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Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

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“Few chamber orchestras are as accomplished as the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra”
(The Irish Times)

The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar) was founded in 1963 by graduates of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. As the national orchestra of Hungary, they took the name of Liszt to pay homage to the great composer and to embrace his progressive nature and virtuosity.

For nearly 60 years, the orchestra has played a significant role in Hungary’s musical life and has built an international reputation of excellence; recognised as one of the most outstanding representatives of the chamber music genre due to their precision, versatility and outstanding sensitivity. The orchestra made the exciting appointment of István Várdai as Artistic Director in 2020 who continues this ethos.

Led by Frigyes Sándor and later János Rolla for over half a century, the orchestra has played in more than fifty countries performing in Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Sydney Opera House, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Théatre de la Ville in Paris. The orchestra, whose concertmaster is Péter Tfirst since 2016, continues to perform in the most important concert halls around the world collaborating with first-class artists. Previous collaborators include Martha Argerich, Adam Fischer, Julia Fischer, Midori Gotō, Yehudi Menuhin, Vadim Repin, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, András Schiff, Isaac Stern and Maxim Vengerov.

István Várdai balances performing wide-ranging concerto repertoire with a deep love of chamber music. Following success on the competitions circuit, including first prizes at the 2014 ARD International Music Competition and at the 2008 Geneva International Music Competition, Várdai embarked upon a career as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber player sharing the stage with orchestras like Helsinki Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège to name a few and conductors such as Klaus Mäkelä, Susanna Mälkki, Hannu Lintu, Douglas Boyd, Bertrand de Billy among others, and visiting leading venues worldwide with András Schiff, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Mischa Maisky, Elisabeth Leonskaja and many others. Várdai is the Artistic Director of Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra since 2020 and, together with violinist Kristóf Baráti, is co-curator of the Kapostfest Chamber Music Festival in Hungary.

A Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar bemutatja A zene öröm veled Imázsfilm (2021) © Franz Liszt Chamber / Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar

“Few chamber orchestras are as accomplished as the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra”

(The Irish Times)

“The orchestra, led by violinist Péter Tfirst, opened with Mozart’s Divertimento in F major K138, and I was immediately struck by their rich mellow string tone, light and airy in the Allegro with bold statements and delicate responses, detail in the faster passages thrillingly clear.”

(Bachtrack)