Olga Kern is a celebrated returning artist of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, and her recital at Cziffra Festival is part of her Europe Tour. The Russian-American pianist burst into the international music scene in 2001 when she won the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition as a woman for the first time in thirty years. At the age of seventeen, she also won first place in the Rachmaninov International Piano Competition but proved her talent in many other music contests as well.

With her lively stage presence, passionately confident musicality and unique technique, she captivates audiences and critics alike, which can be marvelled at in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy this time. The programme of her recital can also be seen as a journey in music history, as in the first half of the evening, she starts off with Beethoven’s ­ Falstaff Variations and gets to 20th-century music, ­Gershwin’s works. She dedicates the part after the intermission to Russian music, including pieces by Rachmaninov, who had a direct connection to Kern’s family.

Supporter: Prime Minister’s Offiice, Bethlen Gábor Fund

Featured sponsor: MVM

In the case of John Balázs, we can safely say it is not surprising that there is great genre diversity in his repertoire, and he has something to say to all age groups, including the youngest ones. This usually requires nothing more than a piano, which in itself opens up such an exciting world for children that they cannot get enough of it during a concert. This time, however, Judit Halász will also join the pianist with her earworm songs. She has been dazzling generations of children for decades, so the essence of this Concert will undoubtedly be the special encounter between the two artists.

János Balázs’ repertoire and its genre diversity are legendary, while Judit Halász, a Knight of the Order of Smiles, is not only able to sing poems set to music but also clothe classical music in fairy tales.

In this way, children can explore the previously known and unknown areas of music at the matinee held at MOMKult as a completely new musical experience and enjoy it from an utterly new perspective.

(A joint concert of the Cziffra Festival and MOMkult)

Supporter: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Fund

Featured sponsor: MVM

György Cziffra entered the Liszt Academy at the age of eight after his piano playing astonished Ernő Dohnanyi. This glorious career, however, also involved many difficulties, and it is no exaggeration to say that Cziffra’s troubled adulthood began there. Perhaps the fact that, as an acclaimed pianist, he established a foundation and a scholarship for gifted young musicians can also be attributed to this.

The Cziffra Festival considers it its mission to support talented young artists: awards are annually conferred upon the best, and the Festival provides opportunities for musicians at the outset of their careers to perform both in Hungary and abroad. A unique programme of the diverse talent development activity is the concert series “Youth in Focus”, where János Balázs’ students perform, showing us the gems of their generation.

Admission is free, but pre-registration is required.

To register, please get in touch with us at  koncertregisztracio@fszek.hu or by phone at (06-1) 411-5011, stating the number of attendees.

(Joint Concert of the Cziffra Festival and the Budapest Ervin Szabó Library Music Collection)

Supporter: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Fund

Featured sponsor: MVM

Performers: Erika Miklós (voice), Judit Halász (voice), Kati Kovács (voice), János Balázs (piano)

The concert Voice of Dignity is a joint endeavour of the Cziffra Festival and the Hungarian Hospice Foundation held at Müpa. Its proceeds will be donated to the annual maintenance of one patients’ room in the Budapest Hospice House.

At the outset, we can hear classical works and paraphrases played by János Balázs, and then the three outstanding singers –for whom it is not the first time to make music together with the Festival’s founder – will take turns on the stage. First, it will be Erika Miklósa singing opera arias and songs accompanied by János Balázs’ piano, and then Judit Halász and Kati Kovács will perform their most popular hits on Müpa’s stage.

Supporter: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt.
Featured sponsor: MVM

Performers: Hot Jazz Band, Lajos Sárközy and Band

Host: Ádám Bősze

During his life, György Cziffra played in bars and clubs for years, mainly out of financial necessity. Based on his recollections, he did it with great pleasure and legendary technique, though. His improvisation skills developed to perfection during his years as a bar pianist and later remained his main hallmark on the concert podium. This is how the concept of the Bar Night is connected to Cziffra. The performers will again bring two musical worlds together: One is the American traditional jazz improvisational and jazz orchestra milieu of the 1920s and 40s, while the other is the tradition of Gypsy bands and their virtuoso fiddlers. While Hot Jazz Band represents the first, Lajos Sárközy represents the seventh generation of the family of gipsy musicians. His multi-award-winning formation will bring the latter style to life in the Theater Hall of MOMKult, transformed into a venue of the past. The meeting and interplay of the two offer a special experience at the Concert, where the unique hosting style of the sparklingly witty Ádám Bősze makes the evening even more delightful.

