Franz Liszt Academy of Music

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Hungarian: "Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem", often abbreviated as "Zeneakadémia", "Music Academy") is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded by pianist and composer Franz Liszt on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several valuable books and manuscripts donated by Liszt upon his death, and the AVISO studio, a collaboration between the governments of Hungary and Japan to provide sound recording equipment and training for students.

Facilities

The Academy was named after its founder only in 1925. Initially christened the "Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music," it was also called "College of Music" from 1919-1925. It was founded in Liszt's home, and relocated to a three-storey Neo-Renaissance building designed by Adolf Láng and built on today's Andrássy street between 1877 and 1879. That location is referred to as "the old Music Academy" and commemorated by a 1934 plaque made by Zoltán Farkas. It was repurchased by the academy in the 1980s, and is now officially known as "the Ferenc Liszt Memorial and Research Center."

Replacing "the old Music Academy" was a building erected in 1907 at Király Street and Ferenc Liszt Square. It serves as a centre for higher education, music training [cite web|title=Franz Liszt Academy of Music|publisher="The New York Times"|url=http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/hungary/budapest/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154673108199|accessdate=2008-05-15] , and concert hall. The Art Nouveau style building is one of the most well-known in Budapest. It was designed by Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl at the request of Baron Gyula Wlassics, who was the Minister of Culture at that time. The façade is dominated by a statue of Liszt (sculpted by Alajos Stróbl). The inside of the building is decorated with frescoes, Zsolnay ceramics, and several statues (among them that of Béla Bartók and Frédéric Chopin). Originally the building also had stained glass windows, made by Miksa Róth.

Other facilities used by the Academy are the Budapest Teacher Training College, located in the former National Music School on Semmelweis Street, a secondary school (Béla Bartók Secondary Grammar and Technical School of Music), and a student dormitory.

Alumni and teachers

Well-known musicians such as Emil Ábrányi, Jenö Ádám, Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross, Lajos Bárdos, Béla Bartók, Georges Cziffra, Ernő Dohnányi, Antal Doráti, Peter Erős, János Fürst, Jenő Hubay, Jenő Huszka, Imre Kálmán, István Kertész, Zoltán Kocsis, Zoltán Kodály, György Kurtág, György Ligeti, David Popper, Thomas Rajna, Fritz Reiner, Zoltán Rozsnyai, András Schiff, Georg Solti, Bence Szabolcsi, Zeynep Üçbaşaran, Sándor Végh, Leo Weiner, László Polgár, Ede Zathureczky, Sergio Gallo, and the founding members of the Takács Quartet, participated in the musical life of the Academy by studying or teaching there during their careers. András Ligeti, Domonkos Héja, Jenő Jandó, Gergely Bogányi have made recordings in the AVISO studio.

ee also

* List of concert halls

References

External links

* [http://www.zeneakademia.hu/hp/english/index.html Official site]