Four ensembles performed in Solti Hall in the programme of the European Chamber Music Academy
Quartets and trios of young talents took part in a masterclass and a public concert as part of the ECMA (European Chamber Music Academy) international cooperation.
The European Chamber Music Academy has been running with great success for 18 years and its artistic directors include renowned violinist, chamber musician and teacher Johannes Meissl, Vice-President of the Vienna Academy of Music, violist Patrick Jüdt, lecturer at the University of Music in Bern, and composer Gyula Fekete, Vice-President of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.
This prestigious organisation, which aims to foster chamber music traditions and showcase young musicians, is made up of well-known festivals and institutions. ECMA has included Liszt Academy due to its leading role as a centre of 20th century chamber music tradition, and the fact that it has enriched the genre with world famous performing ensembles besides continuing to play an important part as a centre of excellence, according to the official statement.
Liszt Academy participated in the ECMA programme for the first time in 2020, and this year's first workshop and showcase in Budapest took place in April 2022. This time, masterclasses were given by Patrick Jüdt and Karla Haltenwanger, pianist and founding member of the Boulanger Trio, to participating student ensembles.
For the two concerts held in Solti Hall on 10 April, four groups of young chamber musicians were seen and heard, having thoroughly prepared during masterclasses to create a programme with a fresh, youthful interpretation.
Members of the Hungarian Korossy String Quartet started working together in 2018 under the mentorship of Péter Kováts. The following year, they won the Leó Weiner National Chamber Music Competition and were invited to the Quartettissimo Festival. In recent years, they have participated in masterclasses at ECMA and IMS Prussia Cove in Budapest, among others, and have been supported by a number of renowned and distinguished artists such as Katalin Kokas, Barnabás Kelemen, Johannes Meissl, Patrick Jüdt, Márta Gulyás and György Pauk. They won a special prize at the Bartók World Competition in 2021.
The US-based Zorá String Quartet, highly rated by the New York Times, has been invited to prestigious festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival and the Verbier Academy. Since autumn 2021, they have been members of ECMA's continuing education programme (ECMASTER), which has taken them to Oslo, Paris and Vienna. The name "Zorá" was chosen by concertmaster Kevork Mardirossian, professor at Indiana University and means "sunrise".
Members of the Trio Hélios from France were surrounded by chamber music from an early age on, so a passionate, tireless exploration of the repertoire comes naturally to them. In addition to their international competition successes, they are regular returning artists at prestigious concert halls, having been resident artists at the Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron in 2015 and 2016, and at the Festival des Arcs in 2016 and 2018.
The Latvian and Swiss members of the Trio Carmine grew up in different musical traditions, which explains why their techniques and interpretations are so colourful. This is what makes their work together so exciting, often focusing on strain genre boundaries. All three of them are also successful soloists, and this forms a good base for a rich, distinctive sound, in addition to their artistic curiosity.
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