Franz Liszt Academy of Music

The New Academy, facing Ferenc Liszt Square

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as Zeneakadémia, "Music Academy") is a concert hall and a music university 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 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 the centre for higher education, music training, 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 Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Zoltán Rozsnyai, Imre Kálmán, Jenő Huszka, Jenő Hubay, Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross, Ernő Dohnányi, Leo Weiner, Antal Doráti, Fritz Reiner, Georg Solti, Georges Cziffra, Lajos Bárdos, György Ligeti, David Popper, Bence Szabolcsi, Sándor Végh, Peter Erős, István Kertész, János Fürst, Imre Waldbauer, Ferenc Rados, Irén Marik, Zeynep Üçbaşaran, László Polgár, Thomas Rajna and Ede Zathureczky, 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.

See also

• List of concert halls

External links

• Official site