Rita Wagner passed away

23 August 2021

The professor of the Chamber Music department passed away at the age of 75.

Rita Wagner was born in 1946 in Csepreg.

At the Bartók Béla Secondary School of Music she studied with Márta Kadosa and Edit Hambalkó. In 1969 she graduated from the Teacher Training Institute in the class of Mrs. Miklós Máthé, and in 1972 from the Liszt Academy, where her teacher was Katalin Nemes.

She taught at the Miskolc Secondary School of Music from 1972 to 1974 and at the Bartók Secondary School of Music in Budapest from 1985 to 1997. She was also a professor at the Teacher Training College from 1975 for 30 years, and at the Liszt Academy of Music from 2005. Dozens of students studied chamber music with her, and she was the main subject professor of piano at the School for Exceptional Young Talents. She taught as a guest professor in several cities in Spain and at the renowned Prussia Cove Music Seminar.

Rita Wagner (photo: Liszt Academy/László Mudra)

“Rita Wagner. She was our energy bomb. For all of us who studied with her, who had the opportunity to work with her, who were her colleagues. Her attentiveness was unmatched, and she always stood by her disciples. What impressed me most about her teaching was that it was never based on the student's ability. For her, music was the centre of attention, and she helped everyone find their way to the work. Their own way to the work. Together with hundreds of her students, we all feel that in her lessons she lit a fire within us. And we took that fire and has kept it burning. Because Rita Wagner was also our energy bomb. This flame is unquenchable and will live in us forever. We also bid you farewell on behalf of our Chamber Music Department, dear Rita.”

Balázs Fülei,
Head of the Chamber Music Department