A Shower of Awards for István Lajkó at the 7th International Liszt-Bartók-Ligeti Piano Competition
The young piano professor of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music won two special awards along with the Grand Prize and the First Prize.
The 7th International Liszt-Bartók-Ligeti Piano Competition was organized for the 90th birth anniversary of György Ligeti between 29 November and 2 December 2013 by the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Sofia and the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music. The jury, which was composed of renowned Bulgarian pianists and professors, is traditionally headed by Balázs Szokolay.
Photo by Péter Herman
István Lajkó competed in the third age group, and his representative repertoire included Béla Bartók's Three Burlesques as well as a bunch of Liszt compositions (À la Chapelle Sixtine, paraphrases of Miserere and Ave Verum, Petrarch Sonnet No. 123, Schlaflos, Ab irato concert etude, Wagner-Liszt Ballad from "The Flying Dutchman", Hungarian Rhapsody No.8). The assistant professor of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music – who is now simultaneously preparing for his DLA thesis defense and the recording of his second solo album, which centers on Carl Tausig's arrangement of Liszt's Faust symphony – performed Liszt's piano concerto in E-flat major in the finals, and competed for the Ligeti Special Award with the etude "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". The 2010 Junior Prima Prize-winning pianist eventually brought home four awards (of which three can be seen in the photo below): besides the Ligeti Special Award, the jury also granted him the Liszt Special Award, the First Prize in his age category, and the Grand Prize of the competition.
Our heartfelt congratulations for his outstanding achievement!