to the language of Makowicz. Our first joint concert in Carnegie Hall was recorded on CD, but the truth is we gave our best concerts later on.

I was able to play with him for just a few years, since remaining in obeisance in front of the Master was somewhat exhausting.

Many people talk of the impending death of jazz.

How do you view the current situation of the genre?

Jazz is not a style; it is what the musician makes it. As long as musicians remain creative, jazz will stay in good shape. Journalists should rather be writing about the demise of swing. Yesterday swing counted as the single official language of jazz; today it is just one of many. The legacy of great European pianists and a thorough understanding of the instrument have made jazz here a completely individual discipline, also defined by classical piano literature. Jazz is constantly expanding, and certain new fields escape the attention of journalists, which is why they are calling for assistance for the dying patient.

If you had to choose one musician from jazz artists active today, who would you most like to play with?

A smart and yet at the same time deeply spiritual, sensitive, focused, humble, lively, friendly and forgiving person. I need this sort of partner when working.

György Máté J.

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THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL JUBILEE CONCERT OF THE KODÁLY INSTITUTE & INTERNATIONAL KODÁLY SOCIETY THE FIRST 40 YEARS

JAZZ IT! LESZEK MOŻDŻER Improvisations on melodies of Krzysztof Komeda, Lutosławski, Chopin, Bach and Prokofiev Leszek Możdżer (piano) Although the angular spectacle frames favoured by Leszek Możdżer might suggest that his music is equally angular and rigid, nothing could be further from the truth. Many consider him to be the brightest beacon in Polish jazz of the past decade; the pianist-composer is a sublimely sensitive transmitter of tunes. Born in 1971, Możdżer started studying music at the age of five. He attended a classical music academy before turning his attention to jazz. He played with clarinettist Emil Kowalski, the Miłość Orchestra, Zbigniew Namysłowski, and later with Tomasz Stańko, Michał Urbaniak, Adam Pierończyk and Piotr Wojtasik – in other words, the cream of Polish jazz.

Thanks to his remarkable improvisational talent and refined musicality he has recorded albums and played in concert with such world greats as Buster Williams, Archie Shepp, Joe Lovano and Pat Metheny. He is at home in all environments, from solo piano to a symphonic line-up; and to the present day his art is determined as much by classical music predecessors as the world of infinite possibilities in improvisation.

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Kodály: 'The Peacock ' – variations on a Hungarian folk song Kodály: Solo Sonata, Op. 8 Kodály: Te Deum of Buda Castle Address given by László Norbert Nemes (Director of the Kodály Institute) and Michalis Patseas (President of the International Kodály Society) Eszter Wierdl (soprano); Atala Schöck (alto); Attila Fekete (tenor); László Jekl (bass); Péter Szabó (cello) Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra Debrecen (artistic director: Dániel Somogyi-Tóth), Kodály Choir Debrecen, New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir Conductor: Péter Erdei “It is our firm conviction that mankind will live more happily when it has learnt to live with music more worthily,” avowed Kodály. Over the past several decades the Kodály Institute and the International Kodály Society have done much to ensure that this belief is pursued in practice This major concert opens with a Kodály composition written on the folk song The Peacock, which combines ancient Hungarian melody and modern poetic influences represented by Endre Ady. The Solo Sonata, performed by Péter Szabó, is placed between the two orchestral compositions. The concert culminates with Te Deum of Buda Castle, which in a unique way summarizes in monumental form the Kodály style and the musical influences on the great Hungarian composer.

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, International Kodály Society 15

WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER, 19.30

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL SPRING AWAKENING Máté Bella: Spring Awakening

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC BALOGH KÁLMÁN 40 YEARS ON STAGE Ágnes Herczku, András Berecz (vocals); András Vavrinecz (violin); Miklós Lukács, Kálmán Balogh (cimbalom); Róbert Lakatos, Endre Papp (viola); Csaba Novák, András Bognár (double bass) Kálmán Balogh has created a new style by building bridges between different musical styles. His professional craft and musical sensibility – spiced up with a little ‘ethnic flavouring’ – make him a legendary performer the world over. For this concert the emphasis is on folk music in its original form. We are led through Hungarian-speaking regions where the cimbalom has become an integral part of the music tradition. Improvised chamber music based on folk music motifs (or, if you prefer, ‘world music’) is part of the programme. Kálmán is partnered

by Miklós Lukács, also on cimbalom, who has won enduring merit in his interpretation of both jazz and contemporary music.

KÁLMÁN BALOGH © ZSÓFI RAFFAY 16

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Libretto based on the drama by Frank Wedekind: András Almási-Tóth Wendla: Júlia Hajnóczy Menyus: Gyula Rab Marci: Botond Ódor Headmistress: Zita Szemere Ilse/Mother: Luszine Sahakyan Masked man: Csaba Gaál Thea: Eszter Zavaros Martha: Alexandra Ruszó Choreographer: Noémi Kulcsár UMZE Chamber Ensemble Conductor: Gergely Vajda Stage design, costumes, director: András Almási-Tóth Franz Wedekind’s 1891 play subtitled A Children’s Tragedy discussed – scandalously at the time – the conflict between adolescent desires and instinct and the bourgeois order founded on repression and control.

Much more recently, the highly talented and youthful composer Máté Bella composed an opera exploring this still disturbing and powerful drama. Speaking about the one-act opera, András Almási-Tóth, inspirator, librettist and director of the world premiere in 2012, said: “The work is about a general and perennial problem, namely, how society deals with carnality. How it processes the needs of physicality, which, if denied at a certain age, for instance, in young people, can result in terrible tragedy.”

Tickets: HUF 1 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, CAFe Budapest

“THE CIMBALOM IS JUST A MEANS” Kálmán Balogh is a living legend. In his hands the cimbalom functions as a universal instrument: if necessary for folk, then again for world music, or perhaps for classical, or even jazz. He launched his career forty years ago; currently he is teaching at the Liszt Academy’s Folk Music Department, and he works with undiminished energy in a variety of ensembles. The ocassion of the jubilee concert was the reason for this interview, arranged in ‘Block F’ (FahÉj CafÉ – Editor) opposite the Folk Music Department.

Let’s look back over the past forty years. It’s a long time, don’t you think?

Well, in fact it is more than forty years, since I have been on stage since the age of twelve. If my maths is correct, this is nearer forty-four years.

But forty is a nice round number. Let’s leave it at forty! The truth is I never was going to be a musician. I came across the cimbalom relatively late in life. When I was eleven we visited my uncle Elemér Balogh in Budapest.

He was a fantastic urban Gypsy musician. He played with such passion, imagination and talent the like of which we have not seen again to this day. I only met him a few times because at that time he was regularly working abroad. So we travelled from Miskolc to visit Elemér, who played a melody on the cimbalom that he was just then recording: a Romanian Sirba in B minor. I learned it in ten minutes. He was very surprised and advised my parents to send me to music lessons. This is how it all started.

You then started learning the instrument at school. Was there any opportunity for this in Miskolc?

At that time there was no classical cimbalom tuition in Miskolc, which is why every Friday I would leave school and travel with my sister to Budapest to visit my teacher Beatrix Szöllős at the music school on what was then Népköztársaság Road. I regard her as a great teacher. We had two lessons and then we returned to Miskolc. In just two years I finished four years’ worth of music and applied for a place at the conservatory in Miskolc. Since at that time there was no cimbalom department, they invited Ferenc Gerencsér from Budapest, Aladár Rácz’s best pupil, who was a classical musician. Then I knew I would be a cimbalom player.

At the time the Liszt Academy Teacher Training College provided the highest level graduation certificate in this field, so I set this as my goal and I completed the course.

You were awarded a college diploma in 1980. When did folk music first appear in your life?

Long before this. From 1972 I was playing in the Avas Dance Ensemble orchestra in Miskolc. This was folk music, but not in its original form.

As was typical for the period, we played arrangements from sheet music written by composers. Traditional folk music arrived in Miskolc in 1975 in the person of András Vavrinecz, who had previously studied as a mining engineer. He launched a dance house and he presented folk music collections; in other words, he involved people in folk music. We set up a band, Nyekergő. We also went on the talent show Ki mit tud? I first played folk music with him, which is why he is a VIP guest at the Liszt Academy concert. This is when I also started playing the viola, so I could take part in the dance house musician course. I couldn’t carry a cimbalom around so I took the viola. It was great playing the three-string peasant viola.

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“THE CIMBALOM IS JUST A MEANS”

It is a real experience, easy to handle: you grasp the chords, get a rhythm going and you are away!

Not long after this the ‘folk music touring machine’ started up, I believe.

Yes. After Nyekergő there was Mákvirág, and this is the band which toured Western Europe from 1977. Then the Jánosi ensemble, Ökrös ensemble, Téka, Méta, Zsarátnok, Muzsikás… I could go on. The first really significant foreign connection came with the Swedish band Hurtig Hasse Orient Express. I played Swedish music, Hungarian dance house music and Balkan folk music with them. We appeared at the first Dance-House Meeting in 1982. Hasse was a multitalented musician: he played accordion, flute and viola. And he learned Hungarian!

Could one say that you were the first in the abovementioned genres?

I wouldn’t say that because there were always good musicians. Instead, I would say I was the first one not to play with a ‘catering’ style. Having a background in classical and folk music studies, I brought an ‘ethno’ flavour, and I could read sheet music as well. I could play the themes and jazz harmonies, and I improvised from my own feelings. This was totally novel. By 1995 I had put together my first real band, the Gipsy Cimbalom Band. Of course there were important moments, including meeting Archie Shepp, or playing the Háry János Suite in Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.

You teach folk cimbalom at the Liszt Academy Folk Music Department. Do you recommend your students to be open to as many trends as possible?

Yes. I pass on all my experiences garnered over the past. Here, the teaching of folk music is still not a long-established tradition rigidly determining everything. Our approach – my colleagues’ and mine – is flexible. I want students to be extremely good folk musicians, but at the same time we want to create a modern generation of musicians for the future. We must never bring up isolated, ‘blinkered’ folk musicians.

Unfortunately, the line of new recruits is not sufficient. As I see it, the biggest challenge is that there is no basic training, and the intermediate level is not resolved either. The technical bases would be important. But this is all normal for a new-born department. It needs fifty years before things start coming right. In addition, I think that the cimbalom as a folk instrument is just not enough. If I consider cimbalom players currently on the international stage – for instance, Miklós Lukács, Jenő Lisztes, Marius Preda, Giani Lincan – then the following may be the recipe: knowledge of the classical repertoire, contemporary music, jazz combo and improvisation skills, all with a little ethno flavour drizzled over the top. The cimbalom is just a means: artistic quality fills it with life.

Mátyás Bolya

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SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER, 19.30

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL

FOUR BY FOUR BELCEA QUARTET & TILL FELLNER Mozart: String Quartet in C major (K. 465) Webern: Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5 Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 Till Fellner (piano) Belcea Quartet: Corina Belcea, Axel Schacher (violin); Krzysztof Chorzelski (viola); Antoine Lederlin (cello) The last twenty years have been a real success story for the quartet of Romania-born violinist Corina Belcea.

In 1994 students of the London Royal College of Music decided to form a string quartet; six years later they were playing at Carnegie Hall, New York, and for five years they were the resident quartet at Wigmore Hall; influential British music journal Gramophone selected their very first recording as Album of the Year. Since then they have released another eleven discs, including the complete string quartets of Bartók and Beethoven, and it certainly appears that a new benchmark has been created with their performances, which are comparable in their clarity to those of the greatest string quartets. Courtesy of this magnificent Austrian pianist and foremost quartet, we can enjoy one of the most moving chamber music works for piano, all in the dignified surroundings of the Liszt Academy in what promises to be a rare and exciting performance.

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 700 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 20

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL SPRING AWAKENING Máté Bella: Spring Awakening Libretto based on the drama by Frank Wedekind: András Almási-Tóth Singers: Júlia Hajnóczy, Gyula Rab, Botond Ódor, Zita Szemere, Luszine Sahakyan, Csaba Gaál, Eszter Zavaros, Alexandra Ruszó Assistant to the director: Zsófia Haás Vander Choreographer: Noémi Kulcsár Dancers: students of the Hungarian Dance Academy Musical assistants: Mónika Baja, Szabolcs Sándor UMZE Chamber Ensemble Conductor: Gergely Vajda Stage design, costumes, director: András Almási-Tóth Further details on page 16 Tickets: HUF 1 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, CAFe Budapest

MÁTÉ BELLA © PÉTER HERMAN

TREE… #2 © MYOUNG HO LEE

NOT DEAD… AND LOVING IT Why is the opera of our century so beautiful? A remarkable and thought-provoking volume was published with this title in the 1970s, covering several operas perceived as contemporary and now considered classics. Even if opera is ridiculed as being deeply conservative, or simply a genre more deserving of being in a museum, new works still manage to fight their way into the repertoire even today. Don’t blow up the opera houses, instead conquer them!

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Many have tried, but all the signs are that the opera genre simply cannot be kept down. We receive regular reports of its terminal state, its imminent demise, last rites and burial, yet what we are told to view as decline is in fact a golden age. The screenings in cinemas all over the world of New York Metropolitan Opera productions are only the most obvious signs and proof of this vigorous, eventful and ambitious age; but the present success of opera is not merely down to cinema screenings. Today around the world there are more places playing opera, more people involved in opera, and of course more people watching opera than twenty or fifty years ago, and even intervening global crises have done little to shake this trend.

But then comes the objection that, notwithstanding its current popularity, opera is at its roots still a museum genre because the repertoire remains dominated by works dating back a century or two, maybe even three. What is more, a considerable proportion of works billed on the repertoire these days as ‘new’ are actually products of past generations. Popular at one time and then forgotten, the mutual historical interest of performers and their audience has led to the (re)discovery of operas which were neglected in their own day. So is this an opera golden age that survives on its past, and to paraphrase Count Dracula in the famous Mel Brooks’ comedy: opera is dead… and loving it?

We should never forget that our entire fundamental relationship with culture and art is conservative and historic. In other words, we prefer to watch, read and listen to what we know, and anything old we are willing to endow with great value. This is particularly true of the music genres, because as Goethe observed, the better we come to understand music, the more strongly it affects us.

So does this mean that today there is no real room for innovation and new works, or in other words, contemporary operas? The facts suggest otherwise. I could mention several world-famous operas from the past 20–30 years; if we only superficially scratch the surface of these works, we can easily begin to discern the components of their success. Almost all the composers of these new operas that are now enjoying genuine audience success worked out well in advance the prevailing conservative attitude mentioned above. This is how they came to select the themes for their works: they simply brought to the opera stage only those stories with which the audiences were fully familiar. From literature, from films, or from political and tabloid news – from the perspective of the end result, it is all the same. The meeting in Beijing of Richard Nixon and Mao Tse-tung (John Adams: Nixon in China) or the troubled life of Anna Nicole Smith (Mark-Anthony Turnage: Anna Nicole) were equally valid as the foundations for operas as was the story from the film Brokeback Mountain about gay cowboys (in the Charles Wuorinen opera released last year) or even dramas from the indestructible Shakespeare (King Lear for Aribert Reimann, The Tempest for Thomas Adès). And the same goes for Hungarian composers as well: just consider János Vajda’s Mario and the Magician and Péter Eötvös’s Three Sisters.

The selection of a subject that looks promising – and the evolution of the dramaturgy and tonality – demand that contemporary artists recognize, and at the same time accept, that despite being conservative, opera is not an aristocratic genre. No doubt excellent and impressive operas have been created, and can still be created, by renouncing direct audience influence. But in the final analysis the repertoire can be reshaped only by works that take into account audience tastes and receptiveness as much as the economic and psychological-economic components of the opera industry.

In reality, contemporary opera striving for popularity is just as much a natural and self-evident phenomenon as a politician seeking the sympathy of the electorate; the stumbling blocks in both cases can only be the sincerity of intention and the quality of execution. Not only do the unified tonality of past centuries (together with post-modernity) offer points of orientation, handholds and ammunition for the contemporary opera composer, but also those genres we do not generally refer to as being sources of inspiration or examples. For instance, the musical is a similarly established genre, the contemporary masters of which, names like Lord Lloyd-Webber and Stephen Sondheim, are not simply masters of the induction of the desired audience impact; they have crafted their modest genre with such care that it suggests the musical be the successor – and rival – of opera rather than operetta. In the matter of dramaturgical sense and compositional finesse, they too, and even the greats of film music composition, can provide useful lessons beyond the barriers raised between genres. Assuming these barriers, it is of course possible that they are only a rhetorical expression; after all, at one time György Ránki and Emil Petrovics also shifted to the area of applied or simple entertainment music, and many young Hungarian composers move around in this terrain totally at ease. Zsófia Tallér writes operas of enchantment, but she has already composed applied theatre and film music as well; Péter Zombola has created music for image clips; Máté Bella, who is once again in the public eye with Spring Awakening, composed a musical and a viable pop hit. They are taking their own steps towards the audience.

Now it is our turn to give them (and of course every new contemporary opera) the chance.

Ferenc László

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MONDAY 12 OCTOBER, 19.00

MONDAY 12 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL LUTOSŁAWSKI QUARTET Lutosławski: String Quartet Szymański: Five Pieces for String Quartet Weinberg: String Quartet, Op. 35/6 Lutosławski Quartet: Bartosz Woroch, Marcin Markowicz (violin); Artur Rozmyslowicz (viola); Maciej Młodawski (cello)

LUTOSŁAWSKI QUARTET © LUKASZ RAJCHERT

Formed in 2007, the Lutosławski Quartet are totally committed to modern Polish music. Besides their classical repertoire, the string quartet are specialists in 20th century genres; they also frequently perform contemporary works. Regularly invited to the top modern music festivals, the ensemble are considered highly accomplished interpreters of the works of Karol Szymanowski and Dmitry Shostakovich; second violinist Marcin Markowicz is also a composer. All members of the formation are receptive to the most varied of styles; they have played alongside famous jazz artists including Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and Uri Caine. Naturally, their Budapest concert includes the only string quartet written by Lutosławski, a piece found in the repertoires of the greatest quartets of the past half century. The work imposes a special responsibility on chamber musicians because it requires, according to the composer, “the combination of a few players who think, feel and decide independently of each other. Every player should perform his part as though he were playing alone.”

Tickets: HUF 1 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, CAFe Budapest

BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS KATIA & MARIELLE LABÈQUE DOUBLE PIANO RECITAL Ravel: Mother Goose (original four-hand version) Ravel: Spanish Rhapsody (original two-piano version) Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (composer’s original transcription) Katia Labèque, Marielle Labèque (piano) The result of several decades of combined work by Katia and Marielle Labèque represents a whole new reality in four-hand and two-piano genres.

Performances by the sisters, who mobilize an amazing depth of energy on stage, are characterized by a harmony that only the greatest duos are capable of achieving. One can state without exaggeration that the sisters have tried out virtually every genre that exists: they have worked together with the finest European and American symphony orchestras and Baroque ensembles, and composers including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Zubin Mehta and Sir Simon Rattle, as well as top contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez, Philip Glass, György Ligeti and Olivier Messiaen. And as if that were not enough, they have taken part in several crossover projects, most recently, for example, in the Paris premiere of a new Romeo and Juliet choreography by a famous breakdancer, when they were accompanied by electric guitar and drums.

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

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KATIA AND MARIELLE LABÈQUE © UMBERTO NICOLETTI

HARMONY AND FREEDOM It is not rare to find two musicallyminded girls born into the same musical family, but it is anything but common that two extraordinarily gifted sisters have been playing music in harmony and with huge passion for decades. Katia and Marielle Labèque make up a very special piano duo. As far as they are concerned, playing music together is best when “there is someone beside you who you love, and it is a great pleasure that together we can share music with each other and with others.”

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The Labèque sisters, born in the town of Bayonne in southwest France, inherited musical genes and talent from their Italian pianist mother, Ada Cecchi, who also gave them their first piano lessons at the early age of three and five years, respectively. Their childhood was full of music, and they spent a huge amount of time practising and playing together (in all senses of the word). Katia Labèque told the Liszt Academy Concert Magazine that their first jointly learned and performed work was Fauré’s Dolly. They gained early admission to the distinguished Paris Conservatoire, and this was also the scene of their first major successes: Katia was barely nineteen, Marielle seventeen, when in 1969 they recorded Olivier Messiaen’s work Visions de l’Amen under the guidance of the composer.

This launched their career in contemporary music; over the decades they have had the chance to work together with numerous major composers. The list of names is astounding in itself: besides Messiaen, they have performed works by Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Philippe Boesmans, Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, Thomas Adès, and last but not least, György Ligeti, all without exception under the watchful eye of the composers themselves. When asked about Ligeti, Katia had this to say of their work together: “It was fantastic. His works chose us years ago at the event at the Centre Acanthes, Aix-en-Provence; we were teaching them and then we performed them at the concert. He was a truly wonderful person and fantastic composer.” Several works have been written specifically for them, for instance, Luciano Berio’s Linea for two pianos and percussion.

The pair decided during their years at the Conservatoire to make four-hand and two-piano performances their principal profile. The Messiaen recording was followed by a Bartók recording in 1970, although world fame had to wait until 1980 and a four-hand version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The album sold more than half a million copies, and it was one of the first classical music discs to go gold. Besides mastering the piano duo repertoire, Katia and Marielle decided to broaden the piano and percussion genre. They were joined in this enterprise by Irwin Kostal, the original arranger of West Side Story, who transcribed the popular piece for two pianos and percussion instruments especially for the sisters.

The Labèques are not only interested in contemporary and 20th century works; they are also open to early music, having worked together with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and The English Baroque Soloists. Recently they toured with Sir Simon Rattle and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and as performers of the Classical-Romantic repertoire they have partnered conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Semyon Bychkov, Paavo Järvi and Zubin Mehta. However, they are not only ‘omnivores’ in terms of classical music; they are open to any style, even pop. “Our tastes are similar in many types of music,” says Katia. “True, I am far keener on electronic music, but Marielle also enjoys rock.” A few years ago Katia recorded an album called Shape of my Heart, featuring jazz standards and pop hits. Contributing artists included Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea,

while Sting himself sang the title work with piano accompaniment

by Katia. “We like pop music, as do very many classical artists, because classical works often draw inspiration from pop music.” Of course, the relationship is a two-way street because they also have an impact on pop musicians: Madonna is a good friend of the Labèque sisters, who are the pop icon’s favourite pianists.

Proof of the intimacy of the relationship between Katia and Marielle is to be found in the fact that even today they still live together. They moved to London in 1987, they then lived together in a palace in Florence in 1993, and in 2005 they moved to Rome and a former Borgia villa.

While living in the Italian capital they have founded a studio where they have their own record label (KML Recordings). “We only record our own projects. We have a free hand to work on what we want: freedom is extremely important for us.”

As well as KML Recordings, the sisters created the KML Foundation, the purpose of which is to enhance encounters between artists from various fields of art and to bring classical music closer to children.

According to Katia Labèque, “It is necessary to organize programmes for young people in which they, too, can have an active part. But every experiment that brings them closer to music is good. We took part in a week-long concert in Lyon where more than 1800 children were sitting in the auditorium every day. We could play together with a fantastic group, La Compagnie des Objets Volants, and every child loved it!”

For their concert in the Liszt Academy Grand Hall these multitalented siblings perform Ravel’s Mother Goose and Spanish Rhapsody in the original four-hand and two-piano versions, together with Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in the composer’s original transcription. So why did they choose these pieces for the Budapest audience? “Because we like them.

As far as we are concerned, there could be no better reason.”

Lili Békéssy

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WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL

PURE BAROQUE BORBÁLA DOBOZY ORCHESTRAL BACH RECITAL

LISZT ACADEMY OF YESTERDAY FROM HAL SQUARE TO LISZT FERENC SQUARE (1875–1907) SERIES BY ANDRÁS BATTA & SÁNDOR KOVÁCS LOOKING BACK INTO THE PAST The Liszt Academy – a legend. 140 years ago, in 1875, titans descended from near Olympus to light the flame.

