Antal Zalai (Hungarian: Zalai Antal; born Antal Szalai January 31, 1981) is a Hungarian concert

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist. Antal Zalai began his classical violin studies at the age of five. He graduated from the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

in 2009 where he was a student of Kati Sebestyén. Prior to his studies in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, his teachers were László Dénes, Péter Komlós and Jozef Kopelman in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In addition, Zalai has attended masterclasses with

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...

, Erick Friedman, Tibor Varga, Lewis Kaplan and György Pauk. At age 15 he gained international recognition by performing the Bartók Violin Concerto No.1 at Lord

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

's 80th anniversary tribute gala concert at the Grand Hall of the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

in Budapest on 1 October 1996. In the development of his career, Zalai has enjoyed collaborations with eminent conductors such as

Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi (born 17 January 1959) is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. B ...

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to Liilia Järvi and the Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also mu ...

Yoel Levi Yoel Levi (Hebrew: יואל לוי) (born 16 August 1950) is an Israeli musician and conductor. Early life Born in Romania, Levi grew up in Israel. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, receiving a Master of Arts degree with distinction. ...

Lawrence Foster Lawrence Foster (born October 23, 1941) is an American conductor of Romanian ancestry. He is currently the artistic director and chief conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the music director of the Marseille Opera and th ...

Gilbert Varga Gilbert Varga (born 1952, London) is a British- Hungarian conductor and the Principal Conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Varga studied violin from the age of four with his father, Tibor Varga, a famous Hungarian violinist and conducto ...

Shlomo Mintz Shlomo Mintz (Hebrew: שלמה מינץ) (born 30 October 1957) is an Israeli violin virtuoso, violinist and conductor. He regularly appears with orchestras and conductors on the international scene and is heard in recitals and chamber music conc ...

, Ludovic Morlot, Laurent Petitgirard,

Enrique Bátiz Campbell Enrique Bátiz Campbell (born May 4, 1942) is a Mexican conductor and concert pianist. Bátiz began piano studies at age 8 with Francisco Agea. He continued studies 10 years later with György Sándor. After two years at Southern Methodist Uni ...

, Yip Wing-sie, and Gábor Takács-Nagy. He made his UK debut in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in 2008 where he performed the Glazunov Violin Concerto with the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

and conductor Ludovic Morlot. He performed the same violin concerto at his

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

debut in 2008, as soloist of the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra performs its concerts principally in the Philharmonie Berlin. The orchestra is administratively based at the ''Rundfunk Berlin-Branden ...

in the

Berliner Philharmonie The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is o ...

. In April 2010 Zalai made his

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

debut in the

Vienna Symphony The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the The ...

's "Frühling in Wien 2010" gala concert conducted by Fabio Luisi in the Wiener Musikverein. He won the opportunity during an online competition on the internet platform Talenthouse. As a

recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

ist, Antal Zalai has performed in the Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Terrace Theater in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the Grand Hall of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, the

Victoria Hall (Geneva) The Victoria Hall is a concert hall in Geneva, Switzerland. History The Victoria Hall was built in 1891–1894 by the architect John Camoletti and financed by the British consul, Daniel Fitzgerald Packenham Barton, who dedicated it to Queen Vi ...

, the Concert Hall of the

and the

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendro ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

among others.

Discography

* 1999 The

Leo Weiner Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * '' Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts a ...

Album BMC CD 018 * 2001

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

/ Kreisler/ Ysaÿe/