End-of-year visits of international programme series Bartók-135 in Geneva, Rome and Ljubljana

9 January 2017

In December, another three European cities had the opportunity to host the programme series which came about within the framework of the cooperation initiative of the Liszt Academy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The pianist László Borbély was delegated to Geneva, where he gave a masterclass to the piano students of the Haute École de Musique de Genève. The course focussed not only on the works of Bartók but also on Ligeti and Kurtág’s piano compositions which profoundly reflect the great composer’s impact and musical legacy.

Another event of the Bartók Reflection workshop series was held in Rome on 4-7 December by the Head of the Composition Department of the Liszt Academy, Gyula Fekete, alongside two of the students of the same department - Magor Bucz and Dániel Dobos -  as well as the pianist Marcell Pető, in strong collaboration with the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. Similarly to previous, highly commended events with a reflective focus, two composers studying at the two music academies were invited to pen contemporary pieces inspired by selected compositions of Bartók. Following a brief rehearsal period, both the original and the newly-written works were jointly performed by the students of the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia and the Liszt Academy.  First, the formerly chosen pieces written by the great Hungarian composer were staged (Allegro Barbaro, Romanian Christmas Carols, Suite for Piano, Op. 14), then their reflective counterparts were performed (Magor Bucz: Hommage, Dániel Dobos: Crossover Time, Emanuele Savagnone: Corsa nel fuoco and Claudia Jane Scroccaro: Fantasia e Toccata) by the students of the two music academies (Pető Marcell, Natalia Valentini, Daniele Perri, Bucz Magor). All tickets had sold out for the event, which took place in the grand hall of the Hungarian Academy in Rome.

Subsequent to their great success in Rome, on 8-9 December, Prof Gyula Fekete and the above-mentioned students of composition (Dániel Dobos and Magor Bucz) paid a visit to Ljuljana and Lendava, where – in partnership with the Hungarian Cultural Centre – they participated in another reflection workshop and concert in collaboration with the composition and instrumental students from the  Academy of Music in Ljubljana at the Univerza v Ljubljani. The event was dedicated to the recently passed away great Hungarian musician, Zoltán Kocsis.   

Click here to read more about the programme series and its sites.