November Master Courses at the Liszt Academy

Gábor Takács-Nagy violinist-conductor is holding a chamber music course for the students of the Liszt Academy's Doctoral School in the 2013/2014 academic year, open to all students of the Liszt Academy as passive participants. The classes will be held on November 12 and December 19, 2013, and in February, March and May of 2014. Gábor Takács-Nagy had the opportunity to study at the Liszt Academy under legendary professors such as Ferenc Rados, András Mihály, Zoltán Székely, Sándor Végh and György Kurtág. Still a student at the Liszt Academy, he won the Jenő Hubay Violin Competition in 1979, after which he continued his studies under Nathan Milstein. In 1975 he founded the Takács Quartet, formed with his classmates, Károly Schranz, Gábor Ormai and András Fejér. He has also been regularly performing as a conductor since 2002. He formed his own string orchestra, the Camerata Bellerive in Geneva in 2005, and has been directing the Manchester Camerata since 2011 as well. Living in Switzerland today, Gábor Takács-Nagy is considered the most authentic performer of Hungarian music and especially the works of Béla Bartók in Hungary and throughout the world. He regularly and gladly comes to perform in Hungary: between 2010 and 2012 he was the leading conductor of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra and since 2012 he has been the first guest conductor of the Festival Orchestra, returning to his Alma Mater in autumn 2013 to conduct the celebration concert entitled Génie oblige! – the 138^th Anniversary Gala of the Liszt Academy on November 14 in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy.

Lajos Rovátkay is holding a master course on analysis and interpretation between November 14-17 at the Old Academy of Music, open to harpsichord and organ students of the Liszt Academy as active participants. The course will partly focus on G. Frescobaldi's toccatas and partitas with the active harpsichord participants, while the central topic for the organists will be J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major together with some "great" choral interpretations. On November 15, Professor Rovátkay will also hold session with harpsichord students separately, who as active participants can prepare pieces of free choice from the 16^th-18^th century harpsichord repertoire. Lajos Rovátkay started studying at the Liszt Academy of Music in 1954. He studied organ (his teacher was Sebestyén Pécsi) and musicology (his teachers were Bence Szabolcsi, Lajos Bárdos and Zoltán Gárdonyi). He left Hungary in November 1956. He was a student of the Frankfurt Music Academy until 1959, studying organ and harpsichord under Helmut Walcha, acting as his personal assistant from 1959 to 1962. From 1962 to 1998 he worked at the Hannover Music Academy, first as an associate professor and then as Professor of Organ and Harpsichord, also leading its Early Music Studio. Lajos Rovátkay played an accentuated role in introducing the historical performance practice in Germany. There he was the first to introduce original construction-type harpsichords into concert performance and academic education as well. He also pioneered in rediscovering the vocal and instrumental music of the early Italian and the late Viennese Baroque (Monteverdi-contemporaries, Agostino Steffani), cultivating it both in performance and pedagogy. A large number of German early music performers today were Lajos Rovátkay's apprentices. In the past few years Lajos Rovátkay's work has expanded to include the Verbunkos music genre. This is what led the musicologist, together with his Blockflöte-artist wife, to research and revive the concert traditions of the Biedermeier-period virtuoso music of the walking stick flute (czakan).

Internationally recognized violinist Ernő Sebestyén is holding a master course for the students of the Liszt Academy of Music on November 19 and 20, 2013. Ernő Sebestyén was accepted to the Liszt Academy at the age of 9. After graduating he taught at the Academy and was the concertmaster of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and later the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He moved to Berlin in 1971 where he led the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra for sixteen years. Between 1980 and 1990 he was also the concertmaster of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He returned to Hungary after 36 years in 2008 and started a new chapter in his artistic career: he formed the Esterhazy Trio who follow the noblest traditions of Hungarian chamber music performance. The master course of Ernő Sebestyén was cancelled due to the illness of the professor. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Percussionist Marc Damoulakis (USA) is holding a master course entitled The Playing Technique of Orchestral Percussion Instruments on November 23 - 24 in the Amadinda Percussion Group's Rehearsal Studio (Budapest, X. ker. Fertő u. 2.) Percussion students of the Liszt Academy can take part actively, while the students of the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music can attend as passive participants free of charge. Outside guests can attend only as passive participants and are required to pay a participation fee (2500 HUF for the first day of the course and 5000 HUF for the second day). Percussionist Marc Damoulakis is currently a member of The Cleveland Orchestra. He completed his studies in New York at the Manhattan School of Music. He gained broad orchestral experience in North American bands, and he was also a member of the New World Symphony Orchestra directed by Michael Tilson Thomas. He teaches at two prominent universities, the DePaul University in Chicago and at the Cleveland Institute of Music as of September 2013.

Cellist Miklós Perényi is holding a cello master course on November 29-30  in Room Nr. X of the Main Building on Liszt Ferenc Square Organ Hall of the Béla Bartók Conservatory at Nagymező utca. Only Liszt Academy students can play at the course, but anyone is welcome as a passive participant. As an outstanding talent Miklós Perényi was admitted to the preparatory faculty of the Liszt Academy of Music when he was just seven years old. First he studied under Miklós Zsámboki and then became Ede Banda's student from 1959. He later participated in Enrico Mainardi's master courses in Salzburg, Luzern and at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome where he graduated in 1962. Pablo Casals invited him to his master courses in 1965 and 1966, and on several occasions between 1969 and 1972. He has been teaching at the Liszt Academy since 1974. You can read his detailed biography, about his awards and discography clicking here.

You can read more about the master courses and the exact application requirements on the Students' Notice Board.