Today, this is as though it all happened 1400 years ago, so filled with events has the history of the Liszt Academy been since this heroic act of Liszt and Erkel. These squares have a history, even a message: from Liszt’s apartment on Hal Square to the recently opened György Ligeti building. Two popular professors of music history, András Batta and Sándor Kovács (one-time fellow students in the Liszt Academy’s Department of Musicology) take us on a four-part tour through this amazing history. Sándor Kovács and András Batta quote from the past of the Liszt Academy, illustrating their talk with live music and archive recordings, calling on the assistance of the professors and students of the academy, and where necessary diving into documents and anecdotes – and all this transmitted with a historian’s sobriety, nostalgia and humour.

The lecture is in Hungarian Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 28

J. S. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor (BWV 1052) J. S. Bach: Triple Concerto in F major (BWV 1057) J. S. Bach: Duet for Oboe and Violin in C minor (BWV 1060) J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major (BWV 1050) Borbála Dobozy (harpsichord) Anna Januj (recorder) Aura Musicale (artistic director: Balázs Máté) Liszt Academy professor and Liszt Prize-winning harpsichordist Borbála Dobozy is one of the leading Bach performers of our day. Proof of this, if needed, will be found in her recording of the Goldberg Variations (2010) – one of the finest harpsichord interpretations of the work in existence – in which she plays on a replica Mietke harpsichord, that is, on the instrument that Bach collected in Berlin in 1719, and which according to some researchers inspired the astounding harpsichord solo of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. On this orchestral Bach evening, Borbála Dobozy not only plays the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 as partner of Aura Musicale (under artistic director Balázs Máté), but also a composer’s triple concerto arrangement from the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, in which the harpsichord receives the astoundingly complex violin part from the original.

Tickets: HUF 1 300, 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

BORBÁLA DOBOZY

OCEAN (EXCERPT) © SÁRI ZAGYVAI

MONDAY 19 OCTOBER, 19.30

THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE MISCHA MAISKY & HUNGARIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Rossini: Sonata for Strings No. 6 in D major Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major (Hob VIIb:1) Bartók: Divertimento (BB 118) Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 Mischa Maisky (cello) Hungarian Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: Béla Bánfalvi)

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MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA PINCHAS STEINBERG & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Wagner: The Mastersingers of Nuremberg – Overture Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major Wagner: Tristan and Isolde – Prelude Wagner: Isolde’s Love-Death Liszt: Tasso László Váradi (piano) Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg

The Liszt Academy’s Grand Hall greets one of today’s foremost exponents of the cello in the person of Mischa Maisky. The Latvian-born artist shot to international fame at the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow when he was just 17; he emigrated to Israel in 1971, and today he lives in Brussels. When young he was coached by the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich. Maisky has played with virtually all the great orchestras and soloists, and he has regularly played in concert with the likes of Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, Gidon Kremer, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim and Giuseppe Sinopoli.

For this recital his cello playing is accompanied by the chamber orchestra formed in October 2011 to revive and continue the tradition of the old Hungarian Chamber Orchestra that had operated under the leadership of Vilmos Tátrai for nearly three decades.

Born in Israel, conductor Pinchas Steinberg has led the orchestra of the Philharmonic Society since 2014. He pursued his music studies in the US and in Berlin, where he first conducted in front of an audience in 1974. Since then he has guided virtually all the major symphony orchestras of Europe and, as guest artist, taken to the stage of the most celebrated opera houses, including Covent Garden, the Paris Opera House and the Munich Opera House. Steinberg compiled the programme of Liszt and Wagner works on the occasion of Ferenc Liszt’s birthday for the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra, which he directs for the first time. Soloist in the Liszt piano concerto is László Váradi, who celebrates his 20th birthday in 2015; he attended the class for outstandingly talented musicians of the Liszt Academy and is currently a first-year student at the Budapest institution.

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

MISCHA MAISKY © DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON / MAT HENNEK

“I STILL LOVE MUSIC EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME” He is one of the most popular and in-demand cellists of our day.

Born in the Soviet Union, he lived in Israel for many years and currently resides in Brussels.

He studied under Rostropovich and Piatigorsky; as exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon he has more than fifty discs to his name; and while many consider the romantic incandescence, rich vibrato and full cello sound of his playing to be exaggerated, he still has very many followers. Mischa Maisky performs in the Liszt Academy with accompaniment from the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra. He spoke to the Concert Magazine about the forthcoming concert.

You have called yourself lucky, though your early career in the Soviet Union was not easy. After the initial rapid successes you spent two years shovelling cement in a labour camp.

It was a huge learning curve. Of course, I would never wish it on anyone, but I certainly learned more about life there than if I had spent those years in concert. It is extremely important to see the positive in whatever fate deals out to us. Children, too, have to go through certain illnesses in order to acquire immunity. Vicissitudes strengthen the person. I don’t regret anything that has happened in my life, and I would even say that I am grateful for everything.

Your talent propelled you to two great cellists of the 20th century, Rostropovich and Piatigorsky. What did you learn from them?

I could write a whole book about this, it is difficult to give a short answer.

Yet the main message from both was never to forget that the cello, or indeed any other instrument, is just a means to an end, that is, music.

We must use our talent and knowledge to express music, and not the other way round, in other words, not to show how clever we are with music. Today, unfortunately, this often happens, because competitions are so tough, the technical standards are so high, that young musicians think they can stand out from the crowd by playing ever louder and faster, making the music itself secondary.

Unlike your masters, you do not teach, which very many young cellists most certainly regret.

It depends what you call teaching. When people come to me after a concert and ask me whether I could teach them, I always reply: I’ve just taught you. Although I occasionally give short master classes if I have to, I cannot undertake regular teaching because I spend too much time giving concerts and travelling. I have a large family – my sixth child was born recently – and they are at least as important to me as music, and I would like to spend more time with them. A person has to consider what he is best at. There are so many who teach far, far better than I could, so I leave it to them. I believe I can give more to those wishing to learn through my playing than by teaching. I also feel that I myself have not learned enough to be teaching others – perhaps I’ll be ready for it in 20–30 years... But joking aside, I really do not know much about playing the cello. I cannot explain why I hold the bow in the way I do, and whether it should be held like this. Indeed, I would even go as far as to say that it’s all the same how somebody approaches the instrument just as long as

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they play it well. I’ve always considered myself part amateur, even more so since in Russian ‘amateur’ means music lover. Incredible as it may sound, I still love music even after all this time.

You play on an 18th century Montagnana cello, which found its way to you in amazing circumstances. How would you characterize the instrument?

We met forty-two years ago and it was love at first sight. We have not parted since then, and I celebrate our meeting in November of every year.

Montagnana was a Venetian violin maker, and his instruments differ considerably from the instruments of the Cremona masters. I have played on Stradivarius cellos on a few occasions, and I always felt that I was on formal terms with these instruments: they have some sort of aloofness.

The Montagnanas are warmer, more intimate, informal.

Musicians these days have to do many things that have little to do with music in order to gain coverage and for the sake of success. They have to stand out in looks and style. Where is the limit?

Like in everything here too a balance has to be reached. There is nothing wrong in itself when somebody promotes themselves with dozens of great photos, the problem starts when there is nothing behind this. The quality of the music is all that matters. Fine products also have to be packaged properly, but it is not possible to substitute musical content for looks; appearance is a matter of good taste.

You are always said to play everything romantically. How is this?

Once again, it all depends on what one calls romantic. If it is a rich emotional expression, then I would say that what today we call early music is similarly packed with emotions. Baroque music is extremely passionate and emotional.

Pablo Casals said that there is no human emotion that isn’t found in Bach.

According to Horowitz, all music is essentially romantic. Of course, I’m not saying that I would play Bach in the same way as Schumann or Shostakovich – and certainly not that my interpretation would be the ‘correct’ one.

The greater a piece of music, the more ways it can be performed. Nobody can say they know what the ‘truth’ is! The point is that the playing should never be boring or ugly. Unfortunately, most people are scared of being different – they consider it dangerous – and this is the case not only in music: this is how the great conflicts of history start. Instead, we should be pleased by diversity because this gives life richness.

Judit Rácz 33

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER, 11.00

TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL KOREA AND HUNGARY JOINT CONCERT BY THE KOREAN LISZT SOCIETY & LISZT ACADEMY

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES FOR BAROQUE MUSIC FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Works by J. S. Bach, Vivaldi and C. P. E. Bach Aura Musicale Artistic director and narrator: Balázs Máté

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

It is often said that music is like a language, a language in which the instruments speak. But what does music say, and how is it capable of relating a story if it is not supported by text? The autumn concerts of the Liszt Academy’s youth series, Liszt Kidz Academy, which is targeted at 10–15-year-olds (as well as their parents and grandparents), seek answers to these questions. The first concert in the new season takes the audience into the world of Baroque music – thanks to Balázs Máté (who speaks the music of the period with great fluency) and his ensemble Aura Musicale – to a time when in music everything was about expression, and instrumental music was considered the daughter of vocal music: like a child imitates its mother, so instruments must imitate singers.

We find out at the concert how it was possible for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the highly talented son of J. S. Bach, and Antonio Vivaldi to relate stories purely through notes; furthermore, we can learn from Balázs Máté how these messages hidden in the works can be decoded.

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

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Sangryeongsan – traditional Korean music Minchong Park: Bluebird Kodály: Sonatina Junho Lee: Scent of the Wind Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (BB 68) Kyuil Yoon: Variations on the Korean Folk Song Arirang Bartók: Hungarian Folk Songs Ockmi Han: Reverie Sooin Lee: Song on the Town of Birth Liszt: Die Loreley Kodály: Folk song settings Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 (‘Rákóczi March’) Zsófia Staszny (soprano); Ji-Young Hur (piri, saenghwang); Vilmos Szabadi (violin); Hosung Chung (cello); Yun Ha Hwang, Minjeong Shin, Young Mi Seo, Kwiran Lee (piano) The Liszt Academy and the Korean Liszt Society have enjoyed a close relationship for six years. The two institutions have put together many joint projects: most recently, last autumn there was a celebration marking the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korean and Hungary. This recital, brainchild of the president of the Korean Liszt Society, Yun Ha Hwang, demonstrates the Bartókian principle of ‘peoples becoming brothers’, because although geographically and historically speaking Korea and Hungary lie far from one another, the one thing that can certainly bridge this distance is music.

Free tickets to the concert can be obtained at the ticket office of the Liszt Academy.

Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: Korean Cultural Centre (Budapest)

WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL

TALENT OBLIGE DÓRA KOKAS CHAMBER RECITAL

ON THE SPOT DOUBLE BASS SUB-DEPARTMENT Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 Weiner: Romance, Op. 14 Montag: Microconcert Alt: Suite for Four Double Basses

J. S. Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in G major (BWV 1027) Brahms: Trio in B major, Op. 8 Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 5/2 Tchaikovsky: Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62 Dóra Kokas (cello) Katalin Kokas (violin) Jacob Katsnelson (piano)

Now it is the turn of double bassists, players of the deepest-sounding stringed instrument, to take centre stage in the On the Spot series introducing departments of the academy, which was initiated by the Liszt Academy Concert Centre.

During this concert the double bass – often considered the instrument ‘merely’ providing the base harmony – appears as a solo instrument; performers include Zsolt Fejérvári and Péter Kubina, teachers from the department, plus students.

Interestingly, the programme not only presents us with two well-known works in Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, originally written for clarinet, and Leó Weiner’s Romance penned for cello and piano, but a couple of rarities: Microconcert by legendary bassist virtuoso Lajos Montag (1906–1997), and a curiosity from another important bass player, Bernhard Alt (1903–1945), Suite for Four Double Basses.

The Liszt Academy Concert Centre series, Talent Oblige launched in 2013, offers every half year the opportunity to several students or ensembles of the Liszt Academy to present themselves to a wider audience. Dóra Kokas, who as cellist with the Kelemen Quartet has conquered the stages of Europe, America and Australia, now appears as soloist. The concert opens with Bach’s Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in G major, which Leipzig audiences of the day could listen to with harpsichord accompaniment, most probably in the Zimmermann café. Since then, the work has been played following numerous different performance traditions; both historical and 19th century Romantic approaches have influenced contemporary interpretations of the piece.

Beethoven’s Sonata in G minor and Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo capriccioso, originally composed with orchestral arrangement, are joined by Brahms’s Trio in B major. Dóra Kokas is partnered by her sister, professor at the Liszt Academy, Katalin Kokas, and the superb Russian pianist Jacob Katsnelson.

Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Zsolt Fejérvári, Péter Kubina (double bass) and students of the Double Bass Sub-Department Balázs Vitályos (piano)

DÓRA KOKAS © LISZT ACADEMY / ZSOLT BIRTALAN

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FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER, 19.30 SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER, 19.30

THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

KOROLIOV / KELLER CONCERT OF CONCERTO BUDAPEST GOLDMARK 100 Goldmark: Sonata for Violin and Piano in D major, Op. 25 Goldmark: Sonata for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 39 Songs by Brahms and Goldmark Schubert: Trio in B major (D. 898)

Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite in G major (BWV 1007) Cello Suite in E-flat major (BWV 1010) Cello Suite in C minor (BWV 1011) Miklós Perényi (cello)

It is exactly 100 years since the death of the composer of The Queen of Sheba, Hungarian-Austrian Károly Goldmark.

The artist, who is today sadly rarely heard of and whose works are infrequently performed, was in his day a celebrated composer, primarily in the Germanspeaking territories. There is no doubt that Goldmark recognized the secrets that made Liszt, Brahms and Schumann, inspirers of his art, popular: the exact balance of instinct and professional knowledge, and the fine order between impulsive remark and carefully planned structure. His style is characterized by both the use of heightened melodies of Wagnerian Romanticism and experimental, primarily unusual dissonances and more daring chromatics (and indeed occasionally Hungarian folklore, as well).

His chamber and vocal works are perfect examples of this exciting duality. On one hand, they sit comfortably in the 19th century tradition (typified by works

by Brahms and Schubert); on the other, they have an unmistakably unique sound.

One of today’s most significant Bach performers, Russian-born Evgeni Koroliov, who lives and teaches in Hamburg, is a regular guest of the Liszt Academy and performs (not for the first time) with Concerto Budapest, led by András Keller. This time he features in two piano concertos: the Bach G minor work originally for violin, and one of the most dramatic compositions by the young Beethoven, the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, which echoes in many respects the Mozart work in the same key. The second half of the concert is given over to the meditative string orchestral composition Requiem (1957)

by Toru Takemitsu, a key figure in 20th century Japanese music. During his visit to Japan in 1958, Stravinsky listened to Requiem and expressed his admiration for the piece, after which Takemitsu’s name became universally recognized.

The concert culminates with one of the emblematic works of European cultural history, the evergreen fifth symphony

by Beethoven, which despite being ‘overplayed’ still has the power to stir up powerful emotions.

The 13-year-old Pablo Casals rediscovered Johann Sebastian Bach’s suites written for cello when, while out walking one day with his father in Barcelona, he came across the sheets in an antiquarian bookshop. He spent more than twelve years practising them before performing the first in 1901; only decades later he recorded the entire series. Since then it has been an obligatory task for every cellist of note to perform the six magical works, which were written around 1720. It is not the first time that Miklós Perényi has undertaken to fill the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy with the sweet notes of the cello playing the entire series at two concerts: the last time was twenty years ago in 1995. At that time, legendary critic György Kroó wrote: “There was nothing of a rhetorical or sermonising nature in his play.

It had the impact of the simplest human speech. Pure words that took flight, but they arrived from such a close proximity that they were almost tangible, they stroked, warmed and surrounded one. These works, even in relation to Bach, belong among the highest summits, and who other than Miklós Perényi is better qualified through his genius to surmount these peaks!”

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 4 200, 5 800, 7 200, 8 500 Organizer: Concerto Budapest

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Ádám Banda (violin), Ditta Rohmann (cello), Bernadett Wiedemann (mezzosoprano), Tihamér Hlavacsek (piano)

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J. S. Bach: Piano Concerto in G minor (BWV 1058) Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 Takemitsu: Requiem Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (‘Fate’)

COMPLETE WORKS LIVE COMPLETE BACH CELLO SUITES WITH MIKLÓS PERÉNYI I

Evgeni Koroliov (piano) Concerto Budapest Conductor: András Keller

ENTRY IN THE GUEST BOOK OF LISZT ACADEMY VILDE FRANG (24 FEBRUARY 2015)

VIJAY IYER (19 MARCH 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / GÁBOR ANCSIN

VILDE FRANG AND THE AMSTERDAM SINFONIETTA (24 FEBRUARY 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

SZALONNA AND HIS BAND (19 FEBRUARY 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / ISTVÁN FAZEKAS 38

OPENING CONCERT OF THE TRANSPARENT SOUND NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL (10 JANUARY 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

NORMAN LEBRECHT (11 MARCH 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / SÁNDOR BENKŐ

ISTVÁN VÁRDAI, GÁBOR TAKÁCS-NAGY AND THE MANCHESTER CAMERATA (18 MARCH 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA 39

© JUDIT MARJAI

World class from Hungary.

They are here! CLA Shooting Brake and the new B-class.

In 2008 Mercedes-Benz made the decision to establish a new

reflects the young dynamism of the four-door model, produ-

factory plant in Hungary. The success of the Kecskemét model

ced in our home country.

has proved our decision to be correct.

CLA Shooting Brake, just like its brother model, is produced

In 2012 we started the production of B-class. One of the leading models of the compact car category, it emphasised its appearance through its elegance and practicality – this is still

exclusively in Hungary. Therefore the unique combination of German technology and Hungarian workmanship has resulted in another world class standard vehicle.

the same today. In fact the new B-class offers even finer lines

“World class from Hungary”. Naturally, this is not only a sen-

and a more dynamic feeling than ever. This updated series

tence to be solely applied to ourselves, or not just about the

satisfies every need, not only from the aspect of comfort, but

models produced in Kecskemét alone. We are also devoted

also of visage.

to sponsor other world class performers that are to be found

In 2013 we started the production of the model Mercedes-Benz CLA, the first model exclusively produced in Hungary. The never ending success story of the four-door coupe has been continued with the production of its “big brother” started in January 2015. Thanks to its cabin volume the spacious CLA Shooting Brake is not only practical but also

in the Hungarian sporting and cultural life. In the process of choosing our partners, this was also our main consideration, which is why we initiated a program with the Liszt Academy.

We are convinced, that they represent world class standards in both cultural and musical life that matches the basic principle of Mercedes-Benz: “The best or nothing.”

SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

SONG RECITALS AT THE LISZT ACADEMY SZILVIA VÖRÖS & KÁROLY MOCSÁRI Rachmaninoff ’s songs and piano pieces Szilvia Vörös (soprano) Károly Mocsári (piano) “I first felt that I could win when I saw the smile on Éva Marton’s face as she announced the first prize winner.”

This is how Szilvia Vörös, winner of the I. International Éva Marton Singing Competition, graduate of the Liszt Academy in 2013 and the only Hungarian to make it into the final, remembered the last, tense moments of the competition. “It is extremely interesting that the jury considered her worthy of first place almost from the very first day,” stated Éva Marton, “although I could not award her points because at one time Szilvia was my student. I did not coach her for the competition and because she has been working alone for a year now as an independent artist.” Károly Mocsári, winner of the 1986 Liszt-Bartók competition, one of the defining performers of Rachmaninoff today, accompanies the Junior Prima Prizewinning singer at her first independent Liszt Academy recital. The uniquely exciting programme comprises songs and piano works by the Russian master.

In an interview Szilvia Vörös said, “Oratorios and songs demand a slightly different voice and tone than opera.

It is important when singing church music that one should be there in spirit, and the songs are close to me because they are intimate.”

Tickets: HUF 1 300, 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 42

COMPLETE WORKS LIVE COMPLETE BACH CELLO SUITES WITH MIKLÓS PERÉNYI II Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite in D minor (BWV 1008) Cello Suite in C major (BWV 1009) Cello Suite in D major (BWV 1012) Miklós Perényi (cello) There are few more moving experiences than to spend 90 minutes surrounded by the sounds of the cello of Miklós Perényi in the acoustic marvel of the Liszt Academy’s Grand Hall. We can enjoy two such occasions in late November, since after a break of twenty years Perényi is once again performing the six cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach over two concerts. The composer intended this series as the continuation of the six works for solo violin, and in some movements the composer builds up an entire spiritual universe mainly from a single part through the cello, the string instrument with the most human of sounds. There is no human emotion that is not apparent in these works, from the measureless pain of the passions to the joyous concertos.

And there are few cellists who could better encapsulate the brilliance in all these works than Miklós Perényi.

He holds the audience in a state of constant tension, not letting them go for a single moment. Without regard to audience, success or posterity, it is as though he has a single objective in view: to penetrate the deepest, most hidden recesses of music.

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

MIKLÓS PERÉNYI © LISZT ACADEMY / ANDREA FELVÉGI

AFTER THE MARTON SINGING COMPETITION For several decades the music life of Budapest was virtually devoid of song recitals, but in the past few years this concert form – constantly flourishing in other countries – has made a comeback here. The Liszt Academy’s autumn programme features two prize winners of the I. International Éva Marton Singing Competition, who reveal their great capabilities in this genre.

SZILVIA VÖRÖS © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

‘Show off’ – we could have used this journalese in the previous sentence rather than ‘reveal’ but refrained from doing so for a good reason: there is nothing further from the song genre than deliberate showing off, virtuosity as a value in its own right. The song is an intimate expression of emotion, the vehicle for interpreting profound thoughts – at least in the context in which we, Central Europeans, have been raised in the German Lied tradition.

Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Wolf, Richard Strauss – each a very different artistic personality – handled Lied with piano accompaniment as a genre of the highest order, creating an elite genre in the positive sense of the word. But can there be a different path for the song genre and song recital?

Ukrainian Tetiana Zhuravel, silver medallist in the I. International Éva Marton Singing Competition, organized in autumn 2014, and winner of the audience prize (this being a particularly fine achievement for a non-Hungarian competitor) has compiled a very varied programme for her appearance in the Liszt Academy in September. In doing so, it is as if she has collected together all the arguments in favour of a ‘yes’ to the aforementioned question. Both in terms of styles and genres, the programme is heterogeneous: it spans the ages from Baroque to the 20th century, contains a classical Lied as well as an opera aria and musical excerpt, while the audience is transported geographically from the United States to Ukraine.

Of course, the insertion of Ukrainian folk songs into the programme is not an unknown practice in Hungary: the lifting of folk music into the sphere of ‘art’ music, the demonstration of the equal status of both stylistic branches, were all part of the Bartók and Kodály programmes as well: in the wake of their brilliant arrangements Hungarian students accept as fact that folk music does have a place on the concert stage. This is precisely why we can look forward with such heightened expectation to sampling many of the remarkable flavours of the music of Ukraine, a country that is so close to us geographically speaking, yet of whose culture many of us are ignorant.

The recital of Szilvia Vörös in November also takes us eastwards when she provides a selection of the melodies of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The image in Hungary of the Russian master, who died in 1943, is somewhat one-sided: concert programmes almost exclusively feature his piano concertos and symphonies; Rachmaninoff’s operas, choral and chamber music are virtually unknown here. As the grand prix winner of the I. International Éva Marton Singing Competition told the Concert Magazine, the programme is not only interesting for the novelty aspect, but together with Károly Mocsári, who provides piano accompaniment, they have tried to select pieces that delineate the thematic relations between piano works and songs, thereby offering new ways of interpreting both kinds of composition – after all, many Rachmaninoff songs started their lives as works for piano.

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AFTER THE MARTON SINGING COMPETITION

Interestingly, these songs also represent something new for Szilvia Vörös, as this is the first time she performs Rachmaninoff works.

However, the genre of song has always been one close to her heart. She confides: “Even when I was at the Liszt Academy, I considered it important to keep my stage and podium appearances in balance. Singing songs and oratorios presents one with a challenge of a different kind compared to the opera stage, and it is possible to profit from this differently. I find this very different, more intimate relationship that develops between audience and singer exciting. At the same time, it is extremely important from the aspect of vocal conditioning: singing songs is balm for the throat. This is the reason I constantly try to expand my repertoire.

