Laszlo Borbely

Junior Prima and Artisjus Awards winner pianist László Borbély (1984) graduated from the Liszt Academy in Budapest (2007: university degree in piano performance and teaching, 2014: Doctor of Liberal Arts). He was awarded at several prestigious international piano competitions, and received 2nd prize at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competitions in Budapest and in Los Angeles. He held a Yamaha scholarship, and received the Annie Fischer Scholarship for performance artists several times. He is regularly invited back to numerous international and Hungarian festivals; he performs actively as a soloist and a chamber musician. He had concerts at the Hermitage Theatre in Saint Petersburg, at the Festival Palace in Santander, at the Carnegie Hall in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Among other venues, he performed at the Grand Hall of Liszt Academy in Budapest, and at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in MÜPA. He has worked with conductors such as Zoltán Kocsis and János Kovács. He regularly plays with well-known and prestigious artists. His repertoire includes the music of centuries, from the Early Baroque to contemporary pieces. Numerous Hungarian contemporary composers – including György Kurtág – have written pieces dedicated to him. He feels especially close to the musical worlds of György Ligeti and Olivier Messiaen; in May 2023, he played the Hungarian premiere of Messiaen’s monumental cycle titled Catalogue d'oiseaux in the House of Music, Hungary. He released over ten solo albums at Hunnia Records in five years. Among others, he recorded Bach’s Goldberg Variations and The Art of Fugue, Liszt’s two sonatas and other pieces, a selection of Rachmaninoff's piano pieces, Ligeti's eight etudes with excerpts from Bartók's Microcosmos and last but not least, the Catalogue d'oiseaux by Messiaen. He has recorded all three piano concertos from Béla Bartók. In addition to his solo recordings, he has also recorded several chamber works (Bach's complete flute sonatas, Bartók's violin and piano sonatas, and most currently Messiaen's Harawi song cycle). He is currently working on three solo albums featuring pieces of Chopin, Poulenc and Bach's Well Tempered Clavier. In addition to his diverse solo activities, he is a member of the Carpathian Impressions Trio and the Metrum Ensemble. Besides performing concerts, he works as an associate professor at the Liszt Academy Budapest, and often holds masterclasses and lectures in Hungary and abroad and is also on the jury of some international piano competitions. Reviews highlight his “attention to detail”, “profoundness”, “maximalism”, “intellectual discipline”, and his “perfect technique that comes with an almost obsessive virtuosity”. www.borbelylaszlo.hu