December 2013 Master Courses at Liszt Academy

The series of December master courses will be opened by Zoltán Kocsis. The full day training, which will be organized on 1 December 2013 from 10 AM to 7 PM in the Chamber Hall of the Old Liszt Academy (35, Vörösmarty Street, Budapest VI), is primarily aimed for students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, but students of the Bartók Béla Conservatory may also attend the sessions as passive participants. As an alumnus of the Academy, Zoltán Kocsis frequently returns to his alma mater: most recently, he conducted the symphonic orchestra and choir of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music at the Grand Opening Gala on 22 October, which marked the reopening of the Liszt Academy, on which occasion Gergely Fazekas interviewed him on his memories from his student years (the interview was originally published in the 2013 issue of the Liszt Academy Concert Magazine).

Simon Standage, one of the world's foremost Baroque violinists is teaching a course in the Liszt Academy's Old Music Hall on December 3-6, 2013. The current and former concertmaster and artistic director of such ensembles like the English Concert, the Collegium Musicum 90, the Academy of Ancient Music, or the English Baroque Soloists, and the first violin of the Salomon String Quartet will complete his four-day course with a historic violin presentation, as well as with a lecture on the works of Daniel Gottlob Türk held on 5 December at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. The classes are open to all interested: for the students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and the Bartók Béla Conservatory participation in the course is free of charge, whereas applicants who have no legal relationship with the institution are required to pay a low fee.

On December 16-19, 2013 the cellist Pál Banda will teach a master course on cello and chamber music at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. Cello students and string quartets formed by enrolled students of the Academy may apply for the classes as active participants, but the course is also available to the wider public. Advanced registration is required from all participants by 12 December 2013 at the latest.

As for the Academy's further offers of master courses, the chamber music course held by the violinist and conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy will continue in December 2013 as well. His class of 19 December is open only to the students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music as passive participants. Szabolcs Zempléni, horn player and soloist of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra is also expected to hold a master course in December 2013, which we shall provide more information on shortly.

Learn more about the exact application requirements and other details with regard to the master courses on the homepage of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and the on the  Students' Notice Board.