I have given a concert of works by Brahms and Mahler, but in partnership with a Spanish doctoral student, I am also preparing for a performance of the de Falla cycle Siete Canciones Populares Españolas.”

So of all the composers of Lieder that she has performed so far, who are her favourites? “The aforementioned Brahms and Mahler. Partly because I feel that of the Italian and German schools – so far I have dealt with these in greater depth – Italian is overly associated with opera music; the truly exciting things are happening in the German repertoire, not to speak of the fact that we deal more with this in the course of our studies. I feel particularly close to the melancholy of Brahms and diversity of Mahler; understanding the Songs on the Death of Children became an extremely important keystone in my relationship to the entire song repertoire. It would be valuable to study songs by Richard Strauss in future, but as the examples of Rachmaninoff and de Falla show, I am happy to look in other directions as well.”

Naturally, seeking new paths will also be fraught with difficulties, since in the presentation of song, language has perhaps a more important role than any other genre. Interpreting works by de Falla in Spanish, and romances of Rachmaninoff in Russian, represents a challenge in itself, although today help in various forms is at hand. “Naturally, the first step is acquiring precise pronunciation,” says Szilvia Vörös, “phonetically, note by note. Then comes the more difficult part: adjusting to the music – after all, the tempo, rhythm and in some cases the emphases of spoken language are different when applied to music. As well as native speakers, luckily these days we have plenty of recordings at our disposal, and these are very helpful in orienting ourselves.”

She considers the single most important benefit to have come out of the Marton Singing Competition to be the chance to broaden her repertoire: concert invitations received in the wake of the victory have lent her the opportunity to learn new works. For instance, at the time we conducted the interview she was singing Rossini’s Stabat Mater in Pécs and Budapest under the direction of an Italian conductor and with Italian singer partners. “I really hope that appearances such as these result in further invitations, and in this way I can build my repertoire so that I can continue to maintain the balance between stage and concert podium I mentioned earlier,” Szilvia Vörös concluded.

Gábor Bóka

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SUNDAY 8 NOVEMBER, 11.00

SUNDAY 8 NOVEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE CHARLES DUTOIT & VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES FOR CHAMBER MUSIC FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Works by Mozart

Vienna Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Charles Dutoit

It is often said that music is like a language, a language in which the instruments speak. But what does music say, and how is it capable of relating a story if it is not supported by text? The autumn concerts of the Liszt Academy’s youth series, Liszt Kidz Academy, which is targeted at 10–15-year-olds (as well as their parents and grandparents), seek answers to these questions. The second concert in the series looks at the hidden messages in classical chamber music and how these are expressed. Chamber works

by Mozart are performed by the Kruppa String Quartet, made up of Liszt Academy undergraduates, and doctoral student Zoltán Fejérvári.

Music historian and narrator for the concert Gergely Fazekas helps children decipher the codes.

Just like their fellow orchestra the Vienna Philharmonics, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, established in 1900 and hallmarked by premieres of numerous Bruckner, Schönberg and Ravel works, are also a representative and personification of the inimitable ‘Viennese sound’. Their approach has been shaped by legendary conductors such as Richard Strauss, Josef Krips, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hans Knappertsbusch, György Széll and Herbert von Karajan, although it must be said that the orchestra have been directed by virtually every leading conductor of the second half of the 20th century, including Bernstein, Maazel, Mehta, Abbado, Kleiber and Celibidache, to name but a few. Now the orchestra welcomes the artistic director and conductor of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, who is approaching his 80th birthday. Dutoit is reckoned to be one of the most significant and dedicated interpreters of 20th century French and Russian music.

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Zoltán Fejérvári (piano) Kruppa String Quartet: Bálint Kruppa, Éva Osztrosits (violin); Dániel Krähling (viola); János Fejérvári (cello) Narrator: Gergely Fazekas

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Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 101 (excerpts) Debussy: The Afternoon of a Faun Mussorgsky–Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

CHARLES DUTOIT © ROBERT TAYLOR

ENTRY IN THE GUEST BOOK OF LISZT ACADEMY NORMAN LEBRECHT (11 MARCH 2015)

THE LIFE IN FRONT OF HIM I was not young, certainly not silly and unthinking, when, evading the vigilant former orchestral director, I sneaked into one of the rehearsals of the Festival Orchestra. It was really just out of curiosity, maybe that thing that had never been totally clear in my mind would finally resolve itself: what makes Charles Dutoit Charles Dutoit? I knew: because this is who he is. I knew: because music is not only art but business as well, and for some reason it was reckoned that he possessed that certain quality required to be a star. Because he was in the right place at the right time; because many believe that he is French, although he is in fact Swiss, but the world demanded that the French repertoire be directed by the French.

After all, their native language is Debussy and Ravel. And the others, Franck and Fauré, Ibert and Chausson. On top of this there is the ‘Swissness’, the great Ernest Ansermet, who even appears in a novel by Thomas Mann, as he cued the orchestra, and whose rehearsals were visited by Dutoit as a music academy student. It was a huge task to replace Ansermet, who was originally a mathematician and had an analytical brain, but people easily forget, they easily reset their thinking: the Swiss, the French, Debussy conducts; friends of music cannot always live in the past.

Knowing all this, seeing it, accepting it, the Dutoit puzzle would still not leave me in peace. Partly because there is a conductor who is, in effect, inescapable, with the number of his recordings topping 170 and rising. There is a conductor who raised a star orchestra from the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Working hard for decades, he placed a city in which there was no concert hall in the classical sense on the map of the classical music world; the ensemble took to the stage in a convention centre, but attracted ever more interest. Over twenty-five years the orchestra became a reliable concert and CD company; it occasionally won prestigious awards, and it was impossible to forget them. And then a quarter of a century passed, Dutoit came into conflict with the company over a relatively minor affair, he was offended and resigned. Who has heard anything of the Montréal orchestra recently?

It is not as though this proves anything. Who exactly is Charles Dutoit? One reads reviews about his concerts and recordings, and it is evident that everything is present and correct. They praise the soloists, enthuse over the works, perhaps even emphasize the sound of the orchestra – but Dutoit remains elusive. After all, we are the children of the 20 th century. Think conductor, then Toscanini or Furtwängler are the two greatest, and we are still looking for their successors. Kleiber or Karajan, Abbado or Solti? It is really only a question of taste. But if we pronounce the word, we can see beings greater than life size, of incomprehensible characteristics, who know, decide, command, for whom the sky falls with just the flick of the baton, or on the contrary, the heavens open, and Jacob’s ladder, on which angels move up and down, becomes visible. Those who stand between the audience and the work, listen to me, I have the answers to all the questions, I am the way and the truth. What can Charles Dutoit want alongside them, a person who sometimes fusses over the balance of the 48

horn-bassoon-clarinet volume for days, and if he succeeds in pinpointing the perfect proportions, it is possible that the sound engineer will think about it in a completely different way, or it will be totally distorted by the acoustics of the hall? It is like entering into a Formula 1 race a competently assembled, reliable small car: it too, after all, will reach the chequered flag and its engine will certainly not explode in the meantime.

We are the children of the 20 th century, but we are living in the 21 st century and our expectations have been fundamentally reshaped. I’m not saying that we don’t bathe, or would not bathe, happily in the radiance of wonderfully original and charismatic performers, but meanwhile it is as if we had recognized that we just don’t need greater geniuses than Beethoven, Ravel and Tchaikovsky. Perhaps, after all, we should have more direct contact with them, and not with their ordained priests. Perhaps there is no greater thing than a little bland conductor, who directs the orchestra as though he were not there. Perhaps he is truly not there. Instead of him, music could be there.

It is possible that this is all there is to the mystery, and the solution really is this simple: Dutoit is ahead of his time. This far-from-charismatic person understands his profession and is persistent as well. Perhaps he also knows what good compromises are, when to stop a rehearsal because the performance would not be better for it, and anyway the musicians would hate the piece by the evening. He understands how to stay in the background, leaving the soloist to shine, because we still want sensation, and he also knows when it is time to live and breathe together with the masterpiece.

But I wouldn’t totally ignore the other option either: that after all somebody can also be lucky in life when it is given to him to perform with the finest orchestras in the world all the time, in which case it never transpires how far he stays away from the essence, or from what we, the audience, think of as the essence. Just to complete the story I started: the extreme cunning I displayed when sneaking into Dutoit’s rehearsal was in vain; I was unable to enjoy the painful and uplifting process of the birth of the masterpiece for long. Or one could say even for a moment. Though I was able to watch the rehearsal, nothing really essential happened; people were playing music in a good-humoured atmosphere.

If something extraordinary happened later, I missed it because as soon as my presence was discovered, the orchestral director drew my attention to the precise location of the exit. However, we live in a capital city blissfully rich in musical events so that we should never feel that entrances and exits of learning are closed forever. And as for Charles Dutoit, he is not yet eighty. If we are lucky, then he really is the musician of the 21st century, and we should prepare ourselves for the best.

Miklós Fáy

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WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 19.00

WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 19.30

THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL LEGENDARY CONCERTS GERGELY BOGÁNYI & KELLER QUARTET ‘3 MARCH 1936’

ALEX SZILASI & WROCŁAW BAROQUE ORCHESTRA LISZT ACADEMY OF YESTERDAY GOLDEN AGE – WITH TRAGEDIES (1920–1944) SERIES BY ANDRAS BATTA & SANDOR KOVACS LOOKING BACK INTO THE PAST Two music history professors of the Liszt Academy, András Batta and Sándor Kovács, evoke in a kind of spiritual four-hand the critical periods of this historically important institution as it embarks on its 140th academic year. In this, the second lecture of the series, our guides recall the interwar period, the institution’s first golden age, recounting myriad political questions and personal tragedies, in spite of which the Liszt Academy became an institution of enormous significance, a period in which schools and classes were shaped under its aegis. The great teachers appeared in the persons of Hubay, Dohnányi, Weiner, Bartók and Kodály; and famed students such as Doráti, Ormándy, Fricsay, Solti, Szigeti, Végh, Anda, Cziffra and Annie Fischer.

Today, many foreigners have little idea that these artists’ musical cradle was here, in Liszt Ferenc Square. The Budapest Liszt Academy is the hive of world-famous Hungarian music, and although primarily renowned for the world of yesterday, every indication suggests that it will remain triumphant in the world of tomorrow.

The lecture is in Hungarian Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 50

Görner: Symphony Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 – 1 st Movement Rossini: William Tell – Mathilde’s Romance Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 – 2 nd and 3 rd Movements Rossini: William Tell – Overture Rossini: Lady of the Lake – Elena’s Aria Chopin: Fantasy on Polish Airs, Op. 13 Yvette Mondok (soprano) Alex Szilasi (piano) Wrocław Baroque Orchestra Awarded the Gold Cross of Merit of Hungary in 2012, distinguished Chopin specialist Alex Szilasi replays the programme of the concert Chopin gave on 11 October 1830. It was to be Chopin’s last performance in Warsaw: shortly after the concert he went to Vienna and then Paris and never saw his homeland again. The Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, Poland’s number one performers of period instruments, are experienced interpreters not only of the Baroque but also of the Classical and early Romantic orchestral repertoire. Critics have often lauded the unique harmony of their playing and their remarkable orchestral sound, especially in the context of their Chopin interpretations. Yvette Mondok takes to the stage as soloist for the evening.

This wonderful soprano, noted for her stirring opera and song recitals, sings arias by Rossini.

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: Polish Institute in Budapest

Beethoven: String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 (‘Serioso’) Bartók: String Quartet No. 5 (BB 110) Mozart: Piano Quartet in G minor (K. 478) Gergely Bogányi (piano) Keller Quartet Original performers: Annie Fischer (piano); Hungarian String Quartet In celebration of its 140th academic year, the Liszt Academy embarks on a journey to revisit legendary concerts that have been staged in the Grand Hall. On this, the first occasion, we hear a concert dating from 1936. This was a momentous year in the musical life of Budapest. The Vienna Philharmonics, under the baton of Furtwängler, gave a SchumannBeethoven concert; Béla Bartók and Edwin Fischer took to the stage together in a two-piano Bach concerto; and the Hungarian String Quartet (comprising Sándor Végh, Dénes Koromzay, Péter Szervánszky, Vilmos Palotai) together with Ernő Dohnányi provided a magnificent chamber recital in the Liszt Academy. The concert that here the Keller Quartet and Gergely Bogányi replay took place on 3 March 1936. Just a few weeks later, Bartók’s String Quartet No. 5 was presented in Hungary, which Sándor Jemnitz enthusiastically expressed as being “one of the most perfect masterpieces of universal Hungarian music.”

Annie Fischer played in the piano quartet

by Mozart which closed the original event, and among the audience was Béla Bartók himself.

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

PARITY The Musicology and Music Theory Department, hallmarked by legendary specialists since its foundation, is entering a new era.

On the occasion of the change of departmental head in January Sándor Kovács, who stepped down from his post, and Lóránt Péteri, who has taken up the appointment, spoke about the past and present of the section, its uniqueness, goals and achievements, and the symbiosis of tradition and modernity.

Modernity, keeping pace with world standards, are important ambitions of every department of the Liszt Academy. How can this be achieved in the case of a theoretical department?

Lóránt Péteri: It is important that we keep pace with the very latest findings in the profession in the same way that we provide students with up-to-date literature in reading form, and that, furthermore, we invite the sort of internationally acknowledged researchers who represent these trends and results in their very persons. For instance, not long ago Julian Johnson, professor at the London Royal Holloway, held a one-week Debussy course for musicology and doctoral students.

Sándor Kovács: In the past half year American professor Richard Taruskin was here. He is one of the most famous music historians in the world. He spoke about Stravinsky and his lectures proved very popular.

We regularly host the greatest thinkers in global music science; I don’t think we can strive for more than this.

To what extent has the interest and knowledge of students changed over past decades?

SK: One thing has certainly changed: they speak excellent English!

When I started teaching virtually everyone spoke exclusively, or generally better, German. Naturally, I’m not including Russian: people studied that for twelve years and then got to the stage where they forgot the Cyrillic capital letters... Our experience of the Taruskin course was that the students asked thoughtful questions in very good English, something the professor appreciated.

LP: Aside from languages, something is taking shape that I am very pleased about: the self-confidence of students, the sort of courage that says, yes, it is possible to ask questions and have a say on a subject.

I think this is a very positive development, and using the tools at my disposal I try to create situations where this kind of conversation, reasoning, even arguments between students can come about. They trigger very many ideas and associations that are new to me as well.

It is very important for one to come face to face with observations made by people with a ‘fresh eye’.

What aspirations of the former leadership were realized?

LÓRÁNT PÉTERI & SÁNDOR KOVÁCS © LISZT ACADEMY / ANDREA FELVÉGI

SK: I tried to end the situation where only two or three students would attend a class, so I set up a new system, the essence of which is that three forms attend music history foundation classes at the same time. Despite its many drawbacks, it has the advantage that 15–20 of us are sitting there, so there is some sort of atmosphere in classes. Furthermore, we have started advertising on the internet and in grammar schools, promoting ourselves to those interested in our courses.

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PARITY

Looking to the near future, what are the most important objectives impacting the department?

LP: It is important that we stress this is the Musicology and Music Theory Department, in other words, music theory training also belongs to us, and that we provide students with specialized language education as well. This presents us with many complex tasks. During the autumn the president initiated a review of the solfège music theory-teaching structure and criteria.

In the area of musicology, I have set a goal of continuing to improve international relations, and I would like to lay great stress on learning more about the contemporary music phenomena – not just contemporary music but the entire performance culture that surrounds us – and on music critiques. At MA level we have an ethno-musicology specialization that we are arranging in partnership with the Folk Music Department.

What does the musicology department have to prepare students for?

LP: We provide scientific higher education in an arts university, but this does not mean that we want to train scientists at any cost; what we do want is experts who are capable of speaking and writing about music in a modern way and for many different types of audience. It is important that they are able to use the knowledge they have gained in the media, in concert organization, and in scientific life in the strictest sense of the word. We always keep in mind the need to provide skills that can be utilized in many areas.

SK: Yes, the elitist approach would have the true musicologist sitting in a laboratory. Of course, this is also important, and we do train for this as well, but the virtue of our department lies in the fact that it opens the door to many other activities. This is the heritage of Professor Kroó, who cultivated, at a remarkably high level, the dissemination of knowledge and written criticism: the practical side of musicology – that must never be underestimated. In addition, we have another special Hungarian tradition: a while back Szabolcsi and fellows brought the faculty to the Liszt Academy. This brings us much closer to music in practice because our university fellows are instrumentalists. This is not so in other countries, one sad result of which is that some scientists are unable to play a single chord on the piano. A while back a highly renowned professor held a lecture in the Musicology Institute, where he tried to play the introduction to Haydn’s ‘Farewell’ Symphony. He only had to hit an F-sharp, C-sharp and an A. He managed it on the fourth attempt.

Would you please recall for us a happy memory from your years spent at the Liszt Academy?

LP: My first instrument was the cimbalom, which I cultivated for very many years, but I only started studying the piano when I formulated within myself the idea of applying for the musicology department. At times such as this, one does not learn to play the piano, rather one learns a fixed programme that has to be performed at the entrance exam. The examining committee knew that I had been playing piano for just one year, yet I was able to perform these pieces confidently, without fault and fairly proficiently.

Professor Kovács then made a kind – and not the usual sarcastic – comment: “If only I could learn to play clarinet like this in one year...!”

Zsófia Hózsa

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140 YEARS COMMEMORATIVE SUPPLEMENT

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FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

PRESIDENT DÉNES KOVÁCS HOLDS HIS CEREMONIAL SPEECH IN THE GRAND HALL ON THE 100 TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY © MTI / EDIT MOLNÁR

THE FIRST BUILDING OF THE LISZT ACADEMY © FORSTER CENTRE / ISTVÁN ROZINAY – KÁROLY DIVALD: BUILDINGS OF BUDAPEST

JUBILEE EXHIBITON ON THE 100 TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY © MTI / EDIT MOLNÁR 54

THE MUSIC AND SINGING ACADEMY Honourable Members, I shall not undertake that most gratifying task to dwell on the excellence of music and its cultural influence, since in this regard, amongst the speakers and members, opinion is united. […]

The only question can be whether or not we should consider the furtherance of music in this manner, that is, the potential establishment of a state budget-funded music academy? […] By no means can our endeavour directed towards the development of our social strength be considered banal; we have to found this on recognition of the special capabilities of the nation rather than the principle. It is a fact acknowledged the world over that the music ability in the Hungarian nation is very apparent, in such a way that we observe the vigorous, viable shoots of cultural life in music, which calls on the state to become active here, too. In this current position, where there is absolutely no major institution established in the interest of music, this is inherent in many sons and daughters of this nation. And these people are forced to travel abroad not only for the purpose of study but also to win a regular position, in order that they can gain an appropriate knowledge of music; our mature and educated musicians stay abroad because they cannot find a position in this country which would meet the needs and conditions of financial care inseparable even from the most ideal character. The prospective music and singing academy would put an end to this outflow, partly an intellectual export and partly attracted outside, in a dual direction: on the one hand, our talented young people could gain an education at home, and on the other hand the trained resources, in the area of music generally a significant number among the population of Hungary, could find employment.

In my view, this is extremely important not only from a cultural, but also a national viewpoint, inasmuch as our patriots – who are forced to travel abroad and stay there due to their music training or music position – leave us not only materially and physically, but at the same time the tie linking them to us intellectually and patriotically snaps. And although, because of the ineradicable patriotism of Hungarians, they remain ours in their soul and in their emotions, they do not remain ours intellectually, and frequently return like strangers, and by this the majority of the intellectual capital of the nation does not become national, Hungarian, which is necessary (from a national aspect, too) to keep them Hungarian, that they could develop in the Hungarian spirit.

Excerpt from the maiden speech in Parliament of Count Albert Apponyi (8 February 1873)

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ENOUGH OF PROMISES AND PROCRASTINATION General amazement has been aroused within artistic circles that the Hungarian music academy has still not been established. For three years running the national assembly voted the budget for it, the government has been preparing its establishment for three years, everything has been done to get things moving, plans have been settled from A to Z, and still the fate of the music academy hangs in the balance. Nothing fixed can be ascertained. It is rumoured that decisive measures will be taken in the coming months, but after all the foot dragging so far it would not be sensible to place too much hope on the reports.

We are giving voice to public opinion when we put questions about the music academy to those who stand closer to the issue. What is the reason for the government’s hesitation in implementing the vote of the national assembly? What is obstructing, what is holding up the establishment of the music academy? Is it the intention of the government to set it up as soon as possible, or have conditions arisen whereby the formation of the academy runs up against insurmountable difficulties? A definitive response to all these questions is desirable, all the more so because many await with the keenest anticipation a decision on the matter, besides which it is only fitting to receive fully detailed information regarding this matter.

Tenders were announced in November of last year. Competitors arrived en masse from the capital, from the countryside, many Hungarian artists who saw a better future in the establishment of the music academy; yet these very people have now experienced the unpleasant anxiety of a fruitless wait since November. The minister of culture convoked three meetings of professional gentlemen. These professional gentlemen met day and night, turned over the matter from beginning to end, scribbled a whole sheaf of works, revised, deleted, added and subtracted, etcetera.

This bundle of documents was passed across to the ministry where it has sat ever since, gathering dust, where nobody heeds it, least of all the minister of culture, who on three occasions – and with extraordinary zeal – convoked the committee of professional gentlemen.

It is no secret that the music academy is closely associated with Ferenc Liszt. The great artist could do no greater service to his nation than undertaking the direction of such an institution, which is directed first and foremost at improving Hungarian cultural relations. Liszt has espoused with instinctive enthusiasm the concept of the music academy, and the government has comprehended that we must sell the world renown, the huge influence and distinguished capabilities of Liszt. It is now three years that Liszt has awaited the prospective appointment, but however many times he returns to our sphere he only ever hears uncertain combinations.

He may deduce from the constant procrastination that in fact he is not needed here, and if once he comes to this conviction, then it is not impossible that he would accept other proposals. Liszt’s ambition is not to give 56

concerts one after the other for charitable purposes, and to play piano in perpetuum. He wishes to act, influence, work in the interest of higher objectives; to seize the reins and assist our art from its earthbound state, to create a genuine hub in Hungary for intellectual life, where students from all parts of Europe are taught. Liszt would certainly renounce his stated mission with a heavy heart, but sooner or later he will be forced to do so because a procedure such as this is intolerable even for a lesser person than Liszt. The music academy has been identified with him, it has been proclaimed that the government want to give Liszt a position and title in Hungary – and yet three years on things have gone no further than these high-sounding words. This is clear neglect and perhaps Liszt is right if he, too, sees things this way.

If they are trying to lose Liszt as soon as possible, then they are going about it the right way. We saw his letter just a few days ago from which – unhappily – it is possible to draw just such a conclusion. The famous artist is reluctant to return so as not in any way to arouse the suspicion of intruding, with that circumstance that the government has still not established the academy that was voted for and approved so many times.

Yet the case of Liszt is far from being the only one. There is also Robert Volkmann. Months ago he desired to settle down in Pozsony.

At the time he was assured: just stay here, everything will take a turn for the better, the government is serious in its wish to set up a music academy. Robert Volkmann stayed and has been waiting ever since, and his circumstances will be increasingly strained. But for three years now the minister of culture pays six thousand forints so that the planned site of the music academy… remains vacant. Three years is a long time; it would have been sufficient to establish the music academy three times over. The ministry has merely confined itself to convoking meetings, and making promises from time to time. Everybody is going to realize that this is not a serious procedure, and our domestic artists – not to mention Ferenc Liszt – deserve better than this. Either establish the music academy, or don’t. And if it is to be established, then get going immediately because all the means are ready and waiting, and time is running out; if it is not to be established, then say so clearly and decisively so that the persons involved know where they stand. Just have done with the system of promises and procrastination because it undermines authority.

