Joel Smirnoff is the former chair of the Violin Department of his highly acclaimed alma mater, the Juilliard School, the former president of the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has been a member of the four-time Grammy winning Juilliard String Quartet. He considers music education and talent development his beloved vocation and special responsibility.

The globally recognised violinist Salvatore Accardo visited the Liszt Academy twice this year: most recently, this autumn, last as leader of the Quartetto Accardo, while some weeks earlier he was here as chair of the jury at the Bartók World Competition and Festival. As one the most celebrated violin virtuosos of our time – and someone considered to be the most authentic interpreter of Niccoló Paganini’s works – Maestro Accardo has been a professor of music for several decades. He holds the opinion that today’s young musicians are in a much more difficult position than their predecessors should they plan to pursue a career in music.

What is the secret of musical success? Is there anything more enigmatic than talent? What is the defining characteristic that enables a musician to enchant his or her audience? We interviewed the Széchenyi Award-winning neuroscientist Professor Tamás Freund, who himself used to play the clarinet and who is still an active choir member, on the discernible yet unfathomable nature of talent.

Margit Kaposy, the widely acknowledged music educator turned 90 on 6 December this year. On this occasion, her students and friends surprised her with a very moving birthday celebration to pay tribute to her life, dedication and teaching method with which she accompanied many an opera star right to the stage.

The impact of the oeuvre of Johann Sebastian Bach is so mighty that the literature on the subject would almost certainly fill an entire library. However, while it is well documented that Bach shaped the thinking of generations of composers, it is less well known that Bach has also often been the catalyst behind the formation of musical ensembles, even centuries after his passing. For instance, the 80-year-old Nederlands Kammerkoor, which hails from Utrech, can thank Bach for their foundation, albeit indirectly.