Bartók Konzi at the Liszt Academy
The ensembles of the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music (Bartók ‘Konzi’) give three concerts at the Liszt Academy in the 2016–17 concert season. Szabolcs Benkő, director of the conservatory, spoke to the Concert Magazine about the close relationship between the two institutions and about future plans.
The Liszt Academy is a leading institution of higher education but the Bartók Konzi has far more rivals. Does this cause any problems?
Judging from the achievements of our students, at the moment we are the most successful secondary school in the area of music teaching. In the past three years we have taken 40% of podium places at national competitions. Another critical factor that must not be forgotten is the institution’s broad training palette. At the moment we have three parallel classes for each year; besides the classical principal subjects, we also run jazz and folk music courses, not to mention that we have also taken on the training of instrument makers.
Szabolcs Benkő (Photo: Liszt Academy / Zoltán Tuba)
As director of the Konzi, what changes have you introduced and what innovations are you planning in the near future?
The school is extremely active in applying for funds. We have already won several grants supporting the procurement of instruments and we have taken great strides in renovating the building over the years. But of course there is still much to do. In the professional sphere, on the one hand, we are working in partnership with Dr Andrea Vigh on renewing our theoretical teaching; on the other hand, I would like to mention the highly popular New Music Project, in which students stage contemporary music performances. Chamber music and orchestral work have been particularly successful in recent years, both among our students and at competitions.
How did the idea of the Konzi Concerts come about?
This is a totally new project. Our 175th anniversary concert at the Liszt Academy was a great success and the student concerts are similarly very successful. The president of the academy wanted to extend this to the Konzi, which is why she approached us to invite us to launch a concert series at the Liszt Academy. The fi rst recital will be a chamber music concert with a varied programme, with several soloists and at the end of which will be a chamber music produc tion. The choice of programme is also intended to highlight the fact that chamber music is extremely important not only at the Liszt Academy but at the Konzi, too. At concerts thereafter it is likely that teachers at the Liszt Academy will also be involved. I am confi dent that this series will further strengthen professional relations between the Liszt Academy and its training school.
Zsuzsanna Lakatos