Pesti Napló, 9 August 1875

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JENŐ HUBAY AND THE YOUNG JÓZSEF SZIGETI FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

LEÓ WEINER TEACHING FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

DAVID POPPER AND HIS CLASS IN 1901 FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY 58

EDE ZATHURECZKY AND ZOLTÁN KODÁLY IN 1946 © MTI

THE CONSTITUTION AND THE INSTITUTIONAL REGULATIONS OF THE NATIONAL HUNGARIAN ROYAL MUSIC ACADEMY (1875) ยง1. Assignment. The assignment of the national Hungarian royal music academy: the regular teaching and furtherance of the higher scientific and practical branches of the art of music, in relation with the theoretical and scientific teaching of Hungarian music as a specific variant of music. ยง2. Consequently, the following subjects shall be taught in the national Hungarian royal music academy: a) Theoretical and practical harmony. b) The science of counterpoint. c) The teaching, on theoretical and practical bases, of the different variants of composition, and deriving thereon, music poetry. d) The science of instrumentation, in relation with the indication of specifications pertaining to the instrumentation of Hungarian music works. e) Ecclesiastical music, in relation with the organ and choral school. f) The scientific analysis of the characteristics of Hungarian music. g) The history and art of music. h) The higher art of the piano and its perfection. ยง22. Enrolment of students. Requirements of students for enrolment at the academy: a) A degree of general education attained through schooling or private tuition, which allows comprehension of regular scientific lectures. b) Male students may be taken on having passed their 15th year, female students having passed their 16th year. As an exception, the higher piano faculty and the science lectures are exclusively open to students of advanced talent. c) Proficiency in the knowledge of elementary music. In addition to the requirements listed in points a), b) and c) above, those students who already have an advanced qualification in the playing of any instrument, primarily the piano or organ, enjoy an advantage. ยง25. The office of professors: a) All professors of the academy are required to hold, exactly, the lectures of the department directed by them, and to provide appropriate theoretical and practical teaching, conscientiously, to the students enrolled in their classes. b) They shall strictly monitor students, ensuring they attend lectures punctually.

Those neglecting their studies shall be reported to the board of directors. c) They shall be required to notify the president, respectively the director, in the case of illness or any other obstacle.

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MY LISZT ACADEMY Everyone has their own Liszt Academy: those who at some time or another have taught here, studied here, or worked here in whatever capacity, as well as those who belong among the concert-going regulars. Without doubt, this is a place of worship; it has a spirit so distinct that it hits the visitor on the moment of entry like a stiff sea breeze. This is not only the work of accumulated traditions of great music moments but also the result of a conscious concept: architects of the palace on Liszt Ferenc Square built into the lobby and concert halls that particular contradistinction between the chaotic world outside and the purifying sanctuary within.

If the Temple of Wisdom in The Magic Flute were to exist as a physical reality, then it would be much like the Liszt Academy.

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I’ll never forget the entrance examination. It was highly ceremonial.

It was held in room X; while we shivered with nerves outside on the corridor, the teaching staff entered, headed by Bence Szabolcsi, founding head of department, and Prof. Ujfalussy, who even then was an important personage, followed by the ‘young ones’: György Kroó, László Somfai, János Kárpáti… One had to sit in front of them. Szabolcsi taught me in the autumn semester of my first academic year. Our classes were held on Saturday mornings together with the ‘older ones’, that is, fourth-year students. There was only one musicology class because this subject was launched at best every two years, and at that time there was actually a gap of three years. The earlier system of financing of the Liszt Academy was not based on the number of students. Anyway, if the institution got into a financial fix, the finance director with close links to the party HQ just picked up the red phone. (I believe that there were, in fact, only ever black phones, but time colours all memories, even the phones…)

There was always as much money as was needed.

This all happened under the presidency of Dénes Kovács. He was the first president of the Liszt Academy; before him there were ‘only’ directors. Ede Banda, my future father-in-law (not all, but many of us were married in the groves of the Liszt Academy), said to Dénes Kovács on his appointment: “Dénes, I’m sorry to hear that you were downgraded.”

To which Dénes replied: “What do you mean?” Ede answered: “You were a ‘di-rector’, and now you are only a ‘rector’ (called in English ‘president’).”

The Liszt Academy of the 1970s had a special atmosphere, particularly when viewed from a distance of forty years. The most appropriate description would be a ‘workshop’. I reckon – and again I am using the benefit of hindsight – that it did not operate anything like an institution.

Those active in the so-called ‘supportive area’ (who in a slightly grotesque way were called ‘workers’, as opposed to the professors – but this did not carry any special message) were people one could rather imagine in a Rejtő novel; but they loved the Liszt Academy all the same. Only the professors had prestige, and the professors practically did what they wanted. If they chose to hold a class at night, they did it; if they taught in their flat, then nobody was bothered; if they went on tour for a month and then ‘made up for it’ later, there was no obstacle to that, either. However – with the exception of Marxist-Leninist studies – teachers and students alike only dealt with the ‘essence’, that is, music. This was the age of the now legendary ‘Jumi’ (Albert Simon), when the teacher rehearsed ten hours a day with the chosen ones for the orchestra, and nobody even questioned what the official schedule of classes said. In fact, all classes did not last forty-five minutes but went on as long as necessary. For example, in our Musicology Department Professor Kroó generally gave classes lasting three hours, without breaks, while Professor Somfai’s Haydn course consisted of four-hour classes – and all this in our first year when we hardly knew where the front entrance was.

Communication was animated. Of course, not in today’s sense

ANDRÁS BATTA FROM THE ARCHIVE OF ANDRÁS BATTA

of the word, because the Liszt Academy did not really communicate itself at all; instead, giving a figurative sense to poetic words – ‘only those read my poetry who know me and love me’ – it expected that only those who loved it were to deal with it. And many loved it. In-house, professional communication, of course in an organic (read ‘unorganized’) way, truly blossomed, and all the more richly and bountifully. On the day following a major concert, just like in the age of Socrates, a crowd of students would gathered around Professor András Pernye to hear his opinion. In the cloakroom. On the whole, quite a lot happened in the cloakroom on the Király Street side during the day because we did not use it as a coat repository, instead using the cloakroom on the other side of the building, thus freeing up the desk here. And this is where we sat and chattered like sparrows on the wire. The library was an important meeting place – of course, only for those who were literate! – where in my time there was never quiet (apparently at one time they did enforce silence there), but it was a great place to chat and the teachers arranged appointments with their colleagues here since the single tiny staff room on the second floor was totally unsuited to this. Corridor conversion was common, whether it be gossip or the occasional spontaneous lectures given by professors.

For instance, Professor Dobszay, who at that time initiated us into stillfresh music history discoveries, Hungarian Gregorian chant, enjoyed walking the corridors in the breaks (as if he were in the cloister of a monastery). At these moments one could join him – much as a novice – and talk, or more precisely listen, about matters that were not closely associated with the topic of the class: philosophy, history, cultural history, music theory. Professors frequently joined classes given by their colleagues. For instance, Gregorian classes given by Professor Dobszay were attended by Professor Kurtág as well: he sat with us, in the back row.

All in all, life buzzed in this building. I could say ‘dolce vita’, with loves and friendships. The most privileged relaxed in the service flat of the porter, Uncle Lajos. As a matter of fact, Uncle Lajos knew everything; he knew everybody by their name and called each by his/her rank. Today, he would certainly be the protocol chief of some major corporation. He made every effort to stop students using the lift, not always with success, although there were very few who dared to travel up and down in the lift with, say, Pál Kadosa or Erzsébet Szőnyi. Different generations, different authorities, different modes of transport with each other. I consider as one of the greatest marvels that there was never a fire at the Liszt Academy because very many, teachers and students alike, smoked. They smoked in classes, on the corridor, in the foyer, everywhere. Professor Pernye also smoked while giving his lecture, and he encouraged his students to join him in lighting up. In our group Sándor Kovács (today’s great teacher) was a heavy smoker, and he was given permission to smoke in those classes where the teacher also smoked. The library was the only place where the ban on smoking was actually observed. It would have been such a pity to lose the correspondence of Brahms and Mahler...

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PÁL JÁRDÁNYI TEACHING FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

BENCE SZABOLCSI AND HIS CLASS FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY ERNŐ DOHNÁNYI WHILE A STUDENT OF THOMÁN FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

EXAMINATION BOARD OF THE LISZT ACADEMY IN 1974 (PRESIDENT FERENC FARKAS IN THE MIDDLE) © MTI / EDIT MOLNÁR 62

And the concerts! Attending the evening recitals was an integral part of the music academy ritual. The second floor gallery was sweet torture with its intolerable crush, stifling heat and terrible inconvenience. Sometimes we listened to the concert sitting outside in the corridor because so many were packed upstairs. I remember once I almost fainted at a Richter concert after a dreadfully slow movement in the Beethoven Sonata in D major, Op. 10 (Largo e mesto): such tension built up in me, I felt as though I would suffocate.

We lived through choking, heart-wrenching moments, such as when Lovro von Matačić conjured up the closing scene of Götterdämmerung with Siegfried’s funeral march at the head of the Radio Orchestra; this elderly gentleman, two metres tall, who ordered a six-egg and bacon omelette for breakfast having suffered several heart attacks and strokes (because his doctor prescribed ‘light’ meals), in particularly dramatic moments threw his half paralysed arm to the skies – and what could be heard then... – I don’t even know whether this was reality or just a dream, a moment that even after forty years still grips me now.

Later, when I descended from the gods, I observed the audience on the ground floor. There were some who attended virtually every concert.

The regular seats had spirits: this was Professor Kroó’s, earlier that was Aladár Tóth’s, Professor Pernye sat here, there Éva Lakatos, director of the National Philharmonic. Professor Földes always sat in the first row of the staff box, and just like a hunting dog he thrust his head forward as if he wanted to catch the notes before everybody else. And of course, the enthusiastic fans had their own spots, the elderly music teachers, and those whose grandmothers had gone to the Liszt Academy.

During my presidency one of the most traumatic tasks was bidding a final farewell – in many cases in public – to those great teachers who were central figures in my student days. What happened to that time? It is odd, but as the head of the Liszt Academy I often felt that the Liszt Academy was freer in a spiritual sense in the 1970s, even though the suffocating tentacles of the dictatorship were wrapped all around Liszt Ferenc Square as well. But then there were not as many departments and regulations overseeing who was teaching what and how as there are today. Of course, this only complicates the operation. Works by Chopin and Liszt are still being taught by great professors to extremely gifted students. The Grand Hall (which is, in truth, far nicer today than when I was a student – that is why it was worth struggling to eventually become president!) still hosts beautiful concerts. And nobody has to die of heat exhaustion either.

But it is as though the second floor gallery is not as populated as it was in our time. Today, students don’t sit on the floor, outside in the corridor, staying up late. True, Health & Safety wouldn’t permit it, just as smoking is banned. The cigarette smoke has gone, replaced by air-conditioning.

But the Liszt Academy is ‘eternal’ as we commonly put it. Everyone’s Liszt Academy.

András Batta

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FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS COME GREAT THINGS Dénes Kovács, the seventh director and the first to run the 140-year-old Liszt Academy as ‘president’, was born 85 years ago and died a decade ago. He was the ‘master violinist’, as the title of the volume of biographical interviews by Péter Ottó calls him, just as anyone who heard him play and knew him in person remembers him.

DÉNES KOVÁCS © JÁNOS FÁBIÁN 64

“What is art? Creating something great from small beginnings. Just as a plant growing from a seed. The seed is the craft work. Everyone has to go through this work before their playing becomes functional and flawless.” As both teacher and artist, Dénes Kovács professed that if the musician correctly elaborates and interprets the sheet music, then the work itself will sound.

However in order to do this, it is essential to have a charismatic personality – and this cannot be taught. When young, the double Liszt and Kossuth Prizelaureate violinist underwent numerous hardships: he grew up in a provincial family with many children, he was fifteen when World War II ended, and even though his talent had already been discovered, and he lived in Budapest as a student of Dezső Rados and later Ede Zathureczky, his financial position meant he was forced to work in a factory. “Technically speaking, Dénes Kovács acquired everything he could from Rados, and it was only a matter of artistic issues when he studied under Zathureczky,” recalls Eszter Perényi of her former teacher. “The primary aspect was always what the composer had written in the sheet music. He himself considered as most important a perfect violin intonation resembling the human voice, and that this should sound as having been filtered through everybody’s own temperament.”

He was appointed a professor of the Liszt Academy in 1957, and two years later he was entrusted with the post of head of department. He headed the institution for twelve years, initially as director, and then as president once the Liszt Academy was raised to the rank of university. During this time he introduced numerous innovations encouraging teaching, many of which his students remember with affection, among them Miklós Szenthelyi, now head of the Liszt Academy Department of Strings: “He was in all probability the best president of the past few decades, as proven by the fact that, for instance, students were able to apportion their time far better. Only students who practiced a great deal were able to profit from his extraordinary knowledge – I consider myself among that privileged group of students, therefore I was able to learn a huge amount from him.” The launch of the special preparatory school is also to the credit of Dénes Kovács. “It is a biological fact that acquiring the technique for an instrument is far harder over the age of eighteen, particularly when somebody has had a bad technique drummed in to them,” he once said. “This is why we decided on enrolling to the class for outstanding talented musicians those children aged between 8 and 14 who comply with the criteria.”

Educated in European culture, Dénes Kovács was a hugely gifted interpreter of the music of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Bartók. “It is our responsibility and, at the same time, our duty as his students to convey all this, the style, the message, the aesthetic standards. I consider myself lucky to have been able – for 42 years – to pass on to my students much of his instruction and standards,” said Miklós Szenthelyi.

Zsuzsanna Könyves-Tóth

PÁL KADOSA AND TWO OF HIS STUDENTS: ZOLTÁN KOCSIS AND ANDRÁS SCHIFF FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

ALADÁR RÁCZ AND HIS CLASS FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

ISTVÁN ANTAL AND HIS STUDENT, FERENC RADOS FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

DEZSŐ RÁNKI AND PÁL KADOSA © MTI / EDIT MOLNÁR

MIKLÓS RÉKAI AND HIS CLASS © MTI / ERZSÉBET ZINNER 65

“THE DEFINING PART OF MY LIFE” Kossuth and Erkel Prize-winning composer József Soproni started teaching at the Liszt Academy in 1962 (counterpoint, composition, reading scores). He headed up the Liszt Academy as president for two terms in the period 1988–1994.

When did you first come into contact with the Liszt Academy?

As a student living and studying in Sopron I came to Budapest in 1947, and that is when I first saw the music academy. It was a long-awaited moment because I hoped that I would be able to continue my studies there a few years’ later. The beauty of the building and its special atmosphere immediately allowed me to suppose that this was a truly remarkable place indeed. However, I had no inkling at that time that this brilliant institution would become the defining part of my life.

What do you consider were the key features of your student life?

I started studying music composition in the class of János Viski in autumn 1949. My excellent professors, the encouragement of the unforgettable János Viski, the brilliant musicality and great teaching personality of Erzsébet Szőnyi, the refined taste, courageous world view and opinion shaping of György Ferenczy, and the sensational lectures of Bence Szabolcsi, Dénes Bartha and József Ujfalussy all helped shape my thoughts and directed my progress – and in the final analysis broadened my view of the world. But I remember my fellow students with fondness as well: our classes and exchanges of views, the lively happenings in the lobby, the afternoon rehearsals for concerts staged in the evening, and the many excellent, famous performers that it was our good fortune to see and hear.

To what extent did the spirit of the institution affect your lifework and compositional approach?

The Liszt Academy became my alma mater and the spark behind my teaching and creative career lasting several decades. Not a day goes by when I do not imagine myself walking its corridors and classrooms, and I constantly remember my dear professors.

What impressions do the achievements, present and future prospects of the university awaken in you?

I have not taken part in teaching for several years so I am unable to form a more detailed picture of the current work and perspectives. I hope, however, that the traditional European spirit and high degree of professionalism that had such a fertile impact on earlier generations is still alive and well. I trust that in the spirit of the ‘European-ness’ and ‘Hungarianness’ of Ferenc Liszt – also reckoning on the expectations of our age – the Liszt Academy will continue to preserve its global reputation.

JÓZSEF SOPRONI TEACHING FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY 66

Zsuzsanna Rákai

THE HOME OF OPPORTUNITIES István Lantos has been teaching at the Liszt Academy since 1973.

The pianist, one of the most accomplished interpreters of the Liszt oeuvre, acted as president of the institution for four years between 1994 and 1997.

When did you first come into contact with the Liszt Academy?

10 July 1968, the date of my entrance exam. My first experience came as I went up the stairs to the podium in the Chamber Hall. I tripped and nearly fell. So much for my grand entrance! I graduated in 1972, and a year later I received an invitation to teach Kocsis, Ránki and Falvai. In effect, I took over the class of my professor, Péter Solymos.

What was it like being a student of the Liszt Academy at that time?

The building was like our second home. Many of us did not have suitable instruments at home, and I certainly didn’t have a proper piano. It worked like this: as soon as the class finished, we rushed off to the educational department to request authorization to practice. There were times when we waited 4–5 hours in the corridor for half an hour’s practice, but it was worth it. And with only a few exceptions we attended concerts every evening, irrespective of whether we were listening to orchestral or chamber music concerts, or even an organ recital. After this we went across to the Erzsébet pub, which isn’t there anymore, and talked about what we had just heard. We went in to the Liszt Academy as though we were entering a sanctuary, because this building has a simply fantastic aura. And the professors... what authority they radiated!

What do you think is the most important thing the Liszt Academy has given its students since the foundation of the institution?

Opportunity. Because people bring with themselves a love of music and an interest in it; but it is a great thing that there were concerts here every day and excellent professors from whom we could learn. I’m talking about professors such as Endre Petri. He taught chamber music and played the piano part at the premiere of the first (two-movement) version of Contrasts in Carnegie Hall with Szigeti and Benny Goodman. He was such a great chamber musician that artists from all over the world would accept an invitation to play with him, in a way that they would get off the train in the afternoon and be ready to perform to an audience that same evening. We went into his class, he lit a cigarette, but as soon as it was finished he said, “Hold on!” Then I was certain that during that class I would not play the piano again. But to be there, to see, to hear, just to play together was an unforgettable and inimitable experience.

Zsuzsanna Rákai

ISTVÁN LANTOS FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY 67

THE POWER OF TRADITION Sándor Falvai has been teaching at the Liszt Academy since 1973. A former student of Mihály Bächer, the pianist was president of the institution for a total eight years over two terms of office between 1997 and 2004.

What memories do you hold dear from your time as a student of the Liszt Academy?

I still clearly remember the atmosphere of the entrance examination, the moment when I saw those greats who until that time I had only marvelled at on the concert stage or heard on the radio. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to be able to play together with the finest; as a student I played with Dénes Kovács, for example. I remember marvellous concerts under the direction of Albert Simon; there are Haydn symphonies and Bach piano concertos that are still as vivid in my mind today as they were at that time when he conducted them at the head of the college orchestra.

Then one could mention the magic of the building, teachers and students chatting in the foyer, the performances of such world greats as Richter and Rostropovich – these were all experiences to last a lifetime.

Compared to other institutions of music teaching, how unique is the atmosphere here?

I have always considered the greatest strength of the Liszt Academy to be the fact that maestros such as Bartók, Dohnányi, Weiner, Hubay, Zathureczky – founders of schools – accepted teaching posts here.

Moreover, this tradition has continued in a direct line: we were taught by those who in turn were students of such greats: Bartók’s and Dohnányi’s.

I believe that this influence is still active.

To what degree was your career influenced by the spirit of the Liszt Academy?

Practically to one hundred percent. Besides the Liszt Academy I studied in Moscow for a year after graduating. It was an important year, but it cannot compare to what the Liszt Academy gave me. Here my master was Mihály Bächer. I not only considered him to be a benchmark as performer of Liszt, Beethoven and Schumann works, but I also held him in high regard as a human being. The class coalesced around him like a family. He frequently invited us to his flat for dinner and a chat; I had the chance to meet outstanding people there.

How does the situation of today’s student differ?

SÁNDOR FALVAI FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY 68

Naturally, their situation is different, and there are both good and bad aspects to this. It is undoubtedly a great thing that they have far greater freedom of movement than we had in our day. This is important because there are very many gifted people, perhaps more than this country is capable of supporting. But our language of music allows anyone of worth to present themselves anywhere in the world.

DYNAMISM AND NATURALNESS Harpist Andrea Vigh, winner of the Liszt Prize, graduated from the Liszt Academy in 1986.

She has taught here since 1996; she was a head of department, vice president for education, and has been president of the institution since 2013.

Can you recall your earliest memories of the Liszt Academy?

They are associated with the matinee performances that my parents brought me to watch as a child. But I had closer contact with the institution for the first time when I was at school – I attended the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music – because we were the practice group for solfège and music theory. This meant that college students learned how to teach in our class, so we had to travel to Liszt Ferenc Square for these sessions.

How has the spiritual heritage of the Liszt Academy influenced your career?

Since I came into contact with the Liszt Academy while still at secondary school, I felt as though all the teaching was a single long thread. It didn’t even occur to me that it could be any other way. I had superb teachers: Henrik Rohmann, with whom I started playing the harp, and then here at the Liszt Academy Melinda Kistétényi and Professor Földes; but we also attended classes by Professor Rados as well as György Kurtág.

If you could pick a single impression or experience as being the most important, what would it be?

Perhaps that fantastic dynamism from all knowing each other, from all playing together a bit. The naturalness with which we hung out on the second floor gallery each evening, the fact that we could never drag ourselves away from the ‘House’; we came in at seven in the morning and we were still here at eleven at night. And the way eminent performers of the world turned up at concerts here night after night: I have listened to Menuhin and Pollini live, and I recorded with Doráti. We were raised with that enormous awareness that together, we musicians are capable of great things. This was a vocation, a way of life.

Despite the fragmentation, can this energy be transmitted throughout an institution currently functioning in several buildings?

ANDREA VIGH © ANDREA FELVÉGI (CAPRICCIO RECORDS)

Now that the main building on Liszt Ferenc Square has been renewed, once again the circumstances are extremely good, and students can again crowd the balcony of the Grand Hall. At the beginning everybody was slightly cautious, feeling their way; life slowly restarted. Utilization of the building also underwent a restructuring because the ground floor and first floor – with the exception of the library – are no longer teaching areas. But as we move upwards, the second floor is noisier, thank goodness, and the third is really buzzing. We are gradually winning back that genuine Liszt Academy atmosphere, that original sense of being at home here, which was created by the personalities of former presidents. It is not easy to meet this task, but that’s what I am working towards each and every day.

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Zsuzsanna Rákai

BÉLA BARTÓK’S PETITION TO HIS PROFESSOR, ISTVÁN THOMÁN, SEEKING TO GIVE A CONCERT IN HIS HOMETOWN IN APRIL 1903 FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

LAST CONCERT OF BÉLA BARTÓK AND DITTA PÁSZTORY IN HUNGARY ON 8 OCTOBER 1940 (CONDUCTOR: JÁNOS FERENCSIK) © MTA BTK INSTITUTE FOR MUSICOLOGY, BARTÓK ARCHIVES 70

SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 19.30

MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER, 18.00

TUESDAY 17 NOVEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

VASHEGYI – MOZART CONVERSATION AND CONCERT Excerpts from Mozart operas and symphonic works

MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA ZOLTÁN KOCSIS & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Liszt: Mazeppa Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 (BB 48a) Dohnányi: Symphonic Minutes, Op. 36 Kodály: The Peacock – variations on a Hungarian folk song Barnabás Kelemen (violin) Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis In 1875, after many years of preparation, the Liszt Academy finally opened. On the occasion of the 140th birthday of the institution, the ‘house’ symphony orchestra, composed of students of the academy, will play works by four of the most influential professors, under the baton of Zoltán Kocsis and joined by violinist Barnabás Kelemen. After Liszt’s dramatic symphonic poem Mazeppa, Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (1908) is performed; it was composed as an expression of the love Bartók had for Liszt Academy student Stefi Geyer (the piece was only published in 1959). This is followed by former Liszt Academy director Dohnányi’s extremely witty symphonic work Symphonic Minutes, and one of the great moments of Kodály’s instrumental oeuvre, The Peacock Variations, which combines 20th century modern music trends with traditions of archaic Hungarian folk music.

