It is the eighth time that the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance organize the „Reconnections” chamber music workshop with the students and teachers of both institutions. The joint classes are closing with the usual free concert on 25 February in the Solti hall.

Renowned violinist, chamber musician and teacher Johannes Meissl is also looking forward to the free concerts on the 15th and 16th of February in the Solti Hall, the culmination of a masterclass in collaboration with the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA).

Beethoven was born 250 years ago. To mark the approaching anniversary, we asked musicologist Sándor Kovács, head of the Doctoral School of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, to give us a truthful and detailed portrait of Beethoven, most often described in anecdotes as morose and deaf.

In May 1799, Baroness Anna Seeberg and her daughters left Budapest for Vienna to take piano lessons from Ludwig van Beethoven, the 29-year-old up-and-coming artist of the day. The innocent trip resulted in lifelong friendships and a fatal love affair. Dr Judith Bajzáth, head of the visitors centre at the Agricultural Research Centre, talks about the details.