The 2022 programmes of the Liszt Academy promise unique experiences
Tickets have gone on sale for the Liszt Academy’s 2022 concerts that will feature several international celebrities and rarely performed works. Those who buy tickets to several concerts of a given series will receive significant discounts.
The concerts performed by renowned Hungarian and foreign musicians will feature lesser-known compositions and unusual instrument pairings, said András Csonka, program director of the Liszt Academy. He added that it has become a tradition by now that concerts organized by the Liszt Academy focus on chamber music and a unique selection of works.
As part of The Chamber Music – Tuned for Grand Hall Spring 2022 series, Joshua Bell will be a guest performer again, this time accompanied by outstanding pianist Shai Wosner. In addition to the long-awaited concert of the “all-star team” of wind music, the Les Vents Français (consisting of celebrated soloists Emanuel Pahud, François Leleux, Paul Meyer, Gilovan Audl, Radovan Vlatković), the joint performance of two exceptional French musicians, Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) and Alexandre Thaud (piano) also promises a special chamber music experience.
The concerts of the Four by Four+1 2022 series will feature world-famous string quartets accompanied by renowned soloists performing exclusive selections of works. In the spring, pianist Kirill Gerstein and the Hagen Quartet, as well as pianist Dénes Várjon and the Gringolc Quartet will take the stage; the autumn programme includes performances by cellist László Fenyő and the Borodin Quartet, as well as pianist Dezső Ránki and the Keller Quartet.
The Piano Twice 2022 series focuses on music written for piano two hands and four hands, including several popular and less frequently performed pieces. Two pairs of brothers will take the stage as part of the series: the Russian Denis and Vladislav Kozhukhin - the former discovered for Hungarian audiences by Zoltán Kocsis – and the world-famous young Dutch duo, Lucas and Arthur Jussen. In addition, there will be performance by Roman Rabinovich and Zoltán Fejérvári, and in November, by Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier.
In the new edition of the traditional Solti Hall piano series - Black and White Colours 2022 - the soloists will perform an unusual selection of works. In the spring, Balázs Fülei will play the challenging last Beethoven sonatas, the fifteen-year-old but already world-famous Alexandra Dovgan will bring a selection of works from the Romantic era, while French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau will perform the Goldberg variations by Bach. In the fall, Korean pianist Yekwon Sunwoo (winner of the 2017 Cliburn Competition) will perform seldom-heard compositions by Richard Strauss and impressionist works, István Lajkó will play Russian compositions, and Péter Kiss will perform Brahms pieces and contemporary works.
As part of the Chamber Music, So Close 2022 series, Grammy Award-winning young British violinist Nicola Benedetti will perform in a piano trio at the Liszt Academy, together with Leonard Elschenbroich (cello) and Alexei Grynyuk (piano). Three years ago, the Hungarian audience met violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, of Armenian descent, as a participant in the international Rising Star project; next year, he will take the stage as a member of a piano trio together with two world-famous musicians - Daniel Müller-Schott and Anna Vinnitskaya. The chamber evening of bassist Zsolt Fejérvári, featuring piano player Dávid Báll, will be one of the highlights of this series. The violin-viola-cello trio featuring Eszter Haffner, Péter Bársony and Ditta Rohmann will perform a piece for string trio composed by Péter Eötvös. The performance will mark the Hungarian premiere of the composition. The Altalena Ensemble, consisting of young talents who graduated from the Liszt Academy in recent years, will perform works by Bach and Stravinsky as well as a new composition by Balázs D. Kecskés under the baton of Marcell Dénes-Worowski.
The Orchestra in the Centre Spring 2022 series will focus on Baroque music. The Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra, conducted by György Vashegyi and featuring several international artists, will perform the French opera rarity composed by Leclair; the programme of the concert by pianist Beatrice Rana and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta will include a contemporary composition by Thomas Ades mixed with works by Bach; while the Aura Musicale and the Alma Mater Choir made up of students of the Liszt Academy, will perform Monteverdi's rarely heard masterpiece, the Vespers for the Blessed Virgin.
The Concertmasters of the Orchestra 2022 series will “seat” three renowned violinists at the forefront of the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra, awarded the prestigious title of National Youth Orchestra of Hungary: Giovanni Guzzo, Barnabás Kelemen and Kristóf Baráti will not only lead the ensemble, but will also perform as soloists. Highlighting the importance of this setup, András Csonka noted that one of the strengths of the Liszt Academy lies in the fact that the musicians of the future can perform together with artists who can show them perspective.
As part of the Organ in the Centre 2022 series, Czech organist Jan Dolezel, Swedish organist Hans-Ola Ericsson and Hungarian organist Bálint Karosi will also perform rarely heard works on the reconstructed Voit organ in the Grand Hall.
Interesting concerts are also scheduled in the jazz genre: the audience of the Jazz it! 2022 series can enjoy such real delicacies as the piano duo of American jazz legend Kenny Barron and Italy’s Dado Moroni, as well as the new ensemble of Ferenc Snétberger playing together with Danish musicians Jesper Bodilsen and Morten Lund.
The Liszt Kidz Academy series, dedicated to children, will focus on music inventors through the works of Monteverdi, Beethoven, Schubert and Schönberg, showing their lasting impact, for example, on popular music and singing.
Martin Fröst and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, as well as the violin-cello-piano trio of Antje Weithaas, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and Martin Helmchen will perform in the first half of 2022 as part of the previously announced series that will continue next year.
The concerts at the Old Academy of Music, which mainly feature young artists, will include a performance by the DUO SERA 10: a concert by two former students of the university who currently teach at the Liszt Academy, saxophonist Elizabeth Seleljo and harpist Anastasia Razvaljajeva, with an unusual line-up of works.
In light of the epidemic situation, the Liszt Academy will not issue season tickets, nevertheless, it continues to provide the discounts offered by season tickets: those who purchase tickets for several concerts of a given thematic series at the same time, will receive a discount. Tickets for three different concerts carry a 10 percent discount, while tickets for four or more tickets carry a 15 percent discount from the total purchase price. Those registered for the Liszt Academy Extra service will receive an additional 5 percent discount. Gift cards, which can be used at the concerts organized by the Liszt Academy, are valid for one year from the date of purchase; the physical cards can be topped up at the ticket office with any amount, while the online version - available on the Liszt Academy’s website – is sold with the following fixed amounts in HUF: 3,000, 5,000 and 7,000. Visit the zeneakademia.hu portal for the latest information about programmes, ticket sales, as well as online broadcasts.