Alma Mater Choir Presented by Liszt Academy

On 6 November 2016, the Hungarian music world lost one of its most defining figures, Zoltán Kocsis. To honor his legacy on the day following the tenth anniversary of his passing, ensembles comprised of Liszt Academy students will perform in the Solti Hall, a space within the building Kocsis himself once described as the “sacred hall of music”.

Kocsis always spoke with deep affection for the institution where he began his journey: “When I first entered the foyer at around seven years old, I felt that I already knew more than I had just a minute before”.

The memorial evening features works by contemporary Hungarian composers alongside excerpts from one of Kocsis’s most beloved Rachmaninov pieces. The programme also highlights two wind quintets: a previously unperformed original composition by Kocsis himself, and an early work by György Kurtág, a composer for whom Kocsis was considered one of the most authoritative interpreters. The chamber ensembles for this special performance have been prepared by Mátyás Antal, professor at the Liszt Academy.