Cluj-Napoca, autumn 1989. A 14-yearold scruffy urchin is sitting with his teacher in a music theory class. “Please Miss, I’d like to be a composer! Whatever it takes. I’m moving to Budapest with my family soon. What should I do? Who will teach me?” The elderly lady – Piroska Demény, renowned folk music researcher, music teacher, and one of the finest minds with the broadest cultural learning in Transylvania – replied thus: “Now my boy, there is a former student of mine who lives in Budapest. He is a brilliant composer called György Orbán. Once you have arrived, go and see him. Tell him I sent you and that you want to be a composer. He’ll teach you.”

Salvatore Accardo is considered the most popular violinist of his generation, his playing technique often being compared to that of his legendary predecessor, Paganini. This time, the head of jury of the Bartók World Competition and Festival is returning to Hungary alongside his string quartet, the Quartetto Accardo to give a recital at the Liszt Academy on 8 October featuring works by Italian composers, such as Boccherini, Verdi or Respighi.

The image spot promoting the Bartók World Competition and Festival - held between 9 and 17 September – can now boast four international awards. This time the creators of the image spot commissioned by the Liszt Academy were recognised with the prize of the Cannes Media & TV Awards.

Although Ágnes Langer has just recently conquered Hungarian music, she took its stages by storm. She has been studying in Germany since 2005 but turned out to be the most successful Hungarian contestant of the Bartók World Competition and Festival.

An increasing number of concert halls and cultural institutions have their own resident ensembles. ‘Residence’ can be permanent or temporary: whereas the former category generally includes ensembles that are an integral part of the given institution (for example, the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera House), in the latter case any ensemble can hold the title for a fixed term, typically for one or two seasons.

The 20-year old Cosima Soulez-Larivière won 1st prize at the Bartók World Competition in the category violin in the Grand Final held in the evening of 16 September.

All special prizes and diplomas were handed over on the 17 September Gala Concert.

Today's Award Ceremony and Gala Concert will feature all three grand finalists as well as competitors from the Final.

Today’s performances will decide about the final ranking, while the announcing of results and the Award Ceremony will take place tomorrow, in the Gala Concert.

Synopsis of the two-day Symposium ’Bartók and the Violin’ held within the framework of the Bartók World Competition & Festival at the Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.