Plácido Domingo visits the Liszt Academy

The singer travelled directly from the Shakespeare programme at the Opera House on 5 February to the Liszt Academy in order to meet several of the young talents from the Virtuózok broadcast: Zoltán Sándor, Bettina Tóth, Zoltán Kiss, Mihály Demeniv, Apor Szüts and Ivett Gyöngyösi. Ivett Gyöngyösi, who is in her first year Master’s course at the Liszt Academy, also played for Domingo. After the recital he chatted with the young artist, gave her advice and praised her performance.

Photo: EMMI / Gyula Bartos
 

The event was also attended by music historian András Batta, lecturer at the Liszt Academy and former president, as well as a member of the jury and artistic advisor to the talent contest Virtuózok, and Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog. The minister said that as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kis Virtuózok Foundation he had closely followed – from the very first minute – the course of the young talents discovered in the programme, and that the National Cultural Fund supported the work of the foundation through the purchase of instruments, organization of concert tours etc. “One of the aims of the foundation is to bring young gifted people into contact with great artists who can be an example for them, who can provide them with the motivation and determination to see that it is worth fighting because they, too, can become great artists. Without any shadow of doubt, Plácido Domingo is just such a person,” Zoltán Balog noted.

Photo: EMMI / Gyula Bartos

According to the minister, the other great return on the meeting is the possibility for Plácido Domingo to discover Virtuózok as a broadcast, as a movement, as a talent incubator, as a brand, and to promote this Hungaricum around the world.  “In the past 18 months of the Virtuózok movement we have devoted particular attention to ensuring that celebrities in international music not only represent icons to young people, but also that they should serve as models through their personal examples. Personal experiences can provide youth with the sort of inspiration that may offer unimaginable assistance to their future careers,” commented Mariann Peller, producer of Virtuózok. “It is well known that the Maestro is happy to deal with young people and help start their careers. That  is why we thought we would invite Plácido Domingo to listen to the fantastic playing of Ivett Gyöngyösi in Hungary’s most beautiful building, the Liszt Academy, and to meet the Virtuózok talents,” she added when speaking at the VIP visit that carried on into the night.

“It was a wonderful feeling to play for the Maestro. The opportunity came up unexpectedly. I didn’t even know which work to prepare. In the end he chose. Luckily we started to talk about Chopin so as it turned out, he asked for works by him, which I was extremely pleased about since he is my favourite composer. I wasn’t against this by any means since I love spontaneity not only in music but in life, too,” Ivett Gyöngyösi told the Hungarian news agency MTI. She also stressed that she was inspired by Domingo’s personality as a whole, as his art is similarly very stimulating. “I couldn’t believe my ears when he asked that we perform Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet together. I really hope that this can happen one day,” she said, adding that Domingo had told her he would follow her career and saw that she had a great future ahead of her.

Photo: MTI / Zoltán Máthé
 

President of the Liszt Academy Dr. Andrea Vigh also welcomed Plácido Domingo, who left a message in the visitors’ book expressing his pride at seeing the results of the reconstruction that won a Europa Nostra prize (the opera singer is president of the European cultural heritage protection organization), adding that he was looking forward to coming back to the magnificent Liszt Academy and listening to young talented Hungarian artists.

MTI/lisztacademy.hu