Plethora of Winter Programs at Liszt Academy

The Liszt Academy’s international festival featuring the contemporary performances of opera students of major European music universities will be organized for the second time in January 2015. Within the program of the 2015 Opera Exam Festival, the students of the Department of Vocal Studies of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music take to the stage on 19 and 23 January to perform SITCOM, a production directed by András Almási-Tóth, incorporating three operas by Rossini. On 22 January the Cherubini Conservatorio di Musica in Florence brings a youthful interpretation of Don Giovanni, and on the closing day of the festival the audience has the opportunity to enjoy the performance of the University of Arts in Poznan based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe The Angel of the Odd
 

In the ‘Four by Four’ concert series, on 7 February 2015 the Liszt Academy hosts one of the most significant formations of English string quartet tradition, the legendary Brodsky Quartet, established in 1972 and now past their two thousandth performance. Their concert program includes Schubert’s unfinished String Quartet in C minor, one of Beethoven’s late pieces, the String Quartet in C-sharp minor, as well as Zemlinsky’s String Quartet No. 2. dedicated to Schönberg.

“A four-way marriage made in heaven.” This is how British online jazz site Jazz Breakfast describes The Impossible Gentlemen, one of the most exciting jazz quartets currently performing. The line-up is indeed impressive: Steve Rodby, a living American legend, who performed with the Pat Metheny combo for 30 years, plays bass; the equally busy and acknowledged American musician Adam Nussbaum (who was a key member of the rhythm section of the Gil Evans Orchestra) is on drums; keyboards is taken by the young titan Gwilym Simcock, one of the greatest British jazz pianists of the 21st century; while Mike Walker, the most dazzling jazz performer in the UK, plays guitar. Their concert takes place on 9 February at the Liszt Academy.
 

The Aura Musicale, one of Hungary’s most exciting period music ensembles founded in 1995, gives a performance on 13 February in the Solti Hall of Liszt Academy. Their artistic director is Balázs Máté, who is the first cellist of Jordi Savall, Mark Minkowski and numerous other ‘early music big guns’. True to their creed, their concert repertoire embraces both hits from the Baroque age and rarely heard masterpieces: Corelli’s ‘Christmas’ concerto and a cello concerto by Vivaldi (with soloist Balázs Máté), a popular Bach cantata, as well as Gloria, a work attributed to Händel and discovered in 2001.

Next in the ‘On the Spot’ series, which presents the art teachers and most prominent talents of the Liszt Academy, the Strings Department takes the spotlight in the Grand Hall on 15 February, introducing its most excellent students under the direction of department head Miklós Szenthelyi. Vilmos Szabadi, Csaba Onczay and Péter Bársony, together with other students who already tried their hands at being soloists, will perform both well-known and rarely heard masterpieces from the past 300 years of the strings genre from Bach to Ligeti – partly in exciting transcriptions. 
 

István Pál Szalonna and his Band celebrate the 10th anniversary of their formation with an ambitious program on 19 February. The band, which came about as accompanists for the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, build their concert around three major concepts: one is the inseparable link between folk dance and folk music; the second one can be summarized as ‘masters and role models’; while the third important reflection is the family, which binds generations through music. The program features guest dancers and musicians, as well as traditional lead violinists from Transylvania and Rábaköz.

Norwegian world star violinist Vilde Frang appears for the first time at the Liszt Academy on 24 February. She plays Mozart’s popular Violin Concerto in A major, a piece featuring Turkish elements, accompanied by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, founded in 1988 and one of the most sought-after string orchestras today. Before and after the concerto there are works by Norwegian composers: Grieg’s Holberg suite hardly needs introduction, whereas the name of Magnar Åm (born in 1952) is little known in Hungary. The closing Janáček string quartet subtitled Intimate Letters is performed in an arrangement for string orchestra.
 

Tickets for the programs of the Liszt Academy Concert Centre can be purchased by following the above links, or in the ticket office of the Liszt Academy Concert Centre (located adjacent to the main entrance of the Liszt Academy at 8 Liszt Ferenc Square, open Monday-Sunday 10 AM – 6 PM and on concert days from the hour preceding the start of the performance until the end of the first interval). Besides the gift certificates of the Liszt Academy and the 2015 season tickets still available in a limited number, ‘À la carte’ season tickets are also on sale in our ticket office from 1 January. A 3-concert ‘À la carte’ season package represents a 10% discount on the ticket prices for individual concerts, a 4-concert season ticket 15%, while in case your season ticket comprises 5 different performances, you will get a 20% discount. This way, you can even build your own ‘The Year of the Cello’ season ticket, which contains only the concerts of the world renowned cellists who visit the Liszt Academy in 2015 and the performances of upcoming young cello players. The above discounts are available until 30 June 2015 for all of the concerts organized by the Liszt Academy Concert Centre, including the non-season ticket ones. Tickets currently available can be purchased in the ticket office of the Liszt Academy Concert Centre on Liszt Ferenc Square as well as by clicking on this link, whereas ‘À la carte’ season tickets are only on sale in the ticket office.