Juries
Juries
Piano
Dr. Dávid Báll
・Associate Professor
・Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music
Dr. Báll Dávid is one of the habilitated piano professors of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. In 2023 he was appointed as a visiting professor of the Shenyang Conservatory of Music in China. A three-time Fischer Annie Scholarship winner pianist, awarded also the Magyary Zoltán Postdoctoral Scholarship, Hungarian Republic Award, Universitas and Ari Kupsus fellowship. He has given concerts in the greatest halls of Europe, North- and South-America and Asia, such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Salle Pleyel, Teatro Colón and ElbPhilharmonie. He gave masterclasses in Poland, Georgia, Latvia, Estonia, Italy, Vietnam and China.
In 2015 he has played the Piano Concerto by Schönberg at the season opening concert of the Hungarian National Philharmonic, led by Zoltán Kocsis, and he has been a partner of world-famous musicians such as Iván Fischer, János Kovács, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Heinz Holliger and Klaus Thunemann. Dr. Báll made recordings for Channel Classics, Toccata Classics and Hunnia Records.
Dr. Katalin Falvai
・Associate professor
・Liszt Academy of Music
Katalin Falvai was born in Budapest, Hungary, into a family of musician.
Her father and mother are also pianists.
She is seven, when starts piano-lessons officially, and nine, when she is admitted to
Franz Liszt Music Academy, „Class for Especially Talented Children”. Her teachers were Edit Hambalkó and Zsuzsa Esztó.
The same year she wins the National Piano Competition in Hungary,
and the Bach-Handel-Scarlatti Competition.
From the age of 18 she continues her studies in the university class of the
Liszt Academy, with professors György Nádor, Kálmán Dráfi, Ferenc Rados, Béla Simon
and chamber music professors Márta Gulyás and Sandor Devich.
In 1997 she is selected for the scholarship of the Banff Centre for the Arts,
Canada, where she spent four month as Artist in Residency, and gave concerts.
After her master-diplome, she is admitted to do doctorate-studies for
the title „The Doctor of Liberal Arts ”,where she is working under the
guidance of Zoltán Kocsis.
In the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, she gets the Annie Fischer Prize.
She worked in masterclasses with professors like: Dmitrij Bashkirov,
Michail Voskresenskij, Jacque Rouvier, Andrea Bonatta, Noel Flores, Livia Rev,
László Simon, Anton Cuerti, Tamas Ungár, etc…
Katalin Falvai gave concerts in Hungary and abroad:
Germany- Stuttgart, Berliner Konzerthaus, France /Paris/, Sweden, Finland /Helsinki/, Moscow, Siberie, The Netherlands, Marocco, London,
Italy, Rumanie /Bucarest/, Austria, Prague, Albanie,USA, Canada, The Sultanate of Oman, etc…..
She appeared on stage with musicians such as Zoltán Kocsis, Tamas Vasary , Jenő Jandó and Maria Teresa Uribe.
In 2004 they founded a piano trio with violinist Sandor Javorkai and cellist
Adam Javorkai, they toured over Europe and Asia.
/Moscow, Moscow Spring Chamber Music Festival, Allegretto Albania Chamber Music
Festival-Tirana, Durres, Hanti-Mansijsk- Siberia, Helsinki – Rocky Church, Austria –
Wien – Chopin Festival, Kirchstetten – Schloss Kirchstetten Festival, Germany,
Italy – Cremona, Cervo (Sandor Végh Festival), Milano, Florence, Maiori, etc….
Katalin Falvai plays from the whole piano and chamber music repertoire,
but she especially likes to play the pieces of russian composers.
In 2008 november she played the two Concertos of Dmitrij Shostakovich,
with the Miskolc Symphonic Orchestra, the conductor was Zoltán Kocsis.
Dr. Kinga Krizsán
・Piano professor of the Leo Weiner Catholic Music School and Conservatory
Kinga Krizsán was born in Budapest, in 1990. She started to play the piano at the age of 4. She won first prize and special prize in 1999 at the Hungarian Four Handed Piano Competition in Balassagyarmat, and played in the Great Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music in the gala concert.
