We are at home in music

It was clear from the number of viewers of the online concerts that the interest went beyond the capacity of our concert halls: some of our live broadcasts were watched by thousands, and even more viewers found them in the coming days. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, many excellent performers were unable to perform with us, so our programs were either delayed or postponed to the fall. We broadcast our previously recorded concerts on our online platforms so as not to leave our loyal, music-loving audience without classical music. It was also important to us that our online viewers were from all over the world: all those who could not reach us, in addition to those who may have difficulty bridging the physical distance: music lovers in the countryside, Hungarians living abroad, and even those, from Mexico to Australia, who have never been to Hungary, but found our concerts online and became our regular visitors.  

In our new season, which began in September, new rules came into force. We strive to hold our concerts, albeit often with different performers, and with a changed programme or schedule. For the safety of our spectators, we have halved the number of tickets sold for our performances so that social distancing can be realized. The maintenance and development of the stream service requires significant resources, and due to the decline in ticket sales, we are not able to provide our broadcasts completely free of charge.

WHAT IS AN ONLINE STREAM? WHAT IS OUR online CONCERT ROOM SERVICE?

A stream is an audio-visual broadcast available online. The concerts of the Liszt Academy are broadcast in world-class sound quality with 6-10 professional HD quality cameras. You can still watch some of our live performances for free, but we will also have paid concerts online. We will be launching a complex package of services called Online Concert Hall from the beginning of 2021: as an introduction, our spectators who now buy tickets for a paid online stream can see a conversation with the performers during the concert break and follow our concerts with comments from our music historian commentator. So some of the extra content is already available. You can always find out in advance about our concert broadcasts through our website and Facebook page, including when we sell tickets to our online service package or broadcast a free concert at a certain time.

WHERE CAN I ACCESS THE SERVICE?

The stream service of the Liszt Academy is available both domestically and abroad on the website of the Liszt Academy, where the concert programmes are announced. With broadband internet access, you can enjoy our performances in high quality on smartphones, smart TVs, tablets and desktop computers.

WILL ALL PERFORMANCES BE BROADCAST?

No. We are bound by our contracts with performing artists: if an artist doesn’t agree to broadcast a concert with his or her participation, we certainly comply with their wishes. We also have obligations to other media – radio stations and television channels –, which we also have to keep in mind.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

In the first stage of the implementation of our Online Concert Hall, the paid streamed performances can be watched for HUF 1,500, the price of a cheaper concert ticket.

These broadcast performances are only licensed for personal, home use. Each ticket buyer receives a unique link that cannot be shared: the performance can only be viewed from one device at a time. However, the number of people who watch it at the same time is not limited: the whole family can enjoy the music together, while public broadcasting is forbidden and technically not supported.

We intend to use the revenue from online tickets for talent management activities at the Liszt Academy. Our goal is to provide all the opportunities for our students—from buying sheet music and supporting the technical background of online education to applying for international competitions—necessary to continue their world-class training in the current difficult situation.