President of the Liszt Academy visited China
Dr. Gábor Farkas participated in discussions at numerous institutions in several cities, as well as attending conferences, holding master classes, and giving concerts.
First, he signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the management of the ICMA (International Center for Music and Arts) in Beijing, where he also gave piano lessons. Local media reports highlighted the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music's 12th place in the QS World University Rankings, as well as its role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
Following the recent meeting in Budapest, another negotiation was held with Wang Xudong, party secretary of the China Conservatory of Music, also located in the capital, with further discussions about the planned joint symphony orchestra and possible cooperation with the Kodály Institute.
Dr. Gábor Farkas discussed student and teacher exchange programs with Han Bing, head of the institution's piano department, where he also held a master class and gave a concert, as well as with Wang Liguang, who is pushing for the Liszt Academy to become a member of the Global Music Education League (GMEL), founded in 2017, which now includes many renowned institutions from America to Europe and Asia, including the Sibelius Academy in Finland, the Eastman School of Music in the USA, and the Royal Conservatoire in Birmingham.
The next stop was Chongqing, where the president participated in the conference China-Hungary Music Bridge: Dialogue of Art and Friendship, giving a lecture in the company of Chinese experts on preserving Liszt's legacy and the 150th anniversary of the Liszt Academy, and he also held master classes.
The Hungarian delegation then visited the Faculty of Arts at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, where they explored opportunities for cooperation with Party Secretary Jiang Fang. Gábor Farkas also held a master class at this institution, not only for art students. Being part of a research university, the Faculty of Arts stands out for its integration of art and technology, leveraging its multidisciplinary and international resources, and is committed to training high-quality, interdisciplinary arts professionals with a solid foundation and a wide range of competencies.
The rector attended the 4th China-Central and Eastern Europe Forum Festival held at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music in Hangzhou, where he gave the opening speech as a guest of honor, emphasizing that the long-standing friendship between Hungary and China, exemplified by lively institutional cooperations, is essential for shaping a shared musical future that combines technological development and eternal human values.
Shu Peidong, a senior member of the provincial education ministry, and Róbert János Füle, cultural diplomat at the Hungarian Consulate General in Shanghai, spoke at the opening ceremony, too. More than ten leaders of music and dance institutions from Central and Eastern Europe participated in the panel discussion entitled Music Education and Profession in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Gábor Farkas gave a highly successful presentation on how, in the digital age, the mission of music education lies in the synergistic integration of technological innovation and humanistic traditions, with the aim of training artists who are creative and deeply connected to their musical heritage.
At the closing meeting with President Wang Rui at the Zhejiang Conservatory, they explored opportunities for broaden the existing cooperation. Afterwards, Dr. Gábor Farkas received an overview of the educational system, and was introduced to the Electroacoustic Music Research Center. He also met with Professor An Chengbi, head of the Composition and Conducting Department, and participated as a guest in the institution's International Piano Roundtable, giving a public master class.
During the visit to China, preliminary discussions were also held on a documentary film about Liszt, which would be produced at Tsinghua University whose staff would like to conduct research and interviews at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