The next year she won third prize in the National Piano Competition in Nyíregyháza.
In 2003 she started her studies in Bartók Béla Secondary Scool of Music with Gábor Eckhardt and Judit Kékesi. Later, she continued her studies with professor András Kemenes, Imre Hargitai and Rita Wagner at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. In 2014 she won special pize at the 6th International Bartók Béla Competition in Szeged. In 2015 she studied in the Mozarteum University Salzburg with professor Imre Rohmann with Erasmus scolarship.
During her studies she developed her musical skills in some mastercourses lead by Alexander Strukov, Balázs Szokolay, Attila Némethy, Malcolm Bilson and Márta Gulyás.
In the last few years she performed with Salamon Kamp conductor, and Mária Temesi soprano.
She has been teaching piano in Weiner Leó Secondary Scool of Music Budapest since 2018, and compulsory piano in the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
In 2024 she graduated summa cum laude in the doctoral school of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
Strings
Dr. Ádám Banda
・Associate professor
・Head of the Violin Department
・Liszt Academy of Music
He was born in 1986 in Balassagyarmat. At the age of 13, he was selected to enter the Preparatory Class for Extraordinary Young Talents of Budapest’s Franz Liszt Academy of Music as a student of professor Eszter Perényi. His diploma concert was in October 2009 in the Grand Hall of Franz Liszt Academy of Music, and he received his diploma in June 2010.
He won numerous national and international competitions, including the 1st prizes of two Hungarian national violin competitions in 1998, the Ferenc Halász Prize in 2001, the 1st Prize and Grand Prize of the Ede Zathureczky National
Violin Competition and the absolute First Prize of the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition in 2003. He received the Pro Europe Award in 2004. He won the second prize and the jury’s special prize at the Yampolsky International Violin Competition in Moscow in 2006. He won the first prize of both the Dénes Legány Competition and the Szigeti-Hubay International Violin Competition in Budapest, where he was also awarded with the Hubay Special Prize in 2007.
He was honored with two major national awards, the Junior Prima Primissima and the Artisjus Award in 2007, and received the Hungarian government’s prize for outstanding young talents – Youths of March Award – in 2009. He won the Grand Prix of ECHO Rising Stars in 2011, which has earned him the possibility of appearing in the most prestigious concert halls of Europe in the 2012/13 season. In 2012, he received the Hungarian Bronze Cross of Merit.
Since 2012, he has been teaching at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and also has been invited to teach on masterclasses in several places. In 2018, he received a doctorate at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. So far, he has had concerts throughout Europe as well as in the US, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, China, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Japan, with many renowned artists, including Zoltán Kocsis, András Schiff, Miklós Perényi, Pinchas Steinberg and Péter Frankl.
Dr. Judit Szabó
・Senior lecturer
・Liszt Academy of Music
CHAMBER MUSIC DEPARTMENT, SCHOOL FOR EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG TALENTS Chamber Music, String Quartet Academic degree, university position: DLA, senior lecturer.
