Monday, 27 September 2021 9:00

GÁBOR ECKHARDT PIANO MASTERCLASS

Subotica Music School (Štrosmajerova 3, Subotica 24000, Serbia)

Gábor Eckhardt, Liszt Ferenc Prize-winning pianist, lecturer at the Liszt Ferenc University of Music and one of the leading figures in Hungarian music, will give a master class at the Music School of Subotica for talented young piano students. Participation in the course is free of charge.

Gábor ECKHARDT began his musical studies at the Zoltán Kodály Primary School for Singing and Music. In 1975, after graduating from the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music, he was admitted to the second year of the piano course at the Liszt Academy of Music. His teachers were Sándor Falvai and György Kurtág. He attended a two-year post-graduate course at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, studying with Dmitri Bashkirov. In 1980, he was awarded first prize in the Dohnányi Piano Competition at the college.

He is an active performer both at home and abroad. In 1996 he was awarded the Liszt Prize. As a dedicated interpreter of Hungarian contemporary music, he has been awarded the Artisjus Prize several times and the Oeuvre Prize in 2012. He was a founding member of the Intermodulation Chamber Ensemble led by László Tihanyi. He formed the Trio d’Echo with András Horn (clarinet) and György Déri (cello). From 2003–2009 he was a member of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

He teaches piano at the Liszt Academy of Music. His pupils have successfully performed in national and international piano competitions, many of them becoming renowned artists. He regularly gives master classes and further training courses, not only in Hungary but also in Europe and Asia. He has participated as a jury member or jury president in numerous competitions in Hungary and abroad (Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia, Japan, China, Vietnam, etc.). He was the editor of the second volume of the score of György Cziffra’s ‘Transcriptions’. He is a popular presenter with both children and adults.

Tuesday, 28 September 2021 9:00–16:00

ERZSÉBET KŐRÖSINÉ BELÁK PIANO MASTERCLASS

Bratislava Conservatory, Bratislava (Tolstého 11, 811 06 Staré Mesto, Slovakia)

One of the most outstanding teachers in Hungarian piano tuition, pianist Erzsébet Kőrösiné Belák, who has already helped so many young artists to make their careers, will give a masterclass for young piano students in Bratislava. The course takes place in the main hall of the Bratislava Conservatory and is free of charge.

Erzsébet Kőrösiné Belák graduated with honours in piano and piano teaching at the Liszt Academy of Music in 1988, then for 10 years taught at the Richter János Music Secondary School in Győr. She began work at the King Saint Stephen Music Grammar School 30 years ago, and still directs the piano department of the school. In parallel with this for 15 years she taught at the Béla Bartók Conservatory.

The King Saint Stephen Music Grammar School has for 15 years hosted the children’s concert series ‘The Steinway is yours’, which Erzsébet Belák created based on her own idea, and which she directs herself. Many of the pupils discovered during the concert series are now pianists and teachers. As leader of teaching practice at the Béla Bartók Conservatory, she participates in directing the observation of trainees from the Music Academy. She regularly holds further education courses, showcase lessons in Hungary and in the surrounding countries, and also in Mexico and China. She regularly sits on the jury in piano competitions in Hungary and abroad. Every year she is invited as an arts teacher to the Lotz János Summer School, to the Bozsok Festival, and she gives courses in Siófok and Budapest. Many of her pupils have become outstanding pianists, teachers, or recognized experts in music life in Hungary and abroad.