Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Sonata in B Minor - Totentanz Benedek Horvath, Sinfonieorchester Basel & Hans Drewanz

• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, S. 124:
• 1 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, S. 124: I. Allegro maestoso 05:43
• 2 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, S. 124: II. Quasi adagio 05:06
• 3 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, S. 124: III. Allegretto vivace - Allegro animato 04:21
• 4 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, S. 124: IV Allegro marziale animato 04:52
• Sonata in B minor, S. 178:
• 5 Sonata in B minor, S. 178: Lento assai - Allegro energico 03:35
• 6 Sonata in B minor, S. 178: Grandioso - Recitativo 08:56
• 7 Sonata in B minor, S. 178: Andante sostenuto 07:07
• 8 Sonata in B minor, S. 178: Allegro energico – Andante sostenuto – Lento assai 11:12
• Totentanz, S. 126:
• 9 Totentanz, S. 126 17:09
• Total Runtime 01:08:01

Info for Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Sonata in B Minor - Totentanz

Already through his birthplace Budapest, Benedek Horváth (*1989) feels in many ways very close to his “fellow countryman”, the great virtuoso and cosmopolitan Franz Liszt (1811-1886). Important stages of his career are inseparably connected with the pianist, and the interpretation of the great piano works of this pianistic visionary has occupied him since his early years of study. Benedek Horváth completed his soloist diploma at the Basel Music Academy and received important artistic impulses from András Schiff, Dimitri Bashkirov and Menahem Pressler. The pianist comes from a family of musicians and recorded his first CD as a soloist with the MATAV Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13. Since then he has been a finalist at prestigious competitions such as the Paloma O’Shea Santander Piano Competition, the Concours Clara Haskil in Vevey and other competitions. In 2016 he recorded a solo programme with works by Liszt and Bartók. The following year Benedek Horváth made his debut at New York’s Merkin Hall with the 2nd Piano Concerto by Franz Liszt. Other highlights of his career include solo performances of Mozart’s Piano Concerto KV 459 (with the Musikkollegium Winterthur) and performances (and CD recording) of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Totentanz with the Basel Symphony Orchestra. In November 2018 he was awarded the “Junior Prima”, one of the most important cultural prizes in Hungary.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes it perfectly: “One must only have experienced Sinfonieorchester Basel with its principal conductor Ivor Bolton to know what this fabulous orchestra is capable of achieving.” Be it in its own concert series, in Theater Basel, or in guest performances at home and abroad, this innovative ensemble constantly affirms its high level of tonal culture.

The Briton Ivor Bolton has been principal conductor since the 2016/2017 season. Among the conductors with whom Sinfonieorchester Basel has been and still is closely associated are such personalities as Johannes Brahms, Felix Weingartner, Gustav Mahler, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Gary Bertini, Walter Weller, Armin Jordan, Horst Stein, Otto Klemperer, Nello Santi, Pierre Boulez, Mario Venzago, and Dennis Russell Davies.

For some years now Sinfonieorchester Basel has become increasingly visible on the international concert scene, notably with tours in the United Kingdom in 2014, 2015, and 2017, Far East tours in 2010 and spring 2015, a European tour with David Garrett in March 2017, a tour of Germany with Jonas Kaufmann in January 2019, and to commemorate the Beethoven year, its Prometheus tour with Peter Simonischek in spring of 2020.

Benedek Horvath, piano
Sinfonieorchester Basel
Hans Drewanz, conductor

Benedek Horvath
is an integral part of the Swiss celebrations of Bernstein at 100 in a theatrical setting of the 2nd Symphony “Age of Anxiety” in Vevey this November. He also is currently working on his second solo album for the French label Artalinna. The CD, which will be released in 2019, is featuring a program of folk-music inspired pieces by Janáček, Bartók and Kurtág.

Together with his trio, Trio Eclipse, he just toured Jordan, where they not only gave concerts but cooperated with The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development that gives refugee children the opportunity to meet with different forms of culture. In Summer 2019 the Trio Eclipse debut at the prestigious Lucerne Festival presenting a program including Beethoven, Brahms, Thomas Demenga and Gershwin.

Benedek will be awarded by Junior Prima prize in Budapest this November. It is one of the most important prize for young artists in Hungary, only few receives it every year.

In 2017 Benedek gave his debut at New York’s Merkin Hall performing Liszt’s 2nd Concerto. Other recent highlights include Mozart's Piano Concerto K459 together with Theodor Guschlbauer and the Musikkollegium Winterthur, at the Tonhalle Zurich as well as Liszt's "Totentanz" at the Stadtcasino Basel with the Basel Symphony Orchestra.

Performing as a soloist, Benedek has worked together with the Montenegro Symphony Orchestra, the Real Filharmonía of Galicia, the Szeged Symphony Orchestra to name just a few. His recitals took him to various European cities, such as Paris, Vienna (broadcasted live on ORF Radio), Gstaad Festival, Milan, Rome, Krakow, the National Opera House in Tirana (Albania) and the National Theatre in Pogdorica (Montenegro).

Benedek is a laureate of the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition (Santander 2012) and recent winner of the Kiefer Hablitzel Competition (Bern) and Rahn Musikpreis (Zürich). He won Laurate prize at the Klara Haskil Competition in 2016. Some other prizes include the: 1st Prize Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition, 3rd Prize Béla Bartók International Piano Competition, "Grand Prize" György Ferenczy Chopin Piano Competition.

He is holding a Soloist Diplom from Basel Music Academy and worked together numerous renowned artists such as András Schiff, Dimitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, Claudio Martínez Mehner, Ferenc Rados and Zoltán Kocsis.

As a passionate chamber music player, he has performed at the Cully Classique Festival, Santander Festival. Furthermore, chamber music highlights include playing with internationally renowned Casals String Quartet and Zakar Bron. With his Trio Eclipse, he was a prize winner of the International Osaka Chamber Music Competition. Their concerts in Switzerland are broadcasted regularly on Swiss Radio SRF2.

At the age of 13, Benedek recorded his first CD with the MATAV Symphony Orchestra, performing two piano concertos by the Armenian-American composer Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee, who later on dedicated several pieces to him. In 2016, he recorded a solo program with works by Liszt and Bartókfor the French label Artalinna.

Benedek does not only play the piano but also the violin and various percussion instruments. As a teenager he had also a band to enlarge his knowledge in different segments of the music. He is also very interested in photography and a keen photographer himself.

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