Everyone could be enriched with a complex cultural experience who visited Béla Bartók Memorial House on 30th May 2015. At 11 am the first public student recital of Hangrózsa Zongoraiskola was organized in the concert hall of the museum. For the price of a museum ticket, in addition to viewing the furnished memorial rooms the public could also listen to musical performances presented by the child and adult students of Hangrózsa Piano School. The level of the event was raised by a concert pianist known from Virtuosos talent show, Ivett Gyöngyösi who was our guest artist.
The recital was opened by Balázs Juhász, teacher of Hangrózsa Piano School, he talked about the history and goals of his school. It was Ágnes Borbély who introduced the museum in brief, she also talked about the work of Béla Bartók, who used to live in this villa. Bartók lived and composed in this villa for eight years right before his trip to America. His former Bösendorfer piano is now restored in the study on the second floor, and a Steinway & Sons model D awaits concert pianists in the concert hall on the first floor.
In the first part of the recital, children presented their skills, playing works from Hungarian and foreign piano schools that are currently in use. Among the pieces, an opus by Bartók was also plaed, from the album For Children . The children's performance was followed by the adults' program, some more serious works were also performed, for example an invention by Bach and an etude by Chopin.
After the students, their teacher Balázs Juhász introduced himself on the piano. He played Claude Debussy's popular work, Clair de Lune, which is the 3rd movement of Suite Bergamasque and was composed after Paul Verlaine's poem with the same title.
Ivett Gyöngyösi, who has played in this house several times before, now showed a small slice of her artistry by the request of Hangrózsa Piano School. Ivett has won many national and international piano competitions, we will list only a few of the prizes now. In 2009 she was awarded with Cziffra Prize, as the youngest competitor at George Cziffra International Piano Competition in Vienna. The Prima Primissima Foundation gave her the Junior Prima Prize in 2012, which is one the biggest awards for young artists. The Steinway Artist title can be awarded to artists who choose a Steinway & Sons piano for their performances. Ivett has been the happy owner of a Steinway & Sons model M for over 10 years, and in 2010 she was awarded the Young Steinway Artist title as she was under 18. The domestic public got to know her as a competitor of Virtuosos Talent Show organized by MTVA in 2014, where she won the "Adults" age group. She is currently a student at Franz Liszt Academy of Music, in the class of Kálmán Dráfi. In preparation for the fall round of the 17th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition to be held in Warsaw, she played three works by Chopin at this recital: the ballad in A flat major (Op. 47), which was composed after Adam Mickiewitz's poem, and two etudes (Op. 10 No. 8 in F major and Op. 25 No. 10 in B minor). She amazed all students with her playing.;
The surprise guest of the recital was Sándor Csipkés bar pianist, who is the bronze medalist of the Bar Pianist Competition held in New York Café in 2013/2014. Sándor has already given numerous sold-out concerts, and is currently preparing to enroll in the jazz piano department of Franz Liszt Academy of Music. At the end of the recital, he improvised an arrangement on a folk song, seasoned with a lot of humor.
After the recital, the audience could visit the museum, where they got to know the furnishings of Bartók's former rooms and his personal belongings. All participants returned home with a wonderful experience, the weather was also favorable for an informal conversation after the recital in the yard of the villa.
Featured image: Friends of The Liszt Academy of Music