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Featuring students of the Departments of Vocal Studies and Conducting, and the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra Conductor and introducer of the works: György Vashegyi Liszt Academy professor György Vashegyi, one of the foremost figures in early music in Hungary, revived the tradition of Gesprächskonzert (‘conversation concert’) so popular in German-speaking areas when in our previous season he, together with students of the conducting and vocal departments and the Symphony Orchestra of the Liszt Academy, presented excerpts from three Händel oratorios. The audience not only heard remarkable music played by gifted young musicians, but they also gained insight into the stories behind the creation and structure of works through Vashegyi’s enjoyable and musicologically perceptive commentaries. In this semester the same approach is used on the operas and symphonic works of Mozart. The audience can learn what tools the greatest music theatre genius of all time employed when setting a script to music, how he was able to reach deep into a person’s soul through the music, and which of those 18th century compositional tools wielded by Mozart still work effectively 250 years later.

Free tickets to the concert can be obtained at the ticket office of the Liszt Academy Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC LIVE – FOLK MUSIC DEPARTMENT STUDENTS OF THE LISZT ACADEMY IN ‘THE PEACOCK’ TALENT CONTEST Anna Csizmadia, Veronika Varga, Zsuzsanna Zsikó, Borbála Fekete (vocals) Bence Krajcsó (zither); Soma Salamon (recorder); Ferenc Zimber (cimbalom); András Németh (hurdy-gurdy) Csercsel Vocal Ensemble; Zoltán Zsikó and orchestra; Parapács Orchestra; Tarsoly Orchestra; Magos Ensemble; Bazseva Orchestra; Góbé Band In its first broadcast in 2012, the televised folk music and folk dance talent show The Peacock directed the attention of the entire country towards the many talented young people performing in these fields. Encouraged by its success, Hungarian Television broadcast the second series in 2014, while this year organization of the ‘fledgling peacock’ is underway.

Perhaps insufficient emphasis was given in the programme to the fact that the Liszt Academy’s Folk Music Department played an active part in the professional work of the competition. Several of the teachers of the department also worked on the show, from assessing the pre-qualifiers right up to professional coaching of young artists who had made it into the final. Nearly two-thirds of these competitors were students of the department. These competitors are showcased in this concert, showing off their enormous talent and knowledge through a selection of the finest in Hungarian folk music.

Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 71

THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 19.00

FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 10.30

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL

ROOM X.

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/1 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

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Schumann: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor (WoO 2) Mozart: Zaide (K. 344 – excerpts) Mozart: Ave verum corpus (K. 618) Mozart: The Magic Flute (K. 620 – excerpt) Schumann: Andante and Variations, Op. 46 Beethoven: Grand Fugue, Op. 134 Webern: Slow Movement, Op. post.

Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 135

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/2 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

Artistic directors: Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon

Artistic directors: Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon

Dénes Várjon, Izabella Simon (piano); Eberle Veronika (violin); Louise Pellerin (oboe); Claudio Bohórquez, István Várdai (cello); Radovan Vlatković (horn) Casals Quartet: Vera Martinez, Abel Tomàs (violin); Jonathan Brown (viola); Arnau Tomàs (cello)

Dénes Várjon, Izabella Simon (piano); Mojca Erdmann (soprano); Kristóf Baráti, Veronika Eberle (violin); István Várdai (cello); Radovan Vlatković (horn)

Schubert: Auf dem Storm (D. 943) Brahms: Trio in B major, Op. 8 Schumann: Sechs Gedichte und Requiem, Op. 90 Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40

KAMARA.HU/BABAR FAIRY TALE TOUR AROUND THE MAGICAL WORLD OF MUSIC FOR YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE Tales and music based on Poulenc’s work ‘The Story of Babar the Elephant’.

Editor: Izabella Simon

kamara.hu, the chamber music festival of the Liszt Academy in late November, falls for the first time under the artistic direction of Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon. The pianist couple are regular guests at many of the top festivals and concert halls in the world (including the Salzburg Festival, Marlboro Music Festival and Carnegie Hall), and for this series they have invited those preeminent artist friends with whom they regularly perform. 'Firsts and lasts' feature in this year’s festival concerts, spot-lighting early and late works by major composers. The first concert of the series immediately springs several surprises, from an early Webern string quartet movement to the virtually insurmoun-tably complex four-hand arrangement of Beethoven’s Grand Fugue.

The Firsts and Lasts chamber festival continues with an international parade of stars. For this recital Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon are joined by violinist Kristóf Baráti, who at the age of thirty-five was awarded the Kossuth Prize, and István Várdai, winner of both the Geneva International Cello Competition and Munich ARD International Cello Competition.

And although this Hungarian team would in its own right be a sufficient guarantee of quality, the production draws in further star personalities: German soprano Mojca Erdmann, famed for her honest and lavish Mozart performances, Croatian Radovan Vlatković, one of the world’s best horn players, and twenty-six-year-old German violinist Veronika Eberle, who plays with leading orchestras and conductors.

Tickets: HUF 3 400, 4 100 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 3 400, 4 100 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Jean de Brunhoff’s story of Babar the elephant, who following the death of his mother is taken in by an elderly lady living in the city, before finally returning to the jungle with all the benefits of urban civilization, has enjoyed continued popularity since first being published in 1931. In 1940 Francis Poulenc wrote several piano pieces based on the story for the children of his cousins. He shaped these ideas into a cycle in 1945; the works represent some of the most charming chapters of the Poulenc oeuvre. The figure of Babar is evoked by artists of world renown under the artistic direction of Izabella Simon.

Together, they guide children into the magical world of music in a programme that forms part of the kamara.hu festival.

GOOD FRIENDS… Firsts and Lasts – this is the English translation of the Hungarian title of selected short stories by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, in which the writer reveals through her novellas the diversity of Russian society. And she does this without being judgmental or determining right from wrong. All she does is depict contrasts in lifestyles and different fates; we could say the kamara.hu festival of music by Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon does just the same thing.

IZABELLA SIMON & DÉNES VÁRJON

© ANDREA FELVÉGI

From November 2015 the Liszt Academy continues a tradition and creates a tradition. Continues because for about a decade Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon – who are a couple on the piano and in their private lives – have organized chamber music series which, from now on, are hosted by the Liszt Academy. And given that it is not ‘this time’ but ‘from now on’, we can quite rightly speak of creating a tradition. The kamara.hu festival is organized annually in the third week of November. Starting from the World of Yesterday series, arranged with Kálmán Strém, the organizer couple consider it important to give their festivals a theme. The series of concerts in 2015 has been entitled Firsts and Lasts. Just as in Ulitskaya’s book, here too the focus is on human diversity – in this case, the diversity of composers. On the one hand, a composer’s early and late works are contrasted; on the other hand, comparisons of selected composers’ mature styles are made. Right in the first concert (on 19 November) we find out to what degree the styles of Mozart and Beethoven are comparable and also what different directions Schumann and Beethoven chose. “It is fascinating to see where the composers started out from and where they culminate, and just how different this path is for everyone. Who was the person opening up new paths to the future, and who was more recapitulative”, Dénes Várjon told the Liszt Academy Concert Magazine.

The kamara.hu programme has given space to unique works, too: works which, in terms of their genre or instrumentalization, are one-offs in the oeuvre of the given author. One example of these is the horn trio

by Brahms. There are rarities such as Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses of Michelangelo (performed by Izabella Simon and István Kovács), an “unbelievable and moving piece”, according to Izabella Simon. Another curiosity is Beethoven’s Grand Fugue, transposed for four hands on the piano by the composer himself. The struggle of creation is evident in the handwriting on Beethoven’s autograph. “Some of the late works clearly had not been easy for the performer. If a work of this calibre becomes easy, then it loses its essence. The internal struggle of the performance is all part of the work,” Várjon commented about the Grand Fugue, especially the four-hand version. In the arrangement the two performers in effect play the two upper and the two lower string parts in their original form.

There are “serious difficulties in movement” in the work due to the many crossings of harmonies and parts, therefore the four-hand ‘law’ is particular valid in this case: “the four-hand must function as a single organism”, in other words, the two pianists must be in total harmony and know each other inside out.

However, this ‘law’ applies equally to all chamber music playing, and this is precisely why the organizers have such good friends. Every artist, every chamber music partner taking to the kamara.hu stage is a close friend of the couple and has made music with them for many years.

“Luckily we have a very broad circle of artist acquaintances, so we were able to invite fantastic people from both Hungary and abroad,” said Várjon, adding that on the domestic front the Liszt Academy has much 73

GOOD FRIENDS...

to be thanked for because it is the seat of chamber music life and work.

Bassoonist György Lakatos comes from this background, as do two of the world’s most in-demand musicians, Kristóf Baráti and István Várdai.

Renowned foreign guest musicians include the superb Croatian horn player Radovan Vlatković, twenty-five-year-old Veronika Eberle (violin), with whom the Várjon couple have already played in concert here in Hungary, the great soprano Mojca Erdmann, and the Casals Quartet – and these are only a few names from the list of stars. Izabella Simon and others also spoke about the next kamara.hu: Steven Isserlis, Tabea Zimmermann, Viviane Hagner, Jörg Widmann… And this is just the beginning.

Thanks to Izabella Simon there is a literary and children’s programme attached to the festival. Francis Poulenc’s Babar for piano and narrator gave the artist the idea of planning an interactive performance for children designed to open up the world of classical music to the young.

“It is very difficult to find a concert where the focus is on classical music and they admit young children, because they are noisier and less able to sit still for long periods,” Izabella Simon explained. Her concert, however, has breaks for moving around, the children can overcome their fears and go up on stage in order to have this sort of experience, even if later on in life they move away from the arts. Simon believes in having an intimate relationship with music: “It is vital that children come close to music, that they are also physically close to the music and the performer.”

The long-term aim is to help preserve and develop the world of fantasy for children, which for an artist remains indispensable throughout their life. Izabella Simon is a great believer in the meeting of the arts, and she wants as many children as possible to experience this conference of the arts through her programmes.

The artist’s other initiative can also be linked to co-arts. She has invited author György Spiró to the festival. With him she plans an informal talk that also involves the audience: chatting about art, for instance, learning what Firsts and Lasts means to a writer. But since music is a binding element of kamara.hu, it cannot be left out of this programme. The conversation is interspersed with short musical interludes, all in the name of the relationship between music and literature. You might wonder how.

What do instruments sound like outside the concert hall? What does a Liszt Academy classroom with bean bags look like? What is it like to come really close to music? And primarily, how do professional artists, even real friends, make music together? All will become clear in November.

Dániel Mona

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SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 17.00

SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 19.00

CAFÉ

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/3 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Schubert: Notturno (D. 897) Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano Chausson: Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37 R. Strauss: Sonata for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 6 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A major (K. 581) Artistic directors: Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon Veronika Eberle (violin); Claudio Bohórquez (cello); Katja Skanavi (piano); Ib Hausmann (clarinet) Casals Quartet: Vera Martinez, Abel Tomàs (violin); Jonathan Brown (viola); Arnau Tomàs (cello)

KAMARA.HU/AUTUMN-DISPLAY ORBITING AMIDST WORKS WITH GYÖRGY SPIRÓ Guides: Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon Literary programmes have played an important part in the life of the Liszt Academy on Liszt Ferenc Square ever since its inauguration in 1907, and in this regard it is worth mentioning not only the legendary Nyugat evenings but various reading and theatrical productions in the Chamber Hall as well. This tradition is revived through the associated programme of the kamara.hu festival, under the artistic direction of Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon: here the writer György Spiró is the guest of the pianist couple. Musical works and literature shape a dialogue with one other through the thoughts of three sensitive artists.

Free for holders of kamara.hu season ticket; HUF 600 for non-season ticket holders Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Schubert's meditative Notturno, Debussy's abstract Cello Sonata and Chausson's profound Chanson perpétuelle are all late works. The two closing compositions are the ideal occasion for relaxed and pleasant music-making: the attractive Strauss work is part of a pleasant stroll through the sonata form, while it is obvious why Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet (the first and only time we hear from him in this genre) is one of the most frequently played pieces for woodwind instruments. A glance at the list of performers presents a true international parade of scintillating young artists: Veronika Eberle is a paragon of graceful elegance, Claudio Bohórquez of instinctive passion, and Ib Hausmann of analytical precision, while Katja Skanavi is a self-reflecting ancient force. The Casals Quartet, who also appear on the programme, are justly renowned for their vibrant and rich tonal variations.

Tickets: HUF 3 400, 4 100 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/4 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Beethoven: Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1/1 Shostakovich: Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Schubert: The Shepherd on the Rock (D. 965) Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major (K. 452) Artistic directors: Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon Izabella Simon, Dénes Várjon (piano); István Kovács (bass); Kristóf Baráti (violin); István Várdai (cello); Louise Pellerin (oboe); Radovan Vlatković (horn); György Lakatos (bassoon); Ib Hausmann (clarinet); Mojca Erdmann (soprano) The closing concert of the Liszt Academy’s chamber music festival similarly features early and late works by timeless composers. The individual sound and scintillatingly bold creativity in Beethoven’s first opus, written in his early twenties, are immediately apparent; in contrast, Shostakovich was wrapping up matters in his Suite on Verses of Michelangelo, a tribute to the versatile Renaissance genius, which was written in the final year of the composer’s life and performed here by the brilliant István Kovács. No more need be said about the essence of the work concluding the concert (as well as the festival as a whole) than the words of Mozart in a letter written to his father, in which the composer calls it “the best thing I have written in my life”.

Tickets: HUF 3 400, 4 100 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 75

WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER, 19.30

THURSDAY 26 NOVEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

JAZZ IT! BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO Brad Mehldau (piano) Larry Grenadier (double bass) Jeff Ballard (drums)

BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO

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PURE BAROQUE RACHEL PODGER & ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT J. S. Bach: Violin Concerto in E major (BWV 1042) Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor (RV 531) Pisendel: Violin Concerto in G minor J. S. Bach: Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor (BWV 1004) – Chaconne Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E minor (RV 279) Telemann: Concerto for Four Violins in G major ( TWV 40:201) J. S. Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor (BWV 1043)

One momentous event in the first season of the newly reopened Liszt Academy Grand Hall was the solo piano concert by Brad Mehldau, which took place on 5 November 2013. So overwhelmed were the audience with the experience that the artist treated them to five encores. Although Mehldau always receives a welcome reception wherever he goes, something about the enthusiasm of Hungarian audiences and the shrine-like atmosphere of the Grand Hall have had a particular influence on him. Thus he accepted this latest invitation with alacrity and is on stage this time in a trio line-up. Mehldau became a globally celebrated artist with this formation in the mid-1990s. His album series entitled Art of the Trio received votes of confidence from fans and critics alike: on these recordings the music of this New Age piano trio is lifted to the level of art. Larry Grenadier, double bassist, has been a companion of the pianist right from the beginning of his career, as he was to numerous other jazz greats including Charles Lloyd, Chris Potter and Michael Brecker; Mehldau also plays with Jeff Ballard, a key element in the rhythm sections for Ray Charles, Pat Metheny and Chick Corea. This legendary trio feed us music that draws on the structural wealth of classical music and the inventiveness of pop music, while at the same time taking wing on the freedom offered by jazz.

It is a complete mystery why a Budapest audience has had to wait until now to see the Englishwoman Rachel Podger in concert. Although her name is not yet well known in Hungary, she is justly acclaimed as one of the most accomplished Baroque violinists of the turn of the millennium, as well as recognised as being a superb Bach performer. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music – she is currently professor of Baroque violin there – but she also lectures at the royal academies of music in London and Copenhagen.

Since 2004 she (along with others) has been leading the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: her Liszt Academy appearance is with this orchestra.

The concert programme features her favourite composers like Vivaldi and others who are also included on her 2013 multiple prize-winning album Guardian Angel (albeit with solo works).

Tickets: HUF 4 900, 6 300, 7 600, 9 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Rachel Podger (violin) Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

AIR RAID © GEERT GOIRIS

BAROQUE SOUL Both THE MUSIC PROFESSION and the public rank her as one of today’s greatest Baroque violinists. Many of her recordings have won prizes, and her students rave about her; but if there exist artists who are not tempted by professorial and star allure, then Rachel Podger is certainly one of them. She gives her first concert in Budapest at the end of November. “I’m not a purist,” she stated in an interview with the BBC. “I like the Baroque orchestral set-up and it’s great if a person has a fine Italian violin, but the choice of instrument is a personal decision.

The player should be happy with the instrument. That is most important!”

Happiness. This is arguably the essence of the art of Rachael Podger.

The happiness that playing music gives to her and, through her instrument, she transmits to her audience in a quite magical manner. She truly is no purist, because although she plays exclusively music written prior to 1800, and she has no modern violin at home, the musicological ‘armour’ never suppresses her musical instincts. Her mother is German – she spent part of her childhood in Germany – while her father was a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and took part in numerous projects

by John Eliot Gardiner. In other words, during the 1980s Rachael Podger experienced a musical awakening with the results of historically informed performance practice in her ears. She was always attracted to the Baroque violin throughout her student years, disproving that once-held belief that only people who are technically not fully mature become Baroque instrumentalists.

In her student days she co-founded The Palladian Ensemble, known for its energy-packed concerts and recordings. The ensemble went on to attract the attention of many early music ‘big guns’; for instance, Trevor Pinnock, who in 1997 invited Rachel Podger to be concertmaster of The English Concert. Her first disc features Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin – few are brave enough to undertake this at such an early stage in their career. Since then she has appeared on many recordings as a member of The English Concert. She has held the directorship of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment since 2004. She has taught at the London Royal Academy, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and she is currently professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

When her schedule permits she spends time at home in Brecon, South Wales, where she lives with her two children and her partner and fellow musician Tim Cronin.

This is where she founded the Brecon Baroque ensemble and the Baroque music festival, which is far more than a pure music programme: it is a real community event. The fact is Rachel Podger considers the human aspect of music far more important. “While preparing, one has to extract everything possible from the score and oneself,” she says of the preparatory phase, “but when we play together with other people, then that is not a pure replication of what is on paper. One can never know what will happen.” She looks on Bach, Telemann and Pisendel not as old gentlemen in wigs who gaze out stony faced from dusty secondary school singing books, but people of flesh and blood, full of thoughts that can be mediated through their music. This is why she considers it essential to have knowledge of the period context, since in a broader sense music is a part of culture: if you want to understand the music, you have to understand the medium in which it grew. Rachel Podger is not a simple Baroque violinist, rather she is a time traveller who has visited the 17 th and 18th centuries on numerous occasions and allowed the period to imbue her soul.

Gergely Fazekas

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2014. SZEPT. 4. (C SÜTÖRTÖK ), 19.30

2014. SZEPT 6. (SZOMBAT ), 20.30

2014. SZEPT 7. ( VASÁRNAP), 18.00

NAGYTEREM

NAGYTEREM

NAGYTEREM

A 100 TAGÚ CIGÁNYZENEKAR ÉS BARÁTAI A PABLO CASALS NEMZETKÖZI CSELLÓVERSENY NYITÓHANGVERSENYE Kodály: Galántai táncok Elgar: e-moll csellóverseny, op. 85 Bartók: Concerto (BB 123) Közreműködik: Perényi Miklós (cselló) Nemzeti Filharmonikus Zenekar Vezényel: Kocsis Zoltán

GIORA FEIDMAN & GITANES BLONDES – NAGYON KLEZMER Közreműködik: Giora Feidman (klarinét, basszusklarinét), Mario Korunic (hegedű), Konstantin Ischenko (harmonika), Christoph Peters (gitár), Simon Ackermann (bőgő)

Közreműködik: Vendég: Roby Lakatos, Lendvay József (hegedű), Sabbathsong Klezmer Band Műsorvezető: Tóth Géza Az est fővédnöke: Vattamány Zsolt, Erzsébetváros polgármestere Szerkesztő, producer: Beke Farkas Nándor Főprímás: Lendvai Csócsi József

Hianyzik a tartalom.

Hianyzik a tartalom.

Hianyzik a tartalom.

Jegyárak: 3 900, 5 400, 6 900 Ft Rendező: Filharmónia Magyarország Koncert és Fesztiválszervező Nkft.

Jegyárak: 4 900, 9 500 Ft Rendező: Art Quarter Budapest

Jegyárak: 7 990, 8 990, 9 990 Ft Rendező:100 Tagú Cigányzenekar Kulturális és Közművelődési Közhasznú RACHEL PODGER Egyesület © JONAS SACKS 79

FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SOLTI HALL MARIANN MARCZI PIANO RECITAL Kurtág: Splinters, Op. 6/d Kodály: Meditation on a theme by Debussy Bartók: Three Burlesques (BB 55) Kodály: Seven Piano Pieces, Op. 11 Bartók: Out of Doors (BB 89)

TALENT OBLIGE MÁTÉ BÁN FLUTE RECITAL

The Liszt Academy Concert Centre series Talent Oblige, launched in 2013, offers every half year the opportunity to several students or ensembles of the Liszt Academy to present themselves to a wider audience. Tonight it is the turn of Junior Prima Prize-winning flautist Máté Bán, a musician very much in tune with the principles of Liszt. Since his music school days he has won several Hungarian and international competitions, he holds many awards for his art, and he regularly performs as a member of Concerto Budapest, as soloist and chamber musician. One interesting feature of the programme, which spans nearly 300 years, is György Kurtág’s Bagatelles for flute, double bass and piano, for which Máté Bán is joined

by Zsolt Fejérvári and Gábor Csalog.

An equally important figure taking to the stage is pianist Imre Dani, winner of the 2014 Johannes Brahms International Competition.

“The duty of today’s performers is the interpretation of today’s music,” states Mariann Marczi, whose repertoire gives particular emphasis to 20th century and contemporary works, and which frequently involves giving world premieres. Although some of the Bartók and Kodály works that form the backbone of this programme were written over 100 years ago, there is no doubt that their experimental language and perpetual modernity mark them as modern music. Radically new music trends and the impact of Debussy on the composer are clearly evident in Meditation, created in 1907 after Kodály’s return from Paris, as well as in Seven Piano Pieces, completed a decade later. Bartók’s Three Burlesques, written between 1908 and 1910, and the 1926 cycle Out of Doors are no less exciting: their movement titles refer to programmatic content, the interpretation of which is a special task for both the performer and audience.

The Kurtág opus opening the concert is of particular significance to Mariann Marczi, whose first album entitled Splinters covered piano compositions by 20th century Hungarian composers, including several that are on the programme of this concert. Norman Lebrecht, perhaps the most vitriolic music critic of our day, wrote an appreciative review of the album.

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Mozart: Sonata in F major (K. 377) J. S. Bach: Flute Sonata in B minor (BWV 1030) Debussy: Syrinx György Kurtág: Bagatelles, Op. 14/d Dohnányi: Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 21 Máté Bán (flute); Gábor Csalog, Imre Dani (piano); Zsolt Fejérvári (double bass)

80

Mariann Marczi (piano)

MARIANN MARCZI

SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER, 11.00

MONDAY 30 NOVEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

SANDRA SHAPIRO & IVAN ŽENATÝ CHAMBER RECITAL Clara Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22 Martinů: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, Op. 47 (‘Kreutzer’)

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES ABOUT THE LISZT ACADEMY FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS

The autumn concert of the Liszt Kidz Academy explores the secrets and stories of the magical building of the Liszt Academy on Liszt Ferenc Square.

Where does the spirit of music reside in this 106-year-old palace of music?

What do the different mysterious ornamentations represent? Why are the acoustics of the Grand Hall different from any other concert hall?