(A joint concert of the Cziffra Festival and MOMkult)

Sponsor: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Fund
Featured sponsor: MVM

The only eighteen-year-old Canadian artist called the “Calgary Piano Prodigy” in his hometown, shines like a comet among young classical music talents. He has demonstrated his talent at the world’s most prestigious international piano competitions, winning the Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, the Geneva International Piano Competition and the Hilton Head Competition in the United States.

Chen’s name is also well-known in Hungary: he was the winner and special prize-winner of the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition held in Budapest in 2021. He also won a special prize for the best rendering of a transcription by Cziffra at the competition held together with the György Cziffra Memorial Year.

(A joint concert of the Cziffra Festival and the Liszt Academy)

Supporter: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Fund Zrt.

Featured sponsor: MVM

Gábor Farkas’ solo evening will take place on the stage of Eötvös10 following the opening of the exhibition “What is in the Cziffra File?”. The world-famous Hungarian Liszt Award-winning Gábor Farkas is one of the most outstanding pianists of his generation. He is a widely recognised interpreter of the Romantic repertoire, a winner of several international piano competitions and a permanent guest of the world’s most significant music festivals and concert halls.

Gábor Farkas’ solo evening will take place on the stage of Eötvös10 following the opening of the exhibition “What is in the Cziffra File?”. For this occasion, he has chosen works that recall the most beautiful and beloved works from György Cziffra’s repertoire. This time travel will kick off with compositions by Schubert, Chopin and Liszt.

Sponsor: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt.
Featured sponsor: MVM

This evening, besides enjoying György Cziffra’s legacy, we can also gain insight into the most critical moments and events of his life. The performance recounts and recalls the pivotal encounters that brought about and enhanced Cziffra’s musical fulfilment and his constant flame of faith in music and people. In addition to our own choices, also our encounters and our relationships with others determine our lives. These incessantly shape our personality and guide us towards our destiny. The path of a man who could not be prevented from fulfilling his destiny and mission – to give, to bring joy and create tranquillity for others – even by the most tumultuous and excruciating events in European history.

The young Junior Prima Award-winning artist Petra Gubik will join János Balázs in presenting Cziffra’s life. After the success of the TV music programme and winning the title of the most versatile performer in Hungary, Petra Gubik will now take to the stage at the Festival, where prose and music, classical and pop music melodies meet in a loving embrace.

(A joint concert of the Cziffra Festival and MOMkult)

Sponsor: Prime Minister's Office, Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt.

Featured sponsor: MVM

Programme: Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 1 in F-sharp minor, op. 1, Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43. *** Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, op. 18

In tribute to the 150th anniversary of his birth, the Cziffra Festival pays homage to one of the most significant Russian Romantic composers, Sergey Rachmaninov. János Balázs’ gigantic enterprise is unique in the world, as only a few pianists have ever performed all of Rachmaninov’s piano concertos. His partners in this endeavour will be András Keller and Concerto Budapest. This gigantic undertaking, which has been in the international limelight, can also be considered the Mount Everest of pianists. It can be heard at the Cziffra Festival in two parts: on 10 and 25 February at the Liszt Academy.

Rachmaninov’s piano concertos are simultaneously characterised by exuberant emotionality and brilliant virtuosity, but he was also a master of colourful orchestration. These works are considered to be among the most challenging ones written for the piano since performers have to meet serious technical requirements to achieve the desired standard. At the same time, the audience can fully immerse in the beauty of the music.

The composer completed his Piano Concerto No. 1 at eighteen, while No. 4 was finished in 1926 after leaving the Soviet Union. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is the fifth and final piece composed for piano and orchestra, which is based on Paganini’s famous 24 Capricies.

Host: Szilvia Becze

Season tickets for the concerts Rachmaninov Essence 1 and 2 can be purchased at https://www.jegy.hu/seasonticket/buy/542/10

(A joint concert of the Cziffra Festival and Concerto Budapest)

Supporter: Prime Minister’s Office, Bethlen Gábor Fund Zrt.
Featured sponsor: MVM