ImprovisArt – János Balázs Concert

Program Description:

The St. Frambourg Chapel of Senlis is a special place, housing the solo concert of János Balázs, which is simultaneously the opening concert of the centenary celebrations organized by the Cziffra Foundation in France. 

The concert is influenced by the romantic tradition of pianists and composers passionately improvising, alongside revising notorious operas and songs. The pieces played will range from Bach to Liszt, and expand through the improvisations of György Cziffra and János Balázs, showcasing the 200-year tradition of the performer becoming the companion of the creative artist. This is how János Balázs would like to call attention to the life of this art form in classical music, as well as pay tribute to the memory of György Cziffra. 

György Cziffra founded the Cziffra Foundation in 1973, whose center became the St. Frambourg Chapel, named the Liszt Ferenc Auditorium. The foundation aims to support young talents (not just musicians). Utilizing private funding, the chapel was renovated to its current form, with the inclusion of a concert room and an exhibition hall. The early gothic chapel is an important site for French history; Adelheid, the wife of Capet Hugó (the king who consolidated France) founded the first shrine here. The severely dilapidated monument was used as a garage in the 1970s and opened by György Cziffra as a concert hall in 1977 when eight glass panels were made for his friend, Joan Miró. The foundation has been in function ever since the death of György Cziffra. Its leader, Gérard Bekerman, is the international patron of Cziffra György Memorial Year.  

(Joint concert of Cziffra György Memorial Year and Foundation Cziffra)