What happens to those who drink from the fountain of eternal youth, and what has this to do with music? The concert seeks answers to these questions.

Stories are linked through works by prominent composers associated with the Liszt Academy, bringing to life that extraordinary tradition manifested by its world-renowned professors Liszt, Erkel, Dohnányi, Kodály and Bartók.

When György Széll, who had moved to America ahead of the war, was appointed music director of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1946, the ensemble was considered one of the better provincial orchestras. At the time of Széll’s death in 1970, the orchestra ranked as one of the world’s best in the eyes of both the profession and audiences. So what has this to do with this violin-piano recital of Ivan Ženatý and Sandra Shapiro? Well, both are teachers at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and their visit to the Liszt Academy comes about as a reciprocal gesture following the highly successful concerts by students and teachers of the Liszt Academy in Cleveland in November 2014. Czech-born Ivan Ženatý is one of the most significant Czech violinists of his day, with a repertoire spanning more than fifty violin concertos. Steinway Artist Sandra Shapiro teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Faculty of Chamber Music and Piano; at the same time she is head of the preparatory class, and she can often be heard in performances as well.

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Works by Erkel, Liszt, Bartók, Kodály and Weiner Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor and narrator: Máté Hámori

MÁTÉ HÁMORI © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

Ivan Ženatý (violin) Sandra Shapiro (piano)

81

TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER, 19.00

TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC MARIANNA MAJOROSI AND GUESTS Marianna Majorosi (vocals) Barbara Kuczera, Attila Szabó (violin); Judit Rőmer (viola); Zsolt Barcza (cimbalom, accordion); Richárd Kökény (gardon); Péter Makó (woodwinds); Péter Molnár (bass)

82

PORAT / HÉJA CONCERT OF THE CONCERTO BUDAPEST Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Matan Porat (piano) Concerto Budapest Conductor: Domonkos Héja

The members of the Csík Band, which suddenly burst from the largely unknown inner circles of folk music to prize-winning stardom, are increasingly going their own way.

This concert by Marianna Majorosi also follows this trend. At the Tamás Cseh tribute concert at the Sziget Festival back in 2010 she was ‘simply’ a member of the Csík Band. Today, she performs under her own name.

Marianna Majorosi started her career as a dancer: she became a member of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, before being made leader of the women’s dance company. After graduating from the Hungarian Dance Academy she began to move increasingly towards folk singing. Her genuinely unique sound matured under the tuition of Klára Bodza, from which she can also benefit not only at the dance company but as a stage singer too. This concert features many of her favourite melodies and is performed alongside fellow musicians from the Csík Band, old friends and colleagues.

The première of Brahms’s grandiose, nearly 50-minute-long Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major took place in Budapest in 1881, with Brahms playing the solo, the orchestra conducted by Ferenc Erkel and with Ferenc Liszt sitting in the auditorium. The latter was generous in his praise of the work (even though he was not on friendly terms with Brahms nor an admirer of his music). This time the principal solo is played by Berlin-resident Israeli pianist Matan Porat. The young artist, who has played at Carnegie Hall and the Barbican Centre, was formerly a student of the New York Juilliard School of Music and has studied under Murray Perahia and Maria João Pires.

The second half is devoted to one of the core works of the symphonic repertoire, the Richard Strauss symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, which puts to music the philosophical novel by Nietzsche, and is here performed

by Concerto Budapest under the baton of Domonkos Héja.

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 3 200, 4 200, 5 600, 6 900 Organizer: Concerto Budapest

MATAN PORAT © NEDA NAVAEE

SEASON TICKETS 2015/16 MUSIC, SO CLOSE

FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER, 19.00

FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL CHAMBER MUSIC TUNED FOR THE GRAND HALL VÁRDAI, KRILOV, TOMTER, GOERNER

1ST BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL OPENING CONCERT – COSTAS COTSIOLIS SOLO RECITAL IN HONOUR OF THE CUBAN COMPOSER, LEO BROUWER

J. S. Bach: Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor (BWV 1011) Beethoven: String Trio in C minor, Op. 9/3 R. Strauss: Sonata for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 6 Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60

Works by Leo Brouwer

István Várdai (cello) Sergei Krilov (violin) Lars Anders Tomter (viola) Nelson Goerner (piano)

Costas Cotsiolis (guitar) One of today’s most influential guitarists gives a solo recital dedicated to the oeuvre of Leo Brouwer on the opening day of the 1st Budapest Guitar Festival. Greek Costas Cotsiolis has exercised considerable influence on the art of the guitar either side of the turn of the millennium through his many concerts and recordings and as a teacher: he has taught at the music academies of Athens, Thessaloniki and Indianapolis. The concert promises to be fascinating not only because of the artist – although Cotsiolis’s guitar playing amidst the fantastic acoustics of the newly restored Solti Hall is sure to be an incredible experience in itself – but also because of the works the Greek has picked from the oeuvre of Leo Brouwer. There is no doubt whatsoever that the 76-year-old Cuban master is the most significant composer for guitar of the 20th century: his stylistic palette encompasses virtually every possible music genre, from Cuban folk to European avant-garde, while his imagination and expression similarly know no bounds.

Tickets: HUF 1 700, 2 800 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, Attacca Artistic Bt. 84

A solo, a duet, a trio and a quartet are on the programme of the chamber music concert of István Várdai and friends. Várdai is the only musician to win both the ARD International Competition in Munich and the Geneva International Competition, taking two special prizes as well in the latter. The 30-year-old cellist has been teaching at the famous Kronberg Academy since 2013. Sergei Krilov, student of Leonid Kagan and Salvatore Accardo, was connected with the late Mstislav Rostropovich. Lars Anders Tomter, Norwegian violist and member of the older generation, studied under Sándor Végh among others, and established his reputation by winning a special prize at the International Viola Competition in Budapest in 1984.

Argentinean Nelson Goerner moved into the circle of leading artists in international music as winner of the Liszt competition organized in Buenos Aires, and he was also winner of the piano category at the Geneva International Music Competition in 1990.

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ISTVÁN VÁRDAI © BALÁZS BÖRÖCZ

SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL LEGENDARY CONCERTS ZOLTÁN KOCSIS & HUNGARIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ‘17 MARCH 1945’

1ST BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL RICARDO GALLÉN SOLO RECITAL IN HONOUR OF THE CUBAN COMPOSER, LEO BROUWER Works by Leo Brouwer Ricardo Gallén (guitar)

LEO BROUWER

Spaniard Ricardo Gallén is one of today’s most highly sought-after classical guitarists. He began his studies in Spain before continuing them in Salzburg and Munich.

Currently he is a professor at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar. He has carried home gold from five international competitions, while his recordings have not only won praise from music critics but also feature towards the top of classical record charts. He has worked with Leo Brouwer on several occasions, and he now selects from Brouwer’s astoundingly rich oeuvre for his performance at the second recital of the Leo Brouwer Guitar Festival, what is more in the presence of the composer himself. The appearance in Budapest of the elderly masterful instrumentalist is occasion for rejoicing in Hungary’s guitar fraternity and, more widely, in Hungarian music life.

Tickets: HUF 1 700, 2 800 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, Attacca Artistic Bt.

Beethoven: Egmont Overture, Op. 84 Bach–Weiner: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major (BWV 564) Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony, Op. 26 – 4 th Movement (‘In the Garden’) Bartók: Hungarian Peasant Songs for Orchestra (BB 107) Stravinsky: Petrushka Júlia Pusker (violin) Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis Original performers: Gabriella Lengyel (violin) Royal Municipal Orchestra Conductor: János Ferencsik Music life in the capital began to revive following the Second World War just a few days after the final shots were fired in Budapest. In March 1945, a performance was staged in the Opera House and a concert arranged in the Liszt Academy. The first concert after the end of war saw János Ferencsik conducting the Royal Municipal Orchestra, predecessor of today’s National Philharmonic. During the second evening of the Legendary Concerts series in the Liszt Academy, the Hungarian National Philharmonic, under the baton of Zoltán Kocsis, revisit this historic first post-war concert. The solo in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is played by international talent Júlia Pusker.

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 85

MASTERCLASS BY NICOLE TAYLOR (25 FEBRUARY 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

IAN BOSTRIDGE & THOMAS ADÈS (7 DECEMBER 2014) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

ZOLTÁN KOCSIS AND THE LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (23 NOVEMBER 2014) © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA 86

GERGELY DEVICH & GERGELY DOLFIN (21 MARCH 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA

DLA DOCTORAL CONCERT OF CSABA SOMOS (12 MARCH 2015) © LISZT ACADEMY / ÁRPÁD KISS-KUNTLER

THE KING’S CONSORT (21 DECEMBER 2014) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA 87

SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER, 19.30

SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

1ST BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL LEO BROUWER, COSTAS COTSIOLIS & ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Leo Brouwer: Verdiana Wagneriana Mozartiana Guitar Concerto No. 6 Costas Cotsiolis (guitar) Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Leo Brouwer In the closing concert of the 1st Budapest Guitar Festival the audience savour a sublime taste of the oeuvre of Leo Brouwer, one of the most important Cuban composers of the 20th century, through the playing of the massively influential guitarist Costas Cotsiolis, who is here accompanied by the Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra. A totally authentic interpretation is guaranteed not only by the fact that Cotsiolis has been playing Brouwer pieces for many years, but also that the composer himself is conducting the orchestra.

Leo Brouwer was born in Havana in 1939 but later moved to the US, where he studied guitar and composition at the Juilliard School of Music. During the 1970s he lived in Berlin, where he came into contact with European avant-garde composers who were to have a large influence on his style.

His career as a performance artist was brought to a sudden end with a tendon injury in 1980. Nonetheless, he remains active to this day as both a composer and conductor, as this extremely promising concert is certain to prove.

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, Attacca Artistic Bt. 88

JAZZ IT! SILENCE FICTION FEAT. KÁROLY BINDER & MIHÁLY BORBÉLY Silence Fiction: Georgina Kanizsa (vocals, loop, effects); Dániel Vikukel (piano, keyboards); Márk Miskolczi (bass); Marcell Urbán (drums) Featuring: Károly Binder (piano); Mihály Borbély (saxophone) The music of this young jazz quartet builds on the pianist’s compositions and the singer’s own lyrics. Through their music they outline images of a symbolic world, seeking alternatives to everyday social and emotional difficulties. Dániel’s strong, sovereign, individual sound immediately marked him out from the crowd, while Gina’s evocative performance style fitted perfectly with this. They launched out on a duo project, expanding to a quartet because of an ever-increasing repertoire and invitations. While a student of the Etűd conservatory Gina began making music with Márk and Marcell, who make up the rhythm section; their strong mutual bond provides a secure foundation for evolving harmonies and joint improvisations. They premiered at Jazz Showcase in the Müpa Palace of Arts in 2014. Since then they have been invited to play at festivals such as the long-running Veszprémfest and the Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival (CAFe), plus they are regulars at the Palace of Arts and Budapest Jazz Club. Inspired by science fiction, the ensemble envisage a future where high standard and substantial music can move closer to people: instead of strident parts it chooses self-reflection and offers tranquil contemplation.

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

DÁNIEL VIKUKEL

ENTRY IN THE GUEST BOOK OF LISZT ACADEMY ROBERT KING (21 DECEMBER 2014)

LISZT ACADEMY ARTIST MANAGEMENT As an extension to the traditional fostering of talent, and capitalizing on its new profile as an independent concert organizer – which arrived in parallel with the renovation of the building on Liszt Ferenc Square in 2013–, the Liszt Academy has launched an experimental artist management programme. The aim of this programme is to support the performance careers of a few selected students chosen on the basis of a tender held each year, in the process assisting them in making their entry onto the Hungarian and international classical music circuit.

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The Artist Management, which functions within the framework of the Cultural Directorate of the Liszt Academy, provides assistance in the preparation of print and online portfolios for selected students, in the shaping of their repertoires and concert programmes, and in maintaining contact with the media, concert organizers and artist agencies. It also offers them opportunities to appear on stage. In addition, it supports them in making applications for competitions, courses and auditions, as well as in applying for scholarships.

Tenders are announced in the autumn semester. They are open to young musicians who have completed a minimum of six semesters at any one of the classical music departments of the Liszt Academy, and enrolled students who are studying for or have recently acquired their MA or DLA. Applicants making it past the qualifying round have to prove their aptitude with a 10–15-minute programme performed in front of a jury chaired by Zoltán Kocsis, with other members including the president of the Liszt Academy, as well as top soloists, chamber musicians and conductors who call the academy their alma mater.

During the first audition (on 3 December 2013) the jury decided to support Ivett Gyöngyösi (piano), Anastasia Razvalyaeva (harp), Erzsébet Seleljo (classical saxophone) and the Nyári Quartet (as the string quartet studied abroad the office managed the ensemble until December 2014).

Winners of the tender announced in autumn 2014 were Mihály Demeniv (accordion), Dóra Kokas (cello), Tamás Pálfalvi (trumpet) and Marcell Szabó (piano).

Ivett Gyöngyösi started playing piano at the age of seven. Four years later she was admitted to the Liszt Academy’s Special School for Exceptional Young Talents (under teacher Attila Némethy), and in 2011 to the piano department, where currently she is under the direction of Kálmán Dráfi.

She gained her first competition win at the age of ten, and this has been followed by many more at domestic and international level. More recently she won the 10th Darmstadt International Chopin Piano Competition organized on 11–12 October 2013, while millions were captivated by her virtuosity as category winner of the 2014 MTVA talent contest.

Anastasia Razvalyaeva began playing harp at the age of seven. Her mother Natalia Gorbunova was her first teacher. In 2011 she was awarded a diploma at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, where her studies were overseen by Andrea Vigh. She has taken part in nine international competitions, with her best placings including a silver medal from the International Arles Chamber Music Competition (1999) and a gold medal from the International Music Competition ‘Petar Konjovic’ (2009). In 2011 she received the Junior Prima Prize, and in 2015 the Annie Fischer Scholarship.

Erzsébet Seleljo studied classic saxophone at the Royal College of Music in London and the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität, before becoming a doctoral student at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. She

is the winner of several domestic and international competitions, with a repertoire covering masterworks of classical saxophone and with a special emphasis on the works of contemporary Hungarian composers.

She was the first Hungarian classical saxophonist to play with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra as soloist in summer 2010.

Mihály Demeniv began classical accordion studies under the direction of his parents. Currently he is a second-year MA student of László Ernyei at the Liszt Academy. He has entered very many competitions, winning the Lanciano International Accordion Competition in 2013, and just a year later he was awarded a special prize at the MTVA talent contest, stunning the jury and the public with his virtuosity and musicality.

Dóra Kokas began playing the cello at the age of four. In 2007 she entered a preparatory class at the Vienna University of Music under the direction of Reinhard Latzko, before going on to gain admission to the Liszt Academy in the class of Miklós Perényi, where she is now finalizing her masters training. As a member of the Kelemen Quartet (from 2009) she has won a series of prizes at major international string quartet competitions, while as a soloist she achieved an outstanding result by reaching the final of the 2014 Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Budapest.

Tamás Pálfalvi is in his second year as an MA student in the trumpet department. His professor is Gábor Boldoczki. He holds prizes from several European competitions; he won the grand prize of the American National Trumpet Competition as a guest student of Bard College, and he was a special prize winner at the International Chicago Brass Festival. He has participated – as soloist and orchestral musician – in concerts by the Hamburger Camerata, American Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and several first-rate Hungarian ensembles. He drew considerable attention by winning the first Fanny Mendelssohn Scholarship in autumn 2014.

Marcell Szabó is a third-year doctoral student at the Liszt Academy, having been awarded a pianist diploma from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music as a student of György Nádor and András Kemenes. He was a scholarship guest student at the Royal College of Music, Brussels for one year. Among his many competition results he is particularly proud of his victory at the Szeged International Béla Bartók Piano Competition (2014), and he went on to win prizes in Madrid and Paris in the same year.

The general public have an opportunity to meet these young artists sponsored by the Artist Management within the framework of the Liszt Academy Concert Centre series Talent Oblige Erzsébet Seleljo, Anastasia Razvalyaeva and Mihály Demeniv performed in the Solti Hall during the 2014–2015 season, while Ivett Gyöngyösi, Dóra Kokas and Marcell Szabó introduce themselves in the course of the autumn.

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TUESDAY 8 DECEMBER, 19.00

WEDNESDAY 9 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE DENIS MATSUEV & CHAMBER ORCHESTRA VIENNA-BERLIN TALENT OBLIGE MARCELL SZABÓ PIANO RECITAL Brahms: Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118 Tchaikovsky: Dumka, Op. 59 Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasy, Op. 61 Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75 (excerpts) Rachmaninoff: Etudes, Op. 39 (excerpts)

Mozart: Serenade in G major (K. 525, ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik ’) Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35 Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 136 Denis Matsuev (piano) Gábor Tarkövi (trumpet) Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin

Marcell Szabó (piano)

MARCELL SZABÓ © LISZT ACADEMY / ZSOLT BIRTALAN

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The Liszt Academy Concert Centre series Talent Oblige, launched in 2013, offers every half year the opportunity to several students or ensembles of the Liszt Academy to present themselves to a wider audience. Marcell Szabó gained attention in 2014 with important competition results at international level, winning the 6th International Béla Bartók Piano Competition, taking third at the 33rd International Delia Steinberg piano competition in Madrid, and being awarded first prize at the 16th International Île de France piano competition in Paris. This year he was one of the jury-selected winners of the Liszt Academy Artist Management tender (a jury headed by Zoltán Kocsis), as a result of which he receives preferred artistic management support in his efforts to promote himself on the Hungarian and international classical music scene. His solo recital of Romantic piano works includes carefully selected opuses from Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff.

Denis Matsuev, an artist long celebrated by Hungarian audiences, takes to the stage of the Liszt Academy as an experienced exponent of the distinguished Russian school of piano.

Many critics consider the virtuoso artist continues the tradition of Gilels, Richter and Horowitz. For this performance he captivates us with a special Shostakovich work originally composed as a trumpet concerto.

Matsuev is welcomed as a regular guest performer at many places, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Musikverein in Vienna. For this concert we hear him with an ensemble of remarkable quality and composition formed from the musicians of the Vienna Philharmonics and Berlin Philharmonics, two of the world’s best orchestras, in a beautiful and exciting programme bookended by the two most recognized string orchestral serenades. His partner in Shostakovich’s scintillating concerto is Gábor Tarkövi, solo trumpet player of the Berlin Philharmonics.

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Denis Matsuev © COLUMBIA ARTIST MANAGEMENT

PLAYING PIANO IN RUSSIAN? ‘The great Russian school of piano.’

One frequently comes across this term in CVs and concert programmes, immediately bringing to mind the names RACHMANINOFF, Gilels and Richter, and of our day Sokolov, Korolyov, Berezovsky, Kissin or even Matsuev. But it is well worth taking a look behind the stereotypes: what does the Russian school of piano really mean? Maybe we could even pose the sacrilegious question: does it exist at all? In fact, this very question is often raised by those who belong to it or would like to belong to it.

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There is absolutely no doubt that young Russians still hold their own at international piano competitions. There is virtually no contest that does not have Russian artists making it into the finals at the very least. What’s more, the music cognoscenti also feel they know what it means to belong to the Russian school of piano: above all else virtuosity, robust touch, and soulful, romantic expressiveness. However, those great artists and professors who themselves are outstanding representatives of this very tradition struggle to formulate the true nature of it. Most commonly, it is not these artists who use the expression ‘Russian school of piano’ but those music teachers living abroad and wielding their origin and schools as trademarks and who wish to win over converts with the methodologies of highly successful Russian music tuition.

If we are to look for the answer to the secret of what lies behind the centuries-old success of Russian piano playing – success which has been repeated from one generation to the next – we must recognize that we will not find in it anything that is not characteristic in one way or another of any other nation, school or artist. Immaculate technique, energetic and yet, when needed, silky touch, chord sensitivity, a high degree of formation, and deriving from all these an intensive emotional expressiveness – not one of these terms commonly used in connection with the Russian school of piano can be omitted from the toolbox of an artist of quality, irrespective of nationality or school.

Perhaps we come somewhat closer to the real answer if we consider this question from a historical perspective and presume to discover the individuality of the Russian school of piano through a succession of great personalities and their individual influences. However surprising it may sound, the strands in this story lead all the way back to Ferenc Liszt. His three tours (taking place over the period 1842–1847) ignited something in piano playing in Russia. Shortly thereafter, performers began appearing in Russia who wittingly (as with the Rubenstein brothers) or unwittingly (like Theodor Leschetizky) started their work as performers or teachers under Liszt’s influence. Anton Rubinstein (1829–1894) performed Liszt works in concert at the age of nine, and he met him at the age of eleven, indeed they became firm friends later on. He founded the first Russian conservatory in St Petersburg in 1862, that is, more than a decade earlier than Liszt’s music academy in Pest. Polish-born Leschetizky (1830–1915) studied under Czerny in Vienna, and only started teaching in St Petersburg from 1852, at the invitation of Rubinstein. He returned to Vienna in 1878, where he worked as a highly influential teacher of piano almost until the end of his life. His students included such important pianists as Ignaz Friedman, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Mieczysław Horszowski, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Jan Paderewski, Artur Schnabel and Vasily Safonov. By this time, we can indeed reflect on what these highly accomplished musician-teachers interpreted as being the ‘Russian school’. Alexander Scriabin, Nikolai Medtner and Josef Lhevinne all became students of Safonov (1852–1918).

Safonov was a musician of international significance, not only as a pianist

but a conductor too. He was succeeded by Mahler at the head of the New York Philharmonics. The next figure of key importance was Alexander Siloti (1863–1945), who studied under Anton’s brother, Nikolai Rubinstein, as well as Liszt. In turn, he taught Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, and later he became an important propagator of Russian music and promoter of Russian artists all over the world. Felix Blumenfeld (1863–1931) was a contemporary and colleague of Siloti at the St Petersburg Conservatory; similarly to all those artists mentioned above Blumenfeld worked not only as a pianist but as a conductor and composer, according to the traditions of the era. He premiered Tristan in Russia and Boris Godunov in Paris. He had many top students including Vladimir Horowitz, Maria Yudina and Heinrich Neuhaus (1888– 1964). Neuhaus also studied with other professors, for example, the famous and feared virtuoso Leopold Godowsky in Berlin. In just the same way as his predecessors, he could be considered only partly the student of Russian teachers.

Neuhaus is the link to recent times. Quite a few of his students are still living today, active as performers and teachers. It would be difficult to list all those significant artists he launched on their careers; however, those more familiar to a domestic audience include Yakov Zak, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Anatoly Vedernikov, Eliso Virsaladze, Alexei Lubimov and Radu Lupu. His most important pedagogical successor and assistant over several years was Lev Naumov (1925–2005), who wrote a work entitled Under the Sign of Neuhaus about the functioning and methods of his professor and what was taught in classes. But we also have first-hand written information from Neuhaus himself in a collection of essays The Art of Piano Playing, published at the end of the 1950s.

In this work he writes of his fundamental proposition concerning music and performance; some explanation may also be found here as to why the Russian musical tradition is of such enormous influence and success.

His three central tenets can be summarized as follows: 1. Music must be taught in a way that, right from the first minute, the playing should stem from the meaning of the music, even with the simplest of works; 2. Good technique is built on familiarity with piano playing, that is, the pieces themselves, the specific problems, and not on theory or exercises; 3. The most important element is the personality of the performer, and within this his/her musical creativity, and creative/re-creative power: this is what has to be brought to the surface, and if this succeeds, then this should be followed as a unique guiding principle during the performance.

Musicians who are Russian, or trace their origins to Russia, still occupy prestigious positions in the line of leading international pianists.

And if we compare their playing, then we have to acknowledge that Professor Neuhaus was correct: dedicated listening to the music-making of the plethora of totally different personalities creates a unique overall impression of the Russian school of piano that cannot truly be grasped in words alone.

