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Event Information:
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Sat28Nov202015:00Liszt Academy Grand Hall
Beethoven Days Chamber Concert No 1 | In Honour of Annie Fischer
BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in D major (‘Ghost’), Op. 70/1
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in F major, Op. 135
intermission
BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 70/2Featuring: András Keller violin, Miklós Perényi cello, János Balázs piano, Hungarian Quartet
Intimate, suggestive, familiar – these words effectively join together the individual works of this matinee concert, and indeed they really are the most personal confessions of Beethoven. The two piano trios that begin and end the concert were written during the months the composer spent as a guest of Anna Mária Erdődy, and they are both dedicated to the countess for her hospitality. The Piano Trio in D major was dubbed ‘Ghost’ after an observation by the composer’s student, Carl Czerny, who said the slow movement reminded him of the opening scene of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The String Quartet in F major inserted between the two trios is Beethoven’s last completed major work. Music historians were long puzzled by the inscription to the fourth movement – The difficult decision – and on the first score written for vocal part and not intended for performance – Must it be? It must be! They believed that Beethoven had a premonition of his death, yet the explanation was far more banal than this: he was quoting the words of an amateur cellist who did not want to pay for a concert ticket, and an earlier witty canon written to these words. The piano part of the trios is taken by János Balázs, one of the most sought-after pianists applauded for his emotionally rich technique. He is joined by two peers: András Keller and Miklós Perényi, while the string quartet is performed by Hungarian Quartet who debuted (with great success) early in the year.
PRESENTED BY: Concerto Budapest
TICKETS: HUF 1 500, 2 500, 3 500, 4 500, 5 900

Biography
“If you have heard János Balázs perform, you must have experienced a compelling and completely unique concert. He renders a 21st-century interpretation of classical music with spell-binding and superior technic and has a singular knack for capturing the audience. By doing so, he blurs the distance between the performer and his listener. His thematically unparallelled concerts and programme repertoire reach out to crowds – also the younger generations-, which he undertakes solely for the popularisation of classical music.”
He is keen to demonstrate his improvisation skills in various areas beyond the classical stage, such as jazz, world music, or folk music, which is always imbued with classical music’s values and the 20th-century tradition of improvision.
Music critiques highlight the delicacy and diverse colours of his piano playing, his unlimited dynamic scale and his fascinating virtuosity. Attending János Balázs’ concerts is a genuine time travel, as he evokes with full force the intimate ambience of the composers and pianists of the so-called 19th century golden age, like Franz Liszt or Frédéric Chopin.
He is a returning artist of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Liszt Academy and MüPa in Budapest. He has given celebrated concerts on the stages of the Cité de la Musique, Palau de Musica, Barbican Centre, Wiener Konzerthaus and the Royal Conservatory. In the following season, he is going to collaborate with such famed orchestras and conductors as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Peter Eötvös and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Iván Fischer and the Royal Concertgebouworkest, Mikko Franck and the Auditorium de la Maison de la Radio France.
János Balázs is a born soloist who also received the ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation) Rising Star “Artist of the Season” Award. He is well able to hold the attention of the audience by himself. Nonetheless, chamber music also plays a central role in his art, where he can delight his listeners with glamorous, sparkling and out-of-the-box performances alongside friends of a similar mindset and orientation, such as Mischa Maisky, Vadim Repin, Jose Cura, or Boris Berezovsky.
As a graduate of the Budapest-based Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, János Balázs finds it crucial to pass on Liszt’s tradition to future musicians. Some major universities of the world have taken notice of this mission of his, and he has been invited by the Canadian McGill University, the Shenyang Conservatory of Music, the Hanoi Conservatory of Music to give masterclasses. He was also appointed associate professor of the Liszt Academy.
In 2016, János Balázs founded the György Cziffra Festival, which he dedicated to the conservation and care of the intellectual and musical legacy of his role model, György Cziffra. In the past five years, the festival has risen to one of the most high-ranking classical music festivals in Hungary; with its diversity of genres and the kind participation of international guest artists, it is an unmatched colour on the palette of the Hungarian culture scene.
2021, the 100th birthday of György Cziffra was declared an official memorial year by the Hungarian Government, with János Balázs as its artistic director. In collaboration with Unesco, within the framework of the memorial year 2021/2022, over a hundred events will take place in the most auspicious concert halls of 36 cities of 15 Asian, American and European countries with a hundred performers.
János Balázs is an awardee of nearly all professional and state accolades. He is so far the youngest recipient of the prestigious Kossuth Prize, and as such, he is in the same league as musicians like György Ligeti, György Kurtág, András Schiff or Iván Fischer. His Young Steinway Artist title and the accolade of the State of Poland stand out from his international awards, the latter being conferred upon him for the performance of Frédéric Chopin’s complete works. Since 2021 he has been corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts.
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Management:
Anita Kántor | Phone:+36 30/450-90-64 | Email: kantoranita@cziffrafesztival.hu
Szilvia Besszer | Phone: +36 30/468-88-98 | Email: info@balazsjanos.com
Communication:
Anna Hegedűs | Phone: +36 30/565-84-42