Major jury members:
Tokyo, Kioi Hall, 2012
London, Wigmore Hall, 2012
Washington, Library of Congress, 2013
Chicago, Mandel Hall, University of Chicago, 2013
Montreal, Pollack Hall, McGill University, 2013
Vienna, Konzerthaus, 2014
Buenos Aires, Teatro Colon, 2014
Nantes, “La folle Journee”, 2015
Budapest, Liszt Academy Grand Hall “Legendary concerts”, 2015 Shanghai, Symphony Hall, 2016
Manchester, RNCM Concert Hall, 2017
Veszprém, “Auer Festival”, 2017
Fertőd, Esterházy Castle, 2017
Padova, Sala dei Giganti, 2017
Budapest, Liszt Academy Grand Hall, 2018
Pannonhalma, “Arcus Temporum”, 2018
Budapest Liszt Academy Solti Hall, 2018
Salzburg, Schloss Mirabell, 2019
Budapest, Festetics Palace, 2019
Miranda Liu
・internationally famous violinist
Violinist MIRANDA LIU has been praised by audiences and critics alike for her “perfect” (Oberbayerisches Volksblatt), “brilliant” (Salzburger Nachrichten), and “amazing” (playliszt.reblog.hu) technique, as well as for the extraordinary quality of her musicianship. Her exceptional talent garners admiration from audiences internationally. The San Francisco Classical Voice proclaimed her magnificent performance of the Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 as “one of the most coherent performances of the flinty solo part in this concerto that I’ve been fortunate enough to hear….with strength of line and a clear narrative voice.” The San Mateo Daily Journal recently raved, “Benjamin Britten’s early and neglected Violin Concerto was the highlight of the concert. It was played so well that it was pretty much the highlight of Redwood Symphony’s entire existence. Miranda Liu was the soloist…I’ve never heard a better performance of this concerto.” Furthermore, her “wonderful” and “breathtaking” (New Jersey Arts Maven) performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons captivated a full house and beyond. Consistently lauded by professional musicians for her expressivity, deep musical insights, vast repertoire, and maturity of musicianship, she has established herself among the most important young musicians performing today.
Ms. Liu has performed in hundreds of concerts as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the USA, Austria, Germany and Hungary, as well as for audiences in Belgium, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, France, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan. She performs regularly in prestigious concert halls such as: New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall, Providence’s Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Miami Beach’s New World Center, Zagreb’s Croatian Music Institute, Vilnius’ National Philharmonic Hall, Bucharest’s Radio Society Concert Hall, Budapest’s Liszt Academy of Music, Santander’s Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, Vienna’s Konzerthaus-Mozartsaal, Salzburg’s Wiener Saal, Solitär, and Carabinierisaal, among many other venues. Her solo performances have been aired on radio, television and internet, in the USA, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia, Lithuania, Belgium, Spain and Czech Republic. Miranda has collaborated with conductors such as András Keller, Hamar Zsolt, Franck Chastrusse, Máté Hámori, Frantisek Macek, Francisco Noya, Yukari Ishimoto, Yoon Jae Lee, Joshua Gersen, Eric Kujawsky, David Svec, David Itkin, Gergely Dubóczky, Elisabeth Fuchs, Wojciech Rajski, Modestas Barkauskas, Robert Butts, and Pál Farkas, and has performed as a soloist with the Concerto Budapest Hungary, National Radio Orchestra of Romania, Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonisches Orchester Budweis, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Danube Symphony Orchestra Budapest, New World Symphony of Florida, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Philharmonie Salzburg, György Solti Chamber Orchestra, Orquestra de Cámara Galega, Ensemble de Cuerdas del Encuentro Santander, Váci Szimfonikus Zenekar, Anima Musicae Kamarazenekar, West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra, Neues Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Festival Chamber Orchestra of Balassagyarmat, Redwood Symphony, Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, Starling Chamber Orchestra Cincinnati, and the Old York Road Symphony, among others. A devoted chamber musician, Liu is a founding member of several ensembles, including: Duo Kromatikus (violin & piano), KLASSIK DUO Salzburg (violin & piano), Goldmark Piano Trio, V4 String Quartet, and the Central European String Quartet, which have performed in venues in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania, and the USA. In September 2016, at the age of 19, Miranda Liu was appointed Concertmaster of the esteemed Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1907), and has since led this exciting ensemble in numerous concerts in Hungary, Germany, Poland, China, Korea, and Taiwan. Still further, she is the founder and leader of the exciting new chamber orchestra, Central European Strings.
The recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, she received 1st prize at the 2016 Wieniawski National Competition (Hungary), 1st prize at the 2016 Lima Symphony National Concerto Competition (Ohio), 1st prize, special prize for the “best performance of the required etude by the Croatian composer”, and the prize of the “Absolute Winner of the Competition” at the 2015 International Young Virtuoso Competition (Zagreb), 1st prize at the 2015 Alexander and Buono International String Competition (New York), 1st prize and the special prize for the “best interpretation of a required work by a contemporary Hungarian composer” at the 2014 Ede Zathureczky Violin Competition (Budapest), Gold Medal at the 2014 Forte International Music Competition (New York), 1st prizes at the 2016 & 2013 International “Music without Borders” Competition (Hungary), 1st prize at the 2012 New World Symphony Young Artist Concerto Competition (Florida), 1st prize at the 2011 Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition, 1st prize at the 2011 Las Vegas Philharmonic Young Artists’ Competition, 1st prize at the 2009 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition (New York), 1st prize at the 2008 Old York Road Symphony Young Artist Competition (Pennsylvania), 1st prize at the 2005 Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra Youth in the Arts Competition (Pennsylvania), 2nd prize at the 2015 International Chamber Music Competition “Cameristi dell’Alpe-Adria” (Italy), 2nd prize at the 2014 New York International Artists Association Violin Competition, 2nd prize at the Enkor International Violin Competition 2014 (Bulgaria), and 2nd prize at the 2011 International Competition for Young String Soloists Bischofszell (Switzerland). She is the recipient of the prized 2015/16 Scholarship of the Republic of Hungary (Köztársasági Ösztöndíj), 2015 Ferenc Liszt Academy Foundation Scholarship, 2015/16 Bank of China Scholarship, 2014 & 2015 Friends of the Ferenc Liszt Academy Scholarship, and a 2015 YoungArts Foundation Winner (Florida).
Miranda Liu is the founder and artistic director of the New Millennium International Chamber Music Festival and Master Classes (Budapest), established in 2019. She has also been featured in numerous other international music festivals and academies, including: Hallgatás Napja Festival Budapest, Kamara.hu, Festival Groba, Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander, Sommercampus Rostock, International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove, PIM Summer Festival, London Master Classes, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Meadowmount School of Music, Sommerakademie PragWienBudapest (isa), Musica Mundi Chamber Music Festival, “Music without Borders” Festival, Sommerakademie Biel, Summer Violin School Igor Ozim, Sommerakademie Mozarteum Salzburg, Salzburger Kammermusik Festival, Meisterkurs Weinheim, Meisterkurs Musikhochschule Mannheim, Meisterkurs Worms, IMAS Bückeburg Schloss, Carl Flesch Akademie Baden Baden, Litomysl String Master Class, Oberlin College Baroque Performance Institute, Music Academy of the West, Muveszetek Völgye, Indiana University Summer String Academy, and the MTAC New Music Festival. She has attended master classes with established violinists, and has worked with among others, Ruggiero Ricci, Roman Nodel, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Zvi Zeitlin, Igor Oistrakh, Zakhar Bron, György Pauk, Liana Isakadze, Igor Ozim, Tanja Becker-Bender, Pierre Amoyal, Julia Fischer, Ivry Gitlis, and Gerhard Schulz. Her musical training also encompasses composing and conducting. She made her debut as a gifted young conductor in 2015, and her compositions have been performed in the past by the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, Network for New Music, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has worked with composers Günther Firlinger, László Tihanyi, and Roberto Pace.
Miranda Liu performs on a beautiful and rare Cremonese violin made c. 1676, by Nicoló Amati, loaned to her by a private sponsor. She plays on instruments by master contemporary makers, such as Benoît Rolland and Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
Miranda Liu began early musical studies on the piano with her pianist mother and made her first stage appearance at the age of three before receiving violin lessons a year later. At seven, she made her solo violin recital debut followed by a solo debut with orchestra. The California native began studying at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg at age ten in the class of Prof. Paul Roczek as a member of the Leopold Mozart Institute. She commenced a Bachelor of Arts degree in Violin Performance there at age 14. Since 2011, she worked with the renowned violin pedagogue Prof. Eszter Perényi in Budapest and as a scholarship holder in the Erasmus Exchange Programme. After graduating summa cum laude from the Liszt Academy of Music and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2015 as well as a Master of Arts degree in 2017, Liu became the youngest person in the history of the prestigious institution to be admitted into their Doctoral School. In 2019, she was the recipient of a second Erasmus Scholarship and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Prof. András Keller. In addition to English, Miranda speaks Hungarian, German, Spanish and Russian.
