Liszt-reflections

During the composition of the contemporary pieces, the only requirement for the students was to apply the same instrumentation as used by Liszt. It was an exceptional experience to observe the unique contemporary interpretations of the original pieces and see the different priorities of American composers with regard to the musical heritage of the first true European citizen, Ferenc Liszt. The Liszt Academy brought 4 such compositions to Cleveland, created by students in 2011 for a similar project of the Liszt bicentenary. During the one-week workshop, participating students of the two universities rehearsed the original and the complementary contemporary Liszt pieces together in mixed chamber formations. At the end of the week, participants performed the pieces in a concert at the Mixon Hall of the Cleveland Institute of Music. The audience, consisting of representatives of both universities and the Hungarian minority living in Cleveland, celebrated the young artists with great enthusiasm.

During the project at another concert, young pianists from Cleveland and Budapest honoured the Hungarian composition school by performing the piano pieces of Liszt, Bartók and Dubrovay.

The summary of the events can be found here.

The project was supported by the Hungarian Initiatives Foundation