The prestigious Norwegian Academy of Music will host János Balázs’s solo recital, which will also be the opening event of the jubilee Cziffra Festival abroad.
This time, the Kossuth Prize-winning pianist will perform selections from his New York Music International Grand Prix-winning album ImprovisArt. The concept of the concert follows the Romantic tradition when pianists and composers were still fond of improvising and creating transcriptions of well-known operas and songs. The programme ranges from Bach to Franz Liszt, from György Cziffra to János Balázs’s own improvisations, and showcases a 200-year-old tradition in which the performer becomes, in effect, the partner of the composer. In this way, the artist wishes to draw attention to the vitality of this genre in classical music and pay homage to the Hungarian classical music heritage.
The two-day event, organised in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary in Oslo, will include a masterclass and workshop by János Balázs, who will give a closer look at the world-famous Liszt Piano School, improvisation techniques and the work of Hungary’s renowned composers and performers, and will also present the best of them at the concert.