Christmas Recital with Balázs Fülei

About the artist

Balázs Fülei is a Franz Liszt, Artisjus and Junior Prima award winner pianist with more than thirty piano concertos in his repertoire, with all the concertos by Beethoven, Brahms and Bartók among them. The sophisticated compilations of his solo recitals, usually accompanied by the artist’s personal introduction, always put classical music in an exciting new perspective. He is an assistant professor at the Liszt Academy and has been the Head of the Department of Chamber Music since 2015. He has held masterclasses all over the world and he is the founder and artistic director of the Echo Summer Academy held every year in the Károlyi Castle in Fehérvárcsurgó.

Balázs Fülei has entered the international music scene at an early age. He had his debut solo recital in 2008 at the Carnegie Hall in New York considered the most prestigious concert hall in the world; he has given concerts in the Konzerthaus Vienna, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow, the Kioi Hall Tokio and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam as well. He has played together with leading symphony orchestras in Hungary and abroad. Balázs Fülei has already performed in almost every country in Europe, Israel, the United States of America, Australia, Japan, China and Vietnam. He has regularly been giving concerts with his permanent formation, the Auer Trio; he has been a frequent partner of the Kodály Quartet and have toured with them in India. He was the soloist of one of the world’s leading ensembles, the Camerata Bern, in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy.

Teaching has played a very important role in the artist’s career, complementing his concert activity. He has been teaching chamber music at the Liszt Academy since 2012. In 2013, he earned his doctorate degree and then habilitation in 2018. Since 2015 he has been the Head of the Department of Chamber Music. He not only gives lessons, but also tries to get opportunities and concerts for his worthy students. He moderates these programs himself, presenting the performers and introducing the audience to some behind-the-scenes secrets as well as the background of each piece. His teaching activities are not restricted to the Liszt Academy only: in the summer of 2016, he founded the Echo Summer Academy, an international summer instrumental and chamber music masterclass based on the Hungarian chamber music tradition, which has attracted a large number of people from all over the world every summer since its inception.

The prominent Steinway & Sons piano factory pays special attention to the careers of artists who choose Steinway instruments in concert halls and recordings, and who own and practice on Steinway pianos themselves. Balázs Fülei was awarded the respectable ‘Steinway Artist’ title on August 28, 2020. He has joined the company of Steinway Artists like Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Evgeny Kissin, Krystian Zimerman, Mitsuko Uchida or Grigory Sokolov.