The Canadian St. Lawrence Quartet burst onto the international music scene in the late 1990s. Critics unanimously agree that the quartet brings impressive confidence, naturalness and intelligence to the most complex quartets in the literature, from Haydn, through Schumann to Bartók and contemporary compositions. They are preparing to scale the peaks of quartet music in their Budapest concert too.

Violinist Gyula Stuller was born in Budapest in 1962. He earned diplomas from the Franz Liszt Music College in Budapest, where he was a student of Ferenc Halász, and the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied with György Pauk. He subsequently attended masterclasses by Nathan Milstein, Sándor Végh and Tibor Varga. Gyula Stuller won prizes at a number of international competitions: the József Szigeti International Violin Competition, Budapest, the Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition, Gorizia. In 1986 he won first prize at the 20th Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in the Swiss town of Sion. This led to invitations to perform all over Europe. In Hungary, his regular chamber music partners are Imre Rohmann and Miklós Perényi and a concert at the Music Academy in 2002 was recorded by Hungarian Television. In 2003, he performed Schubert’s Trout Quintet with pianist Radu Lupu in Lausanne and other cities. In September he was invited to play at the Barcelona Mozart Festival and in October, was a soloist in a Swiss performance of the Chausson Concerto with the Bartók Quartet and Ricardo Castro. In 1996 he began teaching at the Fribourg Conservatoire and since 2002, has directed the artistic training class of the Tibor Varga Academy.

Confirm the Fringe Festival jury’s special prize with your applause!

An instrument that is ideal for Bach and Kurtág, Gypsy music and jazz. Stravinsky was so delighted by the sound that he bought one for himself. Show some consideration for your family and be content with a concert ticket!

Christian Palmer (1811-1875) was born in Winnenden, a small town in Württenberg. He began his music studies early and learnt to play the piano, organ, cello and flute. Besides all the attention he devoted to music he studied theology and made a name for himself as both a professor of theology and a composer.
He composed his chamber works, piano and string trios and piano quartets for his gifted family. The compositions were performed by his daughter on the piano, his sons on violin and viola and himself on the cello. These pieces still – or perhaps we should say again – speak directly to the listener, evoking calm, contemplative hours, pain and – much more often – good cheer. The great composing traditions have left their imprint, but perhaps the strongest influence was Mendelssohn, the composer’s contemporary. In his own day someone wrote of Palmer:
“Not only his playing, which produced all kinds of wonderful, cheerful and serious, sacred and secular, melodies by others and himself, was harmonious but his whole being and the openness with which he could handle these melodies.”
The manuscripts were inherited and preserved by his family and the last living descendant, Thomas Meyer, published them in 2005. The printed copy was made by a friend of the family, Hans Martin Rau, and from him came into the exclusive possession of the Hungarian Piano Trio. The ensemble recorded four piano trios from this collection in the Hungaroton studio between June 26 and July 2, 2006. This world première CD is to be launched at the Budapest Spring Festival.

Outstanding young Hungarian pianist, winner of several competitions, with the recommendation of Zoltán Kocsis and Péter Frankl

Brilliant pianist from Moldavia. She will be 21 in 2007.

The Amadina percussion ensemble, whose members are Károly Bojtos, Aurél Holló, Zoltán Rácz and Zoltán Váczi, takes its name from a traditional Ugandan instrument. Since its formation in 1984, Amadinda has played a prominent role in Hungarian concert life and at international festivals. Their concerts feature many 20th century percussion compositions, in addition to transcriptions of string, keyboard and other works from earlier eras. They are also noted exponents of traditional non-European music from Africa, Asia and Polynesia. Amadinda has given numerous world and Hungarian premières. The four musicians have worked with Steve Reich, John Cage, Péter Eötvös and many other composers. Amadinda’s artistic director is Zoltán Rácz. They have received many awards for their work: Stipendium Prize ( Darmstadt, 1984), Gaudeamus Music Competition (Rotterdam, 1985), Hungarian Composer’s Society Prize (1986), Record of the Year (1987), Liszt Prize (1988), ARTISJUS Copyright Office Prize (1991, 1998), Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic (1997), Kossuth Prize (2004).

“Ferenc is growing, he was already in long trousers last year and as we saw yesterday he has become a fine figure of an adolescent.” (Géza Csáth, 1907) Brilliant compositions by a virtuoso of the Hungarian violin school performed by a worthy successor.

István Metz, Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, internationally renowned performer of the work of György Kurtág, founder of a festival, is once again a guest of the Spring Festival.

The legendary Georgian-born pianist who lives in Spain is one of the world’s most famous piano teachers. He celebrated his 75th birthday in 2006. A representative of the “great generation” of the Russian piano school, his artistic career has been unbroken for half a century. We are sure that his varied concert spanning different periods and styles will provide food for thought to those who want to learn and unclouded pleasure to listeners eager for beauty.

Three musicians, but in the Hall of Mirrors they seem to be thirty. Pearls of chamber music in Budapest’s loveliest concert hall.

The best vintage quartet of the noblest genre.

The pianist appearing together with the excellent quartet learnt the language of Bartók from his father. On this occasion he will hold a conversation on Brahms with the Kodály Quartet.

Jenő Hubay (Huber), violinist, music teacher, composer
(Budapest, September 15, 1858 – Budapest, March 12, 1937)
He studied first with his father, violinist Károly Huber, then in Berlin with József Joachim. He achieved great success in Paris in 1878 at the Pasdeloup concerts. Thanks also to his sound training, he formed a friendship during his stay abroad with French violinist Henrik Vieuxtemps, one of the most popular performers of the period. In 1882 he became principal violin teacher at the Brussels Conservatory. After returning to Hungary in 1886 he was appointed head of the violin department of the Academy of Music and under his direction it soon became a master school attracting also foreign students. From 1919 he was director of the Academy of Music, from 1920 to 1934 he was director-general and even after his resignation he remained honorary life president. In 1930 he was awarded the Corvin Chain in recognition of his work. Beside his work for the creation of a school and his activity as a music teacher, he continued to give performances. In 1886, together with Dávid Popper, he formed a quartet and made frequent guest appearances abroad with this ensemble that operated until 1903.
One of the greatest performing artists of his age, he followed the traditions of the generation of romantic violin virtuosi. He was an outstanding teacher, founder of the Hungarian violin school. His cultural policy was conservative: he did not agree with the participation of Bartók, Kodály and Dohnányi in the 1919 Directory. He remained the official head of Hungarian music right up to the end of his life.

Pianists Dóra Bizják and Károly Zentai graduated from the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in 1996. Their teachers were Edit Hambalkó, András Kemenes, Attila Némethy, and also Márta Gulyás in whose chamber music class they began working together, getting to know the compositions for four hands and two pianos. In the meantime they also made frequent appearances as soloists and chamber partners.

In 1997 they were invited by György Győriványi Ráth to record Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with the Hungarian Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. In the same year they began their studies at Illinois State University (USA) and received their master diploma there in 1999. Besides Hungary, they have given numerous concerts in Austria, Italy and the United States. They won scholarships from the Soros Foundation (1997), the Illinois Schubert Society (1998), and the New York Hans Fuchs Foundation (1999). They won first prize in the 2nd International “Silvio Omizzolo” Piano Duet Competition held in Padua in April 2000, as well as the special prize. Their first own recording, Four hands dancin’, was issued in Italy in the autumn of 2001 by Velut Luna.
(www.fidelio.hu)

He enchanted the Hungarian public at last year’s Spring Festival and is certain to do so again next year.

You don’t have to go to Carnegie Hall to hear this phenomenal guitar duo.