A Vibrant Showcase of Hungarian Culture in England

The Liszt Institute London offered a true extravaganza of cultural programs for those interested in Hungarian culture in the UK. Thanks to their organization, Transylvanian ceramic artist Márta Jakobovits had the opportunity to exhibit her work in the British capital, and the 120th anniversary of the birth of Hungarian-born British composer Mátyás Seiber was celebrated. At the end of May, one of Hungary’s most internationally renowned music groups, Jazzbois, gave a spectacular concert, and in the presence of Deputy State Secretary for Cultural Diplomacy, Gábor Csaba, the book An English Dimension by Sándor P. Váci, focusing on Count István Széchenyi’s time in England, was also presented.

In collaboration with the Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery in London, the Liszt Institute London hosted the exhibition Just Silence (Csak a csönd) by Transylvanian ceramic artist Márta Jakobovits from May 2 to 30, 2025. The complex oeuvre of Márta Jakobovits encompasses casting, modeling, firing, and glazing. The Armenian-Hungarian Jakobovits family, settled in Oradea, was dispossessed of its land following the communist takeover and was relocated to the old Jewish quarter. The experience of forced relocation and the need to adapt to a new environment profoundly influenced Jakobovits’s artistic vision from an early age. During the Ceaușescu era, for Márta Jakobovits, artistic creation became a form of escape from the oppressive forces surrounding her. Together with her late husband, the renowned painter and sculptor Miklós Jakobovits, she belonged to an influential inner circle of Transylvanian artists who remained vigilant and created in quiet defiance of the authoritarian regime. Jakobovits is a member of several prestigious international professional organizations, including the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva. Her works have been showcased around the world in solo and group exhibitions, symposia, and biennials.

In 2025, we celebrate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Hungarian-born British composer Mátyás Seiber. To mark the occasion, the Liszt Institute London organized a multi-day series of events from May 2 to 4, 2025, with the support of the Mátyás Seiber Trust, the Royal College of Music, and Schott Music London. Seiber was one of Zoltán Kodály’s favorite students and remained a lifelong friend of the composer. In 1928, he moved to Germany, where he taught jazz at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, before being expelled by the Nazis in 1933. In the United Kingdom, he composed tonal and atonal chamber music, choral and orchestral works, folk song arrangements, light music, and film scores—many of them written for distinguished soloists. The program series opened with a two-day closed masterclass organized by the Institute for students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, led by László Stachó and Norbert Meyn. The masterclass was accompanied by an exhibition, a roundtable discussion, a concert, and a reception. As the closing highlight of the commemorative events, an exhibition on Seiber’s life was also inaugurated. The display brings the composer’s legacy to life through photographs, manuscripts, concert programs, and memorabilia. Part of the sending-off features the Royal College of Music’s travelling exhibition Music, Migration, and Mobility, which explores the contributions of Seiber and fellow émigré musicians from Nazi Europe to British musical life.

On May 20, as part of their European tour, one of Hungary’s most internationally sought-after musical acts, Jazzbois, gave an acoustic concert at the Liszt Institute. The Institute also provided logistical support for the group’s subsequent performances in Bristol—at 5DB Studio—and at Cross the Tracks, a festival attracting an audience of around 20,000. The concert proved to be one of the Institute’s most successful and widely resonating events, generating measurable impact both in terms of audience diversity and social media engagement. The recently awarded Fonogram Prize-winner Jazzbois has built a significant fanbase in the United Kingdom, having performed several sold-out shows at some of London’s most iconic music venues. Blending fusion jazz, hip-hop, ambient, and improvisational techno, Jazzbois originally began in 2018 as a duo with drummer Tamás Czirják and keyboardist Bence Molnár. They were later joined by bassist Viktor Sági (the three musicians also play together in the group Amoeba). The band has released four full-length albums: Jazzbois Goes Blunt (2019), jazzbois (2020), Jazzbois Got Flipped (2020), and Jazzbois Goes Blunt II (2021).

Organized by the Liszt Institute London, Sándor P. Váci’s book An English Dimension was presented at the Traveller’s Club, which boasts a history of over 200 years. Count István Széchenyi visited the United Kingdom on five occasions and kept detailed travel diaries. The volume is based on Széchenyi’s German-language diaries documenting his stays in England in 1932 and 1934. The audience was welcomed by Ambassador Ferenc Kumin and Deputy State Secretary Gábor Csaba. Robert Evans, Emeritus Regius Professor at the University of Oxford, and the author Sándor P. Váci spoke about the nobleman’s experiences in London. The event concluded with a standing reception. In the same week, the Jazzbois band also gave a highly successful concert at the Institute, which became one of the Institute’s standout events of the year.