School Opening Ceremony under the Spell of the Grand Hall

After singing the national anthem together, Miklós Cseri, Deputy Secretary of State for Culture at the Ministry of Human Resources greeted the assembled acknowledging the unequalled conjunction of education and concert life, which made the first season following the reopening of the Liszt Academy a sensational success.

In her opening speech, Liszt Academy President Dr. Andrea Vigh primarily addressed the international students, who represent a higher enrollment rate than in any previous year, then switching from English to Hungarian she called the attention of the teachers and students to two important anniversaries in the 2014/2015 academic year. The year 2015 marks the 140^th anniversary of the foundation of the Liszt Academy, as well as the 70^th anniversary of Béla Bartók's death which the institution will commemorate with a series of events. From the outstanding achievements of the last few months, the president highlighted the summer competition wins of the Liszt Academy students, and also appreciated the successfully completed projects, including the "Music for Everyone" educational development programme carried out by the Kodály Institution on a budget of HUF 24 million. The pedagogical heritage of Zoltán Kodály is a matter of primary importance for the Liszt Academy, said Dr. Andrea Vigh, noting that the university has initiated the establishment of a model school based on the Kodály principles jointly with the Városmajor Preschool, the Kós Károly Elementary School and the Városmajori Secondary Grammar School. In the framework of the cooperation and under the professional guidance of the Kodály Institute, a novel pedagogical programme using the Kodály method is to be launched providing music training from kindergarten through high school graduation.

Among the most promisingly exciting projects of the 2014/2015 academic year, the president mentioned the intensive programmes of the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra, on a par with a master course, which are to be led by Zoltán Kocsis, Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro and György Vashegyi. The cooperation with the Cleveland Institute of Music will allow for an overseas performance of the "Liszt Reflections" concert premiered on the occasion of the Liszt Year 2011. Supported by The Hungary Initiatives Foundation, the Composition Department will have the opportunity to debut in Chicago, and in turn American composers will give an evening of contemporary music at the Liszt Academy. As the continuation of the greatly successful Reconnections Project, in Spring 2015 the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance will host again the teachers and students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.

As the President of the Liszt Academy put it, this coming academic year holds great possibilities but also great challenges for the institution, since it has to live up to the sensational start of the first season which succeeded the reopening of the music palace on Liszt Ferenc Square. Dr. Andrea Vigh thanked all those who contributed to the stunning renewal of the Liszt Academy, among them former president Dr. András Batta, who also graced the opening ceremony. She then called the attention of the freshmen to the elevated yet intimate spirit of the Grand Hall – a unique atmosphere attracting people from all over the world, which they can feel themselves now that they have become part of its magic. It gives a life-long experience and motivation for all the students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music to perform their exam and diploma concerts on the same stage as the most celebrated musicians of Hungary and the world, the president explained. In closing her speech, Dr. Andrea Vigh expressed her wish that the first-year students of the university embrace the faith, perseverance and resolution of the great predecessors, including, most prominently, Ferenc Liszt himself. Her words were splendidly reflected by the performance of László Váradi, first-year piano student of Kálmán Dráfi and István Kovács, who played the first piece of Bartók's Two Romanian Dances to the assembled audience. (For the national anthem and the Szózat [Summons] professor István Lakatos provided piano accompaniment.)

In the final act of the ceremony, the freshmen – who had received a taste of Liszt's legacy during their afternoon visit to the Liszt Museum – took their vows, and President Dr. Andrea Vigh officially opened the 2014/2015 academic year wishing all a successful, active and eventful year at the Liszt Academy.