| First Name |
Balázs
|
| Last Name |
Szokolay
|
| Full Name at Birth |
Balázs Szokolay
|
| Birthday |
30th November, 1960
|
| Birthplace |
Budapest, Hungary
|
| Build |
Slim
|
| Eye Color |
Brown - Light
|
| Hair Color |
Brown - Dark
|
| Distinctive Feature |
Petite Stature..., Sosmetimes Bearded..., Awarded 14 competition prizes..., Awarded the Liszt Prize in 2001..., Mother is a pianist and his father, Sándor Szokolay, a composer who was a professor at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest from 1966 to 1994..., Szokolay performs with the Hungarian State Orchestra and across Europe..., He has been on the faculty of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest for nearly twenty years..., ''He seems well-suited to shorter works and his recordings of the Grieg Lyric Pieces show an understanding of tonal shading, mood and style that is not so common in younger pianists''..., Although he is a prominent Liszt-player, he is inspired by Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Bartók's songs, ''Szokolay is an inspirational and inspired, full-fledged pianist, who plays piano with natural gesture, noble elegance, dignity and immeasurable professionalism''..., Balázs started to play the piano at the age of five, taught by Erna Czövek..., Following his graduation in 1983, he won scholarships for two more years of studies in Munich and Moscow..., His repertoire covers a wide range of styles with a strong focus on chamber music..., Balázs is an avid chamber player who has played with world class soloists and orchestras..., During his career he has released countless albums. He has recorded extensively with Naxos , Hungaroton, and other recording companies..., One of his Grieg-Naxos CDs was named "Record of the Year" by London' s Daily Telegraph in 1992..., During the 1997-98 academic year, he worked as a guest professor at Yeungnam University , South Korea..., He gives masterclass at the prestigious Festetics Palace, Keszthely for more than a decade..
|
| Sexuality |
Straight
|
| Ethnicity |
White
|
| Nationality |
Hungarian
|
| High School |
[1970-83] Budapest Music Academy, Hungary
|
| University |
[1970-83] Budapest Music Academy, Hungary, [????-??] Academy of Music in Munich, Germany (music scholarship)
|
| Occupation Text |
Pianist, Music Teacher, Piano Soloist, Chamber Musician
|
| Occupation |
Pianist
|
| Claim to Fame |
awarded the Liszt Prize in 2001
|
| Music Genre (Text) |
Classical Piano, Chamber Music
|
| Year(s) Active |
1987- (professor : Franz Liszt Academy of Music), 2012- (piano professor : University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar), 2009- (guest professor : University of Graz), ????- (visiting cholar and piano professor : Montclair State University in New Jersey), 1997-98 (guest professor : Yeungnam University, South Korea)
|
| Instrument (text) |
Piano
|
| Record Label |
Naxos, Hungaroton
|
| Associated Acts |
Péter Nagy (pianist), Gervase de Peyer (clarinettist), Clemens Hagen and Miklós Perényi (cellists), Zoltán Kocsis (chamber musician), Aurèle Nicolet (chamber musician), Miklós Perényi (chamber musician), Vilmos Szabadi (chamber musician), Bartok string-quartett, Shanghai Quartett, Gervaise de Peyer, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
|
| Official Websites |
www.szokolaybalazs.com/
|
| Favorite Bands |
Brahms, Schubert, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Liszt, Lehár, Gershwin, Strauss
|
| Favorite Songs |
Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee, Adolf Schulz-Evler’s Arabesques, Johann Strauss's An der schönen blauen Donau, Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, Chopin’s Barcarolle Op. 60., Moszkowski’s Caprice Espagnol Op. 37., Bach Brandenburg's Concerto No. 5, Liszt's Liebestraum No. 2, Debussy's Ballade, Liszt's Impromtu "Fis", Claude Debussy's Arabesque Nos 1-2, Claude Debussy's The Little Shepherd, Claude Debussy's Golliwogg's Cake-walk, Erie Satie's Gymnopcdie Nos 1-3, Maurice Ravel's Perpetuum mobile, Maurice Ravel's Habanera, Eric Satie's Gnossienne No 1, Maurice Ravel's La lombeau da Couperin — Prelude, Claude Debussy's Syrinx, Eric Satie's Gnossienne No 2, Claude Dcbussy's La Danse de Puck, Eric Satie's Gnossiennes Nos 3-4, Eric Satie's Sonatine bureaucratique, Eric Satie's Gnossiennes Nos 5, Claude Debussy's L'isle joyeuse, Maurice Ravel's Pavane pour une infante defunte, HENRY ECCLES (1650-1742) Sonata für Kontrabaß und Klavier, ADOLF MISEK (1875-1954) Erste Sonate für Kontrabaß und Klavier, A-dur Op.5., PAUL HINDEMITH (1895-1963) Sonata, WILFRIED JENTZSCH (1941) Sonata für Kontrabaß solo, VILMOS MONTAG (1908-1991) Sonate für Kontrabaß und Klavier, e-moll, Grieg's Peer Gynt: Suite No. 2, Clementi's Sonata in G Major, Clementi's Sonata in F Sharp Minor, Clementi's Sonatina in D Major, Clementi's Six Progressive Sonatinas, Clementi's Sonata in B Fiat Major, Bartok's Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, Bartok's Three Rondos on Slovak Folktunes, Bartok's Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs, Bartok's Three Hungarian Folksongs from the Csik District, Bartok's Allegro barbaro, MOZART's 12 Variations on the Theme, MENDELSSOHN's Venetian Boat Song In G Mlnor, TCHAIKOVSKY's Humoresque, SCHUBERT's Impromptu In E Flat, CHOPIN's Etude In E, LEFEBURE-WELY's Monastery Bells, LISZT's Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, HAYDN's Fantasia (Capriccio) in C, GRIEG's Erotik, SCHUMANN's The Wild Horseman, SCHUBERT's Impromptu In A Flat, RAFF's Cavatine, MENDELSSOHN's Spinning Song, KREISLER's Liebesleid, RACHMANINOV's Prelude in C Sharp Minor, CHOPIN's Barcarolle, ALBENIZ's Sevilla, STRAUSS's Serenade, JESSEL's Parade of the Tin Soldiers, LANGE's Der kleine Postilion, RAVEL's Pavane pour une infante i defunte, BEETHOVEN's Bagatelle In A Minor 'Fuer Elise', MENDELSSOHN's Venetian Boat Song, JOHANN and JOSEF STRAUSS's Pizzicato-Polka, BEETHOVEN's Andante in F, KREISLER's Caprice Viennois, PADEREWSKI's Menuet
|
| Favorite Colors |
Black
|
