Balázs Szabó Presented by Liszt Academy

“Because it’s there,” was the answer of George Mallory given almost 100 years ago to the question of why he had climbed Mount Everest. Liszt’s twelve transcendent etudes also constitute one of the highest ranges in the piano landscape, and still only few undertake to tackle them all, most artists only pick a few pieces from the stunning series. Now, Balázs Szabó, a well-known figure in domestic concert life, who also played a key role in the restoration of the Liszt Academy’s Voit organ, sets off on this most testing of expeditions, playing the cycle, which was earlier considered virtually unplayable and demanding diabolical virtuosity, in his own arrangement. Tonight, thanks to Balázs Szabó, we can be witnesses to this grandiose, daring and exciting enterprise allowing us to enjoy one of Liszt’s principal works in a form never heard before.