János Mácsai 95

SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER, 11.00

TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 16 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES ON PIANO FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 7 – 1 st Movement Debussy: The Isle of Joy Liszt: Legend No. 2 in E major (‘St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves’) Chopin: Ballade in A-flat major, Op. 47 Brahms: Ballade in D minor, Op. 10/1 Ravel: Miroirs – Oiseaux tristes Bartók: Out of Doors (BB 89) – The Night’s Music

Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major, Op. 24 (‘Spring’) Argentine tangos Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, Op. 47 (‘Kreutzer’) Barnabás Kelemen (violin), José Gallardo (piano)

LEGENDARY CONCERTS KODÁLY 133 ‘7 MAY 1918’ Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 Kodály: Songs Kodály: Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 Kodály: String Quartet, Op. 10/2 Balázs Fülei (piano); Gábor Bretz (bass); György Éder, László Fenyő (cello); Attila Falvay (violin); Kodály String Quartet

It is often said that music is like a language, a language in which the instruments speak. But what does music say, and how is it capable of relating a story if it is not supported by text? The autumn concerts of the Liszt Academy’s youth series, Liszt Kidz Academy, which is targeted at 10–15-year-olds (as well as their parents and grandparents), seek answers to these questions. On this occasion, the fourth in the series, professor of the Liszt Academy Chamber Music Workshop and Junior Prima Prize winner Balázs Fülei reveals how his instrument, the piano, is capable of telling stories, conveying emotions and getting messages across to listeners frequently far more effectively and profoundly than any written text.

Selecting from a repertoire spanning two centuries, he makes the piano sing, and from his playing and narration it becomes clear why composers were once called ‘poets of sound’.

Kossuth Prize winner Barnabás Kelemen barely needs introduction: he is one of Hungary’s best known young violinists as both a soloist and chamber musician. Kelemen achieved his exalted status after a stunning start to his career: in a single year, 2001, he achieved outstanding results at the two most prestigious international violin competitions, in Brussels and Indianapolis, not only taking first place in the latter but an additional six special prizes.

Barnabás Kelemen is an ‘omnivore’: he performs classical compositions (like the two Beethoven sonatas in this concert) with exactly the same gusto and verve as he does with any other music, whether it be klezmer, gypsy music, jazz or Argentine tango. He could not have found a better partner than José Gallardo, well known from his performances in the Kaposvár International Chamber Music Festival and also a musician of many parts with astonishing technique, who has gifted Hungarian audiences with unforgettable experiences on many other occasions.

Zoltán Kodály’s second composer evening, featuring the WaldbauerKerpely Quartet and Béla Bartók, as well as Oszkár Kálmán, took place in May 1918. Reviews of the concert were mixed. Some of the critics of the day regarded Kodály – who was then in his mid-thirties and a relatively young composer – a beginner still hesitantly searching for his own sound, someone in need of a fatherly reprimand. A few critics hear the folklorist in Kodály’s pieces: “the natural beauties of folk art are indispensable elements in the development of all healthy artists, but if brought to the fore, they not only cause forced primitiveness but monotony as well.” In the third concert of the Liszt Academy Legendary Concerts series, the Kodály String Quartet, Balázs Fülei, Gábor Bretz and László Fenyő fill the shoes of those legendary musicians for a concert taking place on the 133rd anniversary of the birth of Kodály.

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Narration and piano: Balázs Fülei

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CHAMBER MUSIC FOR THE GRAND HALL BARNABÁS KELEMEN & JOSÉ GALLARDO

Original performers: Jenő Kerpely (cello); Imre Waldbauer (violin); Béla Bartók (piano); Oszkár Kálmán (bass); Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet

THE EASTERN PART OF THE BROOKS RANGE © SEBASTIAO SALGADO

THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER, 19.00 MONDAY 21 DECEMBER, 19.00 WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL ON THE SPOT ALMA MATER CHOIR THE MAGIC FLUTE

Liszt: Choir of Angels from Goethe’s Faust Poulenc: Four Christmas Motets Liszt: Christmas Tree Britten: Hymn to the Virgin Morten Lauridsen: O magnum mysterium Respighi: Lauda per la Nativita del Signore Jesu

Mozart: The Magic Flute Translation: Dániel Varró Set concept: András Almási-Tóth Set design: Krisztina Lisztopád Costume: Maison Marquise by Bori Tóth Choir Master: Csaba Somos Choreography: Tamás Juronics Music Assistants: Mónika Baja, Gabriella Gyökér

Students of the Liszt Academy Alma Mater Choir (Choir master: Csaba Somos) Conductors: István Párkai, Csaba Somos

performance professor of the department, András Almási-Tóth, focus on the Art Nouveau building of the Academy of Music, giving it the lead role in a performance designed to appeal to young people. After all, what other than music would be capable of harmonizing the opposites of darkness and light, intellect and emotions, higher ideals and natural instincts, Sarastro and The Queen of the Night?

The Alma Mater Choir, the university’s music formation with the deepest unbroken roots, are a regular feature of concert life. They could be heard last year playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under the baton of Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi. The ensemble is directed

by Csaba Somos and comprises the university’s choir conducting and theory department, together with nonorchestral instrumental students.

Building on the individual qualifications of the members of the chorus and its chamber music sensitivity, the ensemble has a rich choral sound culture that represents an especially high quality form of making music together. This year’s Advent concert by the Alma Mater Choir draws on the finest works associated with the Romantic and 20th-century Christmas tradition. Alongside Liszt Prize holder Csaba Somos, the choir is conducted by István Párkai, recently awarded the Artist of the Nation title, who is a former leader of the ensemble and founder of the New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir.

Tickets: HUF 4 500, 5 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Sarastro: Géza Gábor Tamino: Zuo You / Botond Ódor Papageno: Attila Erdős Pamina: Xénia Sárközi / Nóra Tatai Queen of the Night: Anna Ihring First lady: Andrea Brassói-Jőrös Second lady: Anita Csóka Third lady: Alexandra Ruszó Papagena: Éva Bernáth / Anikó Vida Monostatos: Ferenc Kristofori / László Czikora I. Director: András Almási-Tóth Symphony Orchestra of the Liszt Academy and Alma Mater Choir (Choir master: Csaba Somos) Conductor: György Vashegyi The Liszt Academy’s production of The Magic Flute features recent graduates of the Department of Vocal Studies, headed by Andrea Meláth, together with rising stars of Hungarian opera.

Artistic director of the performance, Éva Marton, and director, stage

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TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 30 DECEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL

PURE BAROQUE CONCERTO ARMONICO BUDAPEST

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC TURN OF THE YEAR WITH BEA PALYA ‘LET THERE ALWAYS BE SONG’

Miklós Spányi: Suite in G major Händel: Imeneo (HWV 41– excerpts) J. S. Bach: Triple Concerto in A minor (BWV 1044) Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz (mezzo-soprano); Zoltán Megyesi (tenor); János Bálint (flute); Péter Szűts (violin) Concerto Armonico Budapest Artistic director: Miklós Spányi (harpsichord)

Bea Palya (vocals); Balázs Szokolay Dongó (recorder, kaval, duda, saxophone); Tamás Czirják (cajon, derbuka); János Gerzson (Arab lute, bouzouki); István Tóth Jnr. (acoustic guitar); Ernő Bodoczki (double bass)

The traditional late-December concert in the Liszt Academy by Concerto Armonico Budapest, under the leadership of Miklós Spányi, promises to be exciting on several counts. This famous historical ensemble perform excerpts from Händel’s rarely played penultimate opera Imeneo, which dates from 1740, in the company of two great singers: Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz and Zoltán Megyesi. Closing the concert is Bach’s Trio in A minor (BWV 1044), in which the violin, flute and harpsichord enjoy solo roles. The three leading parts are performed, respectively, by Miklós Spányi, János Bálint, who regularly plays with the ensemble and is a Liszt Prize-winning flautist, and Péter Szűts, one of the founders of Concerto Armonico Budapest and concertmaster of the Budapest Festival Orchestra for many years. The opening number is a true curiosity: a suite written by Miklós Spányi in Baroque style.

The expression ‘folk diva’ often crops up when reading about Bea Palya. Our first encounters with her were often seeing her face on front covers; she has demonstrated the necessity of conscious brand-building in the folk music and world music markets. This is what she writes about the inspiring influence of original folk music and the songs performed at the concert: “I was still a young girl when ‘aunties’ came into my life. They sent a message to me from creaky cassettes telling me to sing. I never once saw them – I just heard their voices – and yet their presence filled the small room. I felt that they were with me, spanning space and time, singing into me of what they knew of life. I learned to play music from them. This concert features folk songs and my own compositions in an acoustic, quieter interpretation. Solos, duos and trios follow one after the other. This is how we turn this year to the next one, with free-soaring songs, refined sounds; this is what I would like to give my audience as a gift for the final days of the year.”

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 3 700, 5 100, 6 500, 7 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

BEA PALYA © LÁSZLÓ EMMER

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CONCERTS AT THE OLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC LISZT MUSEUM MATINÉE CONCERTS

5 SEPTEMBER

12 SEPTEMBER

11.00

19 SEPTEMBER

11.00

26 SEPTEMBER

11.00

3 OCTOBER

11.00

10 OCTOBER

11.00

17 OCTOBER

11.00

24 OCTOBER

11.00

31 OCTOBER

11.00

7 NOVEMBER

11.00

14 NOVEMBER

11.00

11.00

Brigitta Sveda (piano) and Benjámin Perényi (piano) Radoslav Kvapil (piano) Enikő Lőte (piano) Béla Bánfalvi & Hungarian Chamber Orchestra Concert in memory of Mihály Mosonyi Domonkos Csabay (piano) Liszt Birthday Concert Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Pierre Morabia (piano) Gregorio Nardi (piano) Jubilee concert on the occasion of the 140th academic year of the Liszt Academy Anastasia Razvalyaeva (harp) Szilvia Elek (piano) Fülöp Ránki (piano) Hungarian Piano Trio Szilvia Elek (harpsichord)

21 NOVEMBER

11.00

28 NOVEMBER

11.00

5 DECEMBER

11.00

12 DECEMBER

11.00

19 DECEMBER

11.00

Tickets: HUF 1 300 (students and concessions tickets: HUF 650)

ENCOUNTERS WITH FERENC LISZT JOINT CONCERTS OF THE FERENC LISZT SOCIETY AND LISZT ACADEMY

25 NOVEMBER

18.00

10 DECEMBER

18.00

100

LISZT, THE TEACHER Students of the Liszt Academy’s Special School for Young Talents and Piano Department Introduction: Gábor Eckhardt FERENC LISZT FOUR-HAND PIANO MUSIC Sándor Falvai, Gyöngyi Keveházi and their students Introduction: Mária Eckhardt

Tickets: HUF 1 800 (students and concessions tickets: HUF 900)

THE LISZT ACADEMY PRESENTS: ZOLTÁN KODÁLY MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES The one-time flat of Zoltán Kodály on Andrássy Avenue is today a museum.

The museum was inaugurated in spring 1990 and has become one of the most important centres of Hungarian music history. Kodály lived in what is today called the Körönd (‘Circus’) from October 1924 until his death in March 1967.

The permanent exhibition of the museum presents the maestro’s home – the ground floor flat comprising four front rooms in the apartment block built in Eclectic style – in its original form complete with all authentic furnishings. The study with sizeable library, the music salon and dining room with documents tracing the life of the composer, ethnographer and teacher, as well as the furniture and artworks all evoke one of the key 20th century workshops of Hungarian music history. Temporary displays giving a clear insight into the extremely diverse lifework of the composer, primarily material from the Kodály Archives, are in cabinets situated in the former bedroom. Acquisitions pertaining to the person and achievements of Zoltán Kodály are collected, researched and preserved by the Zoltán Kodály Archives, operating in the same museum.

The current temporary exhibition of the museum (From the Stanza Structure of Hungarian Folk Songs to the Folk Song Collection of János Arany), which can be visited by prior arrangement, offers a glimpse into the scientific creative workshop of Zoltán Kodály through a selection of Kodály’s collection of 19th-century Hungarian sheet music. The nearly two thousand documents span virtually all the Hungarian-related printed music works of the century published in Pest-Buda and a few published by provincial publishers, while others are from the early 19th century, primarily from Vienna. There is a smaller number of recruiting (‘verbunkos’) sheet music works; the larger part of the collection features the period’s most popular Hungarian dance, the csárdás. An examination of the scientific oeuvre of Zoltán Kodály makes it clear to visitors that, irrespective of which topic he was dealing with, Kodály always manifested a precision, intensity and indefatigably high standard of scientific research throughout his life.

“Looking back on the road I’ve passed, either in the mountains or in life, was never to my liking. I always looked ahead.” This is what Kodály writes in the preface to his collected writings entitled In Retrospect.

Though we seemingly look back on the road covered when we visit this exhibition, Kodály’s example gives us strength for the struggle ahead: a struggle for Hungary to be renewed in culture and humanity so that we may clearly sing one part of the ‘cosmic choral work’ imagined by Kodály, the motto of which is ‘May the whole world rejoice!’

FACADE OF THE ZOLTÁN KODÁLY MEMORIAL MUSEUM 101

LISZT KIDS ACADEMY YOUTH PROGRAMMES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC Every child is born with music; there is no babe untouched by the music of Mozart or Bach. Or indeed Gangnam Style, depending on what they encounter at home. The youth programmes of the Liszt Academy naturally aim to acquaint youngsters not with the values of pop culture, but with the three musical worlds which shape the institution’s teaching and concert life; namely, classical music, folk music and jazz.

The objective of the Liszt Academy's youth programmes, under the sobriquet Liszt Kidz Academy, is not to nurture musicians but to create the audiences of the future. For those children who hear the Goldberg Variations at home, we will show them further wonders from the infinite universe of great music. For those who grow up in the shadow of Lady Gaga, we guide them to other musical lands.

The main pillars of the Liszt Academy youth programmes comprises weekly activities for small groups of 6–10-year-olds. Not only are these children taught about the different music genres and forms, and shown (and allowed to handle) various instruments, but they are also initiated into the operational mechanism of concert organization. We have built a scale model of the Grand Hall in LEGO bricks, and children can play with the LEGO figures, showing how the artists arrive, the preparations for the concert, where the audience gathers and so on.

The concert series for 10-15-year-olds, taking place in the Solti Hall and the Grand Hall, investigates the question of how instrumental music can tell us stories and how we can decode the meaning of music that has no text to help us understand. From this aspect we look at Baroque music, classical chamber music and the piano repertoire in three different concerts. The Grand Hall concert aims to pay tribute to the 140-year-old Liszt Academy by reviving exciting moments of the institution’s past.

(Details of the concert series can be found on the opposite page and on earlier pages of the magazine.)

Many think that music is pure entertainment. They are wrong.

It teaches the essence of man, and it is almost never too early to start the acquaintance. As Shakespeare put it: “The man that hath no music in himself / Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds / Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; / The motions of his spirit are dull as night, / And his affections dark as Erebus. / Let no such man be trusted. / Mark the music.”

In autumn 2015, between 20 September and 19 December, we will hold a small group of ‘Liszt Kidz Academy’ activities in the Liszt Academy, Liszt Ferenc Square building each Saturday from 10.00. The activities are aimed at the 6–10-year age group. Parents cannot participate in the activities, but they are welcome to sit in on the dress rehearsal for the Grand Hall concert taking place that evening (so long as the performers have no objection).

Further details: http://zeneakademia.hu/junior/en Tickets: HUF 900

102

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY FOR 10-15-YEAR-OLDS CONCERT SERIES IN THE SOLTI HALL

25 OCTOBER 2015 STORIES FOR BAROQUE MUSIC 8 NOVEMBER 2015 STORIES FOR CHAMBER MUSIC 13 DECEMBER 2015 STORIES ON PIANO CONCERT IN THE GRAND HALL

29 NOVEMBER 2015 STORIES ABOUT THE LISZT ACADEMY FAMILIES ARRIVING WITH MORE THAN TWO CHILDREN CAN PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THE CONCERT IN THE GRAND HALL WITH A 50% DISCOUNT FOR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS UNDER 18.

SILVER HUGO AND EUROPA NOSTRA The Liszt Academy’s image clip Lisztery – Music Lives Here proved best in the Image Spot category at the Chicago International Film Festival Television Awards, while the reconstruction of the main building of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music won an award in the prestigious European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage competition.

AWARD GIVING GALA ON 22 APRIL © CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TV AWARDS 104

The primary target audiences of the spot, which was broadcast in January 2015 on several Hungarian TV channels, the BBC, Mezzo and YouTube, are young and youthful consumers of culture whose interests have typically not included classical music but who are open to new and original experiences.

As such, the film does not attempt to condense into the half minute available the traditions of the institution founded 140 years ago, but instead it explores the cathartic energy of the music created in the Liszt Academy.

Communications director Imre Szabó Stein, creative producer of the film, and Róbert Gács from the Liszt Academy’s creative agency, came up with the unconventional creative concept of the film, while Dávid Géczy was the director. The spot features music composed by Bence Kutrik performed by the Musiciens Libres chamber ensemble specially augmented for this occasion and numbering several Junior Prima Prize. The international jury at the Chicago International Film Festival found the spot worthy of a Silver Hugo prize as the best in the Television Advertisements-Institutional/Corporate Identity category, at the gala on 22 April 2015.

The prize, awarded at the American review for the first time in 1964, has proved a defining moment in the careers of Martin Scorsese and John Carpenter, and over the past few years Hungarians such as Nimród Antal (Kontroll) and György Pálfi (Taxidermia) have collected awards. In the television categories, awarded since 2003, judges evaluate the creative concepts of productions, their technical solutions and the cost effectiveness of the end result, among other factors.

The reconstruction of the Liszt Academy also won a major international award in the middle of April. The project, completed in autumn 2013, received the Europa Nostra Award in the category Conservation of Cultural Heritage.

The Europa Nostra Awards have been honouring monument reconstruction and preservation since 1978, and has been the official recognition of the European Union for the past 15 years. The jury considered the renewal of the building of the Liszt Academy on Liszt Ferenc Square an outstanding example of best practice in restoration. The aim of the plans, drafted by Éva Magyari, Béla Pazár, Ferenc Potzner and colleagues, was not solely restitution of the values of this historical monument. Alongside the creation of an appropriate environment for teaching at the highest level, meeting the demands of concert life presented the designers with serious challenges given that the standards required for international music performance today are immeasurably higher than 100 years ago. In its evaluation the jury said the standard and the results of the reconstruction, which combines Art Nouveau magnificence with innovative functional solutions, and which in an exemplary manner applies necessary new technology in a precious period setting, are outstanding. The committee, chaired by opera singer Plácido Domingo, presented the award on 11 June 2015.

© RUDOLF KLEIN / EUROPA NOSTRA

105

2016 SPRING – PREVIEW 6 FEBRUARY 2016 24 FEBRUARY 2016

ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER & LES MUSICIENS DU LOUVRE GRENOBLE

6 MARCH 2016

DAVE DOUGLAS & URI CAINE

16 MARCH 2016

BALÁZS SZOKOLAY PIANO RECITAL

31 MARCH 2016

16-17 APRIL 2016

FRANK PETER ZIMMERMANN & GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER KELLER, PERÉNYI, VÁRJON COMPLETE PIANO TRIOS OF BEETHOVEN

24 APRIL 2016

BANG ON A CAN ALL STARS

11 MAY 2016

JOSHUA BELL

12 MAY 2016

AMADINDA PERCUSSION GROUP

31 MAY 2016

106

TAKÁCS QUARTET

KRISTÓF BARÁTI & RICHARD GOODE

LISZT ACADEMY GRAND HALL

JULIA LEZHNEVA

HÄNDEL IN ITALY La Voce Strumentale Conductor: Dmitry Sinkovsky

09.04.2016

CONCERT CHRONOLOGY Concerts organized by Liszt Academy Concert Centre Hosted concert Classical Jazz Opera World / Folk Junior Other FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

FOUR BY FOUR VILDE FRANG, NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT & KELEMEN QUARTET Page 4

TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA EMBRACED BY THE ARTS

ROST / PETRENKO / BARÁTI / KELLER CONCERT OF CONCERTO BUDAPEST

Page 4

Page 8

TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA FREEDOM Liszt: 2 Légendes R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, Op. 28 Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 (‘Eroica’) Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Máté Hámori

ROST / PETRENKO / BARÁTI / KELLER CONCERT OF CONCERTO BUDAPEST Page 8 SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC ÁGNES HERCZKU ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT ‘BANDÁZOM’ Page 8

FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

HUNGARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 73 Featuring: Ildikó Szabó (cello) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir; Conductor: János Kovács

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Óbudai Danubia Nonprofit Kft.

THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

SONG RECITALS AT THE LISZT ACADEMY TETIANA ZHURAVEL & NATALIA KOROLKO Page 5

FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER, 19.00 GRAND HALL

MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

MACAO ORCHESTRA Bruckner: Ouverture in G minor (WAB 98) Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A major (WAB 106)

Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 60 Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 (‘Eroica') Sooji Kim (violin) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Péter Csaba Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER, 19.00 SOLTI HALL

THE LITTLE SWEEP LET’S MAKE AN OPERA! Benjamin Britten: The Little Sweep, Op. 45 Director: György Philipp Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Gergely Dubóczky Tickets: HUF 3 000 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

PURE BAROQUE BALTHASAR-NEUMANN-CHOR & ORCHESTRA SKY, EARTH, SEA Page 10 WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

HOMMAGE À DÉNES KOVÁCS

Zhang Haochen (piano); Macao Orchestra Conductor: Lü Jia Organizer: Chinese Culture Association in Austria 108

FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

TALENT OBLIGE IVETT GYÖNGYÖSI PIANO RECITAL Page 5

Page 10

THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER, 19.00

JAZZ IT! LESZEK MOŻDŻER Page 15

THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER, 19.30

JUBILEE CONCERT OF THE KODÁLY INSTITUTE & INTERNATIONAL KODÁLY SOCIETY THE FIRST 40 YEARS Page 15 SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA Mozart: Symphony No. 30 in D major (K. 202/186b) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major (K. 503) Mozart: The Clemency of Titus (K. 621) – Ouverture Haydn: Symphony No. 90 in C major (Hob. I:90) Péter Frankl (piano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 500, 4 400, 6 300, 10 500 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA Mozart: Symphony No. 30 in D major (K. 202/186b) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major (K. 503) Mozart: The Clemency of Titus (K. 621) – Ouverture Haydn: Symphony No. 90 in C major (Hob. I:90) Péter Frankl (piano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 500, 4 400, 6 300, 10 500 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL TIBOR BOGÁNYI & PANNON PHILHARMONIC Tickets: HUF 1 500, 2 500, 3 200, 3 900 Organizer: CAFe Budapest

WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER, 19.30

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC BALOGH KÁLMÁN 40 YEARS ON STAGE Page 16 THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

FRANZ LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Haydn: Symphony No. 44 in E minor (Hob.I:44, ‘Mourning’) Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 19 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K. 550) Alexander Melnikov (piano) Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: János Rolla) Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 200, 5 500, 6 900 Organizer: Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER, 19.00 GRAND HALL

MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RUSSIAN EVENING Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 82 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (‘Pathétique’) Kristóf Baráti (violin) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Péter Csaba

Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER, 19.00

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL SPRING AWAKENING Page 16

SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER, 19.30

FOUR BY FOUR BELCEA QUARTET & TILL FELLNER Page 20

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER, 11.00 GRAND HALL

UNDERSTANDING MUSIC DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK J.S. Bach: ‘Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis’ – Cantata (BWV 21) Budapest Academic Choral Society Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: Hollerung Gábor Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 300, 2 700 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER, 15.30 GRAND HALL

ZUGLÓ PHILHARMONICS BUDAPEST Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (‘Classical’) Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 (BB 117) Bartók: Concerto (BB 123) Vilmos Szabadi (violin) Zugló Philharmonics Budapest Conductor: Kálmán Záborszky Tickets: HUF 2 100, 2 300, 2 700 Organizer: Zugló Philharmonics Budapest

Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 109

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER, 19.00

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL SPRING AWAKENING Page 16

MONDAY 12 OCTOBER, 19.00

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL LUTOSŁAWSKI QUARTET

WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

Ferenc Farkas: The sly students Schumann: Concertpiece for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86 Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 63

Page 24

Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: János Kovács

MONDAY 12 OCTOBER, 19.30

Tickets: HUF 3 200, 3 900, 4 500 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS KATIA & MARIELLE LABÈQUE DOUBLE PIANO RECITAL Page 24 TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

HUNGARIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC Haydn: Symphony No. 91 in E-falt major (Hob. I:91) Mozart: Horn Concerto in E-flat major (K. 495) Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 (‘Eroica’) Featuring: László Gál (horn) Hungarian National Philharmonic Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 500, 6 000 Organizer: Hungarian National Philharmonic

WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER, 19.00

LISZT ACADEMY OF YESTERDAY FROM HAL SQUARE TO LISZT FERENC SQUARE (1875–1907) SERIES BY ANDRÁS BATTA & SÁNDOR KOVÁCS LOOKING BACK INTO THE PAST

THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 63 Sophie Klussmann (soprano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Marek Janowski Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER, 19.00

PURE BAROQUE BORBÁLA DOBOZY ORCHESTRAL BACH RECITAL Page 28

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL GERGELY BOGÁNYI (PIANO), BENCE BOGÁNYI (BASSOON) & MÜNCHENER KAMMERORCHESTER Tickets: HUF 1 500, 2 500, 3 200, 3 900 Organizer: CAFe Budapest

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 63 Sophie Klussmann (soprano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Marek Janowski

Page 28 Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra 110

Sophie Klussmann (soprano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Marek Janowski

MONDAY 19 OCTOBER, 19.30

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE MISCHA MAISKY & HUNGARIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Page 30

TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA GAME Ligeti: Mysteries of the Macabre Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Tune, Op. 25 Stravinsky: Game of Cards Milhaud: The Bull on the Roof, Op. 58 Ildikó Szakács (soprano) János Palojtay (piano) Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Gergely Vajda Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Óbudai Danubia Nonprofit Kft.

TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER, 19.00

KOREA AND HUNGARY JOINT CONCERT BY THE KOREAN LISZT SOCIETY & LISZT ACADEMY Page 34

WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER, 19.00

ON THE SPOT DOUBLE BASS SUB-DEPARTMENT Page 35

THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER, 19.00

TALENT OBLIGE DÓRA KOKAS CHAMBER RECITAL

FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER, 19.00

HUNGARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR

Page 36

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (K. 297/B) Dohnányi: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 40

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER, 19.30

Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER, 19.30

MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA PINCHAS STEINBERG & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Page 30

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER, 11.00

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES FOR BAROQUE MUSIC FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Page 34

WEDNESDAY 4 NOVEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

ENDRE HEGEDŰS ROMANTIC PIANO RECITAL Chopin: Four Ballade (No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52) Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 500, 4 500 Organizer: Stúdió Liszt Kft.

Page 35

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

Lucas M. Navarro (oboe) Vincent Alberola (clarinet) Jose V. Castello (horn) Guilhaume Santana (bassoon) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Alpaslan Ertüngealp

Tickets: HUF 3 900, 4 900, 6 900 Organizer: Győr Philharmonic Orchestra

GOLDMARK 100

THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER, 19.30

COMPLETE WORKS LIVE COMPLETE BACH CELLO SUITES WITH MIKLÓS PERÉNYI I Page 36

KOROLJOV / KELLER CONCERT OF THE CONCERTO BUDAPEST Page 36 SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER, 19.30

KOROLJOV / KELLER CONCERT OF THE CONCERTO BUDAPEST Page 36 TUESDAY 3 NOVEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

MISI BOROS & GYŐR PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D major (K. 385, ‘Haffner’) Haydn: Piano Concerto in D major (Hob. XVIII:11) Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 Misi Boros (piano) Győr Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Kálmán Berkes

FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER, 19.00 GRAND HALL

MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Haydn: The Creation Beatrix Fodor (soprano) Péter Balczó (tenor) András Palerdi (bass) Kodály Choir Debrecen MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Péter Csaba Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 15.30 GRAND HALL

ZUGLÓ PHILHARMONICS BUDAPEST Dvořák: The Water Goblin, Op. 107 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 Balázs Dolfin (cello) 111

Zugló Philharmonics Budapest Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis Tickets: HUF 2 100, 2 300, 2 700 Organizer: Zugló Philharmonics Budapest

THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER, 19.30

LEGENDARY CONCERTS GERGELY BOGÁNYI & KELLER QUARTET ‘3 MARCH 1936’ Page 50

SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SONG RECITALS AT THE LISZT ACADEMY SZILVIA VÖRÖS & KÁROLY MOCSÁRI Page 42

SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 19.30

COMPLETE WORKS LIVE COMPLETE BACH CELLO SUITES WITH MIKLÓS PERÉNYI II

SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 19.30

MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA ZOLTÁN KOCSIS & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Page 71

MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER, 18.00

VASHEGYI – MOZART CONVERSATION AND CONCERT

Page 42

Page 71

SUNDAY 8 NOVEMBER, 11.00

TUESDAY 17 NOVEMBER, 19.30

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES FOR CHAMBER MUSIC FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC LIVE – FOLK MUSIC DEPARTMENT STUDENTS OF THE LISZT ACADEMY IN THE ‘PEACOCK’ TALENT CONTEST

Page 46

Page 71

SUNDAY 8 NOVEMBER, 19.30

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE CHARLES DUTOIT & VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Page 46

WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 19.00

LISZT ACADEMY OF YESTERDAY GOLDEN AGE WITH TRAGEDIES (1920–1944) SERIES BY ANDRÁS BATTA & SÁNDOR KOVÁCS LOOKING BACK INTO THE PAST Page 50 WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 19.30

ALEX SZILASI & WROCŁAW BAROQUE ORCHESTRA Page 50

112

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 200, 5 500, 6 900 Organizer: Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER, 18.30 GRAND HALL

FESTIVE CONCERT MARKING OF THE 80 TH BIRTHDAY OF IMRE MAKOVECZ CLOSING CONCERT OF SEVEN TOWERS FESTIVAL Arvo Pärt: Lamentate Ferenc Kis: Songs of Holdudvarház – Etnophony Zugló Philharmonics Budapest King Saint Stephen Symphony Orchestra & Etnofon Music Company Conductor: Pál Makovecz Organizer: Zugló Philharmonics Budapest, Seven Towers Festival, Fonó Music Hall

FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER, 19.00

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/2 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Page 72

THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 19.00

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/1 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Page 72

SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 10.30

KAMARA.HU/BABAR FAIRY-TALE TOUR AROUND THE MAGICAL WORLD OF MUSIC FOR YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE Page 72

THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

FRANZ LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Mozart: A Little Night Music (K. 525) Ferenc Farkas: Concerto all’Antica Enjott Schneider: Sulamith Dvořák: Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 Paganini: Moto perpetuo, Op. 11 László Fenyő (cello) Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: János Rolla)

SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 17.00

KAMARA.HU / AUTUMN DISPLAY ORBITING AMIDST WORKS WITH GYÖRGY SPIRÓ Page 75 SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 19.00

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/3 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Page 75

SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

MVM CONCERTS– THE PIANO PIANO EVENING OF CHRISTIAN ZACHARIAS

DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA TEARS

Scarlatti: Sonata in E major (K. 132) Scarlatti: Sonata in C minor (K. 226) Scarlatti: Sonata in E-flat major (K. 193) Scarlatti: Sonata in F minor (K. 183) Scarlatti: Sonata in F minor (K. 386) Ravel: Szonatina Soler: Sonata in G minor Soler: Sonata in D major Soler: Sonata in D minor Soler: Sonata in D-flat major Chopin: Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20/1 Chopin: Four Mazurkas (C-sharp minor, Op. 41/4, A minor, Op. 17/4, A minor, Op. post., C-sharp minor, Op. 30/4) Chopin: Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31 Christian Zacharias (piano)

Schubert–Berlioz: Erlkönig (D. 328) Mahler: Songs on the Death of Children J. S. Bach: ‘Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis’ – Cantata (BWV 21) Hungarian Radio Choir (Choir master: Zoltán Pad) Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: János Kovács Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Óbudai Danubia Nonprofit Kft.

WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER, 19.30

JAZZ IT! BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO

Conductor: Sigiswald Kuijken Baroque Gestures: Sigrid T’Hooft Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 500, 4 400, 6 300, 10 500 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 10.30 GRAND HALL

SECRETS OF MUSIC THIS IS HUNGARY! Tickets: HUF 1500 Organizer: Philharmonia Hungary Non-profit Ltd.

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 19.00

MARIANN MARCZI PIANO RECITAL Page 80

Page 76

Tickets: HUF 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 8 000, 10 000 Organizer: Jakobi Ltd.

THURSDAY 26 NOVEMBER, 19.30

SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 19.00

PURE BAROQUE RACHEL PODGER & ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

FIRSTS AND LASTS KAMARA.HU/4 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

Page 76

Page 75

FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER, 19.00

TALENT OBLIGE MÁTÉ BÁN FLUTE RECITAL

Lully: Roland (Suite) Rebel: La Fantaisie Rebel: Les Plaisirs champêtres Clérambault: ‘La Muse de l’Opéra’ – Cantata for soprano Rameau: Platée (Suite)

FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

Stefanie True (soprano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Sigiswald Kuijken Baroque Gestures: Sigrid T’Hooft

SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

BEYOND MUSIC…/1 WORKS OF HAYDN Performing, featuring on piano and conducting: Tamás Vásáry Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

Page 80

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA Lully: Roland (Suite) Rebel: La Fantaisie Rebel: Les Plaisirs champêtres Clérambault: ‘La Muse de l’Opéra’ – Cantata for soprano Rameau: Platée (Suite) Stefanie True (soprano) Budapest Festival Orchestra

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 500, 4 400, 6 300, 10 500 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER, 11.00

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES ABOUT THE LISZT ACADEMY FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Page 81 113

MONDAY 30 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER, 19.30

SANDRA SHAPIRO & IVAN ŽENATÝ CHAMBER RECITAL

LEGENDARY CONCERTS ZOLTÁN KOCSIS & HUNGARIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ‘17 MARCH 1945’

Page 81

TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER, 19.00

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC MARIANNA MAJOROSI AND GUESTS Page 82

TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER, 19.30

PORAT / HÉJA CONCERT OF THE CONCERTO BUDAPEST Page 82

FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER, 19.00

1ST BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL OPENING CONCERT – COSTAS COTSIOLIS SOLO RECITAL IN HONOUR OF THE CUBAN COMPOSER, LEO BROUWER Page 84

Page 85 SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER, 19.30

1ST BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL LEO BROUWER, COSTAS COTSIOLIS & ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Page 88

SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER, 19.00

JAZZ IT! SILENCE FICTION FEAT. KÁROLY BINDER & MIHÁLY BORBÉLY Page 88

Organizer: Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

WEDNESDAY 9 DECEMBER, 19.30

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE DENIS MATSUEV & CHAMBER ORCHESTRA VIENNA-BERLIN Page 92

THURSDAY 10 DECEMBER 19.30 GRAND HALL

MVM CONCERTS– THE PIANO GÁBOR FARKAS PIANO RECITAL Chopin: Four Ballade (No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52) Verdi–Liszt: Troubadour – Paraphrase Verdi–Liszt: Aida – Paraphrase Gounod–Liszt: Faust Waltz Saint-Saëns–Liszt–Horowitz: Dance of the Dead Gábor Farkas (piano)

TUESDAY 8 DECEMBER, 19.00

TALENT OBLIGE MARCELL SZABÓ PIANO RECITAL

Tickets: HUF 2 000, 2 500, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Jakobi Ltd.

Page 92

FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER, 19.30

CHAMBER MUSIC TUNED FOR GRAND HALL VÁRDAI, KRILOV, TOMTER, GOERNER Page 84

SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER, 19.00

1ST BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL RICARDO GALLÉN SOLO RECITAL IN HONOUR OF THE CUBAN COMPOSER, LEO BROUWER Page 85

TUESDAY 8 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

FRANZ LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Rameau: Concerts Transcrits en Sextuor No. 6 – La Poule Tartini: Devil's Trill Sonata (transcription for String Quartet) Roman Kim: ‘I Brindisi’ – Introduction and Variations on theme ‘Libiamo ne’ lieti calici’ from Opera ‘La Traviata’ by Verdi Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C major, Op. 48 Roman Kim (violin) Franz Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: János Rolla)

FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER, 19. 00 GRAND HALL

MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Erkel: King Stephen – Ouverture Mihály Mosonyi: Piano Concerto in E minorC Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13 Imre Rohmann (piano) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Domonkos Héja Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

SATURDAY 12 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 200, 5 500, 6 900 114

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3

in D minor, Op. 30 Dohnányi: Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 9

THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

MONDAY 21 DECEMBER, 16.00 GRAND HALL

Ching Yun Hu (piano) Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: Gábor Hollerung

MASTER PIECES IN THREE MOVEMENTS MOZART EVENING MVM CHRISTMAS CONCERT

HUNGARIAN RADIO CHILDRENS CHOIR CHRISTMAS CONCERT

Tickets: HUF 3 200, 3 900, 4 500 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER, 11.00 GRAND HALL

UNDERSTANDING MUSIC DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Ching Yun Hu (piano) Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: Gábor Hollerung Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 300, 2 700 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER, 11.00

Mozart: Cassation in G major (K. 63) Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major (K. 622) Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major (K. 299) Zsolt Szatmári (clarinet); Béla Drahos (flute); Andrea Vigh (harp) Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000 Organizer: Jakobi Ltd.

FRIDAY 18 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

10 YEARS OF THE MODERN ART ORCHESTRA SELECTION OF THE FIRST 10 YEARS’ REPERTOIRE Kornél Fekete-Kovács (trumpet) Modern Art Orchestra

Page 96

Organizer: Modern Art Orchestra

TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER, 19.30

SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER, 19.30

CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL BARNABÁS KELEMEN & JOSÉ GALLARDO

ON THE SPOT ALMA MATER CHOIR

WEDNESDAY 16 DECEMBER, 19.30

LEGENDARY CONCERTS KODÁLY 133 ‘7 MAY 1918’ Page 96 THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER, 19.00

THE MAGIC FLUTE

Zsuzsanna Arany (piano) Hungarian Radio Childrens Choir Conductor: László Matos, Sándor Kabdebó, Klára Brebovszky Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

MONDAY 21 DECEMBER, 19.00

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY STORIES ON PIANO FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS

Page 96

Nativity folk plays, choral works

by European, primarily Hungarian composers

Page 98

SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

CONCERTO BUDAPEST CHRISTMAS CONCERT

THE MAGIC FLUTE

Page 98

MONDAY 21 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

HUNGARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHRISTMAS CONCERT Miklós Kocsár: Magnificat Poulenc: Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël Ola Gjeilo: O magnum mysterium Villette: Hymne à là Vierge Morten Lauridsen: Sure On This Shining Night J.S. Bach: Magnificat (BWV 243) Zsuzsanna Arany (piano) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir Conductor: János Kovács, Zoltán Pad Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

Tickets: HUF 4 200, 5 800, 7 200, 8 500 Organizer: Concerto Budapest TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER, 19.30

PURE BAROQUE CONCERTO ARMONICO BUDAPEST Page 99

Page 98

115

WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER, 19.00

THE MAGIC FLUTE

Page 98

WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER, 19.30

XAVÉR VARNUS SATURDAY 26 DECEMBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA CHRISTMAS SURPRISE CONCERT Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Iván Fischer Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER, 15.30 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL RCHESTRA CHRISTMAS SURPRISE CONCERT Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Iván Fischer Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA CHRISTMAS SURPRISE CONCERT Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Iván Fischer Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

MONDAY 28 DECEMBER, 19.45 GRAND HALL

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA CHRISTMAS SURPRISE CONCERT Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Iván Fischer Tickets: HUF 2 500, 4 600, 5 900, 8 400, 13 600 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

TUESDAY 29 DECEMBER, 19.30 GRAND HALL

OLD YEAR FAREWELL CONCERT OF THE BENKÓ DIXIELAND BAND ‘DIXIE LIVES’ The most popular songs of Benkó Dixieland Band, international dixie songs, the best of Louis Armstrong Myrtill Micheller, Tamás Berki (vocals) Benkó Dixieland Band Tickets: HUF 6 000, 8 000, 10 000, 12 000 Organizer: Philharmonia Hungary Non-profit Ltd.

WEDNESDAY 30 DECEMBER, 19.30

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC TURN OF THE YEAR WITH BEA PALYA ‘LET THERE ALWAYS BE SONG’ Page 99 THURSDAY 31 DECEMBER, 22.45 GRAND HALL

AMADINDA PERCUSSION GROUP & GÁBOR PRESSER NEW YEAR’S EVE CONCERT Amadinda Percussion Group: Károly Bojtos, Aurél Holló, Zoltán Rácz, Zoltán Váczi, Gábor Presser (piano, vocals) Tickets: HUF 9 000, 10 000, 12 500, 15 000, 17 500, 25 000 (VIP) Organizer: Unisono Bt.

116

SUPPORTER OF LISZT ACADEMY:

STRATEGIC MEDIA PARTNERS:

STRATEGIC PARTNER:

PARTNERS OF THE UNIVERSITY:

CO-PRODUCTION PARTNER:

TICKET MAP GRAND HALL

CHOIR LEFT 10 – 19

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

V IV III II I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

M1 M2 M3

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1 M3 M2 M1

RIGHT 12 – 1

LEFT 1 – 12

7 6

7

6

7

4

5

1

3 2 1

4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 6

LEFT 9– 1

118

2

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1

2 3 4 5 6 6 5 4 3 2

1

I II III IV V VI

CENTRE-LEFT CENTRE-RIGHT 1–7 1– 7

CENTRE BALCONY

6

6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5 4 3 2 1

5

I II III IV V VI

1

2

3

4

1 2 3 4

7

5 5

3

5

6

7

6

9 8

4

8 9

STALLS

6 5 7 1 2 3 4 6 5 1 2 3 4 6 5 1 2 3 4

RIGHT 1–9

12 – 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

BALCONY RIGHT

1

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

24 – 13

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

1

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

1

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

1

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

ONSTAGE SEATS: 80 SEATS

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

STAGE

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1

19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

V VI III II I

BALCONY LEFT

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

1 – 12

30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

13 – 24

Information on seating arrangements in the auditorium and ticket prices for the given performance can be obtained from the box office and during online ticketing.

RIGHT 19 – 10

TICKET MAP SOLTI HALL

CONTACT, VISITOR INFORMATION LISZT FERENC ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 8.

Central phone number: (+36 1) 462 4600

A Customers can also address their inquiries ZENEAKADÉMIA to kozonsegkapcsolat@zeneakademia.hu.

KONCERTKÖZPONT SAJÁT SZERVEZÉSÉBEN. TICKETING The ticket office of the Liszt Academy Concert Centre operates adjacent to the main entrance of the restored Liszt Academy at Liszt Ferenc tér 8.

Ticket office general opening times: 10 am – 6 pm Monday-Sunday.

Besides these general opening times the ticket office will also be open during concerts, from the hour preceding the start of the performance until the end of the first interval. In the case of afternoon or matinee concerts the ticket office also opens half an hour before the performance.

STAGE A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A

B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

B

I

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

I

II

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

II

III

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

III

IV

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

IV

V

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

V

VI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

VI

VII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

VII

VIII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

VIII

IX

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

IX

X

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

X

XI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

XI

XII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

XII

XIII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1

XIV

Ticket office contact details: Tel.: (+36 1) 321 0690 / E-mail: jegy@zeneakademia.hu The staff of the ticket office will be pleased to help if you have any questions concerning Liszt Academy Concert Centre tickets. Further information on ticket purchases is available on the website of the Liszt Academy.

Tickets are sold for HUF 500 one hour before concerts organized in the Grand Hall and Solti Hall with a valid student card.

LISZT ACADEMY OPENING HOURS, GUIDED TOURS The main building of the Liszt Academy can be visited via guided tours lasting approx. 50 minutes. Guides speaking Hungarian, English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish or Japanese are provided by the Liszt Academy. Participants can enter the ground floor and first floor foyers, the Grand Hall and the Solti Hall. Tour dates and further information at zeneakademia.hu/en/guided-tours; registration for groups at turizmus@zeneakademia.hu.

Tickets: Guided tour in Hungarian: HUF 1 500 Students/concessions: HUF 750 Guided tour in a foreign language: HUF 2 900 Students/concessions: HUF 1450

XIII XIV

M3 M2 M1

M1 M2 M3 LEFT 1–7

RIGHT 7–1

STALLS

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

0

14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1

14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1

14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1

8 7 6 5 4 3

2 1

1

2 1

1

8 7 6 5 4 3 LEFT 1–7

RIGHT 8–1

BALCONY

In order to ensure undisturbed teaching conditions, the building is closed to the general public during the day and opens 1 hour prior to the start of concerts.

ACCESS When visiting the building, guests should use the main entrance on Liszt Ferenc Square. The entrance for disabled guests and their companions can be accessed from Király Street. From here it is possible to gain mobility access by lift to the concert halls.

119

IMPRESSUM AUTHORS OF THE CONCERT MAGAZINE:

PUBLISHER: Dr. Andrea Vigh, President of the Liszt Academy

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Imre Szabó Stein

MANAGING EDITOR: Gergely Fazekas

PUBLISHING MANAGER: Ágnes Varga

Albert Apponyi (1846–1933) – politician, minister, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences András Batta – musicologist, lecturer of the Liszt Academy Lili Békéssy – student at Liszt Academy's Musicology and Music Theory Department Gábor Bóka – cultural journalist Mátyás Bolya – cobza and zither artist, lecturer of the Liszt Academy Miklós Fáy – jornalist, music critic Gergely Fazekas – musicologist, senior lecturer of the Liszt Academy László Fazekas – member of staff of the Communications Directorate Zsófia Hózsa – student at Liszt Academy's Musicology and Music Theory Department Zsuzsanna Könyves-Tóth – musicologist, member of staff of the Communications Directorate Ferenc László – historian, music critic János Mácsai – musicologist György Máté J. – jazz writer Dániel Mona – student at Liszt Academy's Musicology and Music Theory Department Judit Rácz – translator, cultural journalist Zsuzsanna Rákai – musicologist, music critic Dániel Végh – member of staff of the Communications Directorate Concert reviews by Anna Belinszky, Barbara Bérczesi, Mátyás Bolya, Gergely Fazekas, Szabolcs Molnár and Tamás Várkonyi.

LAYOUT:

TRANSLATOR:

Allison Advertising Kft. Gergő Cuba

James Stewart

ENGLISH PROOFREADING: PRINT PRODUCTION: High Voltage Kft.

Andrew Symons

PHOTOS AND ARTWORKS: PRINTING: Keskeny és Társai 2001 Kft. Published by the Communications Directorate of the Liszt Academy in 3000 copies.

The organizer retains the right to modify programmes.

FINALIZED: 20 April 2015 120

Geert Goiris, Myoung Ho Lee, Sebastiano Salmgado, Sári Zagyvai With particular thanks to the leader of MOME Photography Department, Ábel Szalontai (DLA) photographer

ARCHIVE AND CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY, ARTISTS PORTRAITS: Gábor Ancsin, Róbert László Bácsi, Sándor Benkő, Zsolt Birtalan, Marco Borggreve, Balázs Böröcz, Felix Broede, László Emmer, János Fábián, István Fazekas, Andrea Felvégi, Kristof Fischer, Mat Hennek, Péter Herman, Árpád Kiss-Kuntler, Rudolf Klein, Judit Marjai, Edit Molnár, László Mudra, Neda Navaee, Umberto Nicoletti, Zsófi Raffay, Lukasz Rajchert, Jonas Sacks, Anton Schroll, Robert Taylor, Piotr Topperzer, Zoltán Tuba, Erzsébet Zinner