Flute
Dr. Veronika Oross
・Flute professor
・Liszt Academy of Music
I have been a conductor in the MÁV Symphony Orchestra since I was a music academic. As a soloist, I had the opportunity to play the most outstanding works of flute literature, including the concertos of Mozart, Bach, Ibert, Reinecke, Farkas, Madarász and Doráti. I perform regularly with the Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra and the Budapesti Vonósok Chamber Orchestra. I made several recordings with excellent artists such as Éva Maros, Miklós Perényi, Miklós Spányi and Gergely Kesselyák.
I am a habilitated associate professor and flute teacher at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
I am raising four children. In my opinion, the most exciting task, sometimes even a real juggling act, is to create a "harmony" between the family and the artistic career.
Vocal
Dr. Bence Asztalos
・Head of the Music Institute
・Eszterházy Károly Catholic University
Bence Asztalos, DLA studied violin and singing at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, continuing his education in Vienna in K.S. Robert Holl’s Lied-class. He has been playing in the Budapest Festival Orchestra since 1994, working with conductors such as Iván Fischer and Sir George Solti. His singing career allowed him to develop close relations with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the Hungarian State Opera, where he sang Don Fernando/Fidelio, Ariodates/Xerxes, Bartolo/Figaro etc. In 2010 he was appointed as Associate Professor at the University of Szeged “Juhász Gyula” Faculty of Education Department of Music Education, and from 2017, at the “Eötvös Loránd” University (ELTE) Budapest Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education Music Department. Since 2019, he has worked as an Associate Professor at the Eszterházy Károly University Eger. In 2021, he was appointed to the Head of the Music Institute at the Eszterházy Károly Catholic University Eger.
Zhang Yu Carolyn
・Opera Singing professor
・University of Szeged
Carolyn Zhang Yu is a Chinese coloratura soprano opera singer who resides and performs in Hungary. She graduated from Xi’an Conservatory of Music (Shaanxi, China) in 2003 and subsequently completed her master’s degree studies at the Faculty of Music of the University of Szeged with outstanding results, also acquiring proficiency in Hungarian language skills. Carolyn stands as the sole active Chinese opera singer in Hungary. She has graced the stages of Hungarian theaters and various other venues across the country, starring in popular operas and operettas. Noteworthy performances include leading roles in operettas such as “Skylark” (Pacsirta), “The Bat” (Die Fledermaus), and “The Gipsy Love” (Cigányszerelem), as well as operas like “The Magic Flute” (Die Zauberflöte), “La Traviata,” and “Turandot.”
In 2011, Carolyn released a CD collection of her songs titled “Oriental Skylark over the Danube,” which was well-received by the public. She frequently appears in concerts alongside renowned Hungarian singers and musicians, as well as on Hungarian television programs such as Ridikül and Fábry show.
Over her 15-year career, Carolyn has garnered awards in several international singing competitions, including the EURO-Sino Cultural Achievement Award in 2017.
Currently, Carolyn holds the distinction of being the only Chinese-origin university music teacher in Hungary. Additionally, she serves as the head of the music section at the Hungarian-Chinese Cultural Center in Budapest. One of her primary objectives is to serve as Hungary’s cultural ambassador in China, a goal she pursues by teaching Hungarian folk songs and dances to Chinese individuals. Through her diverse musical endeavors, she is dedicated to fostering cultural exchange and mutual understanding between China and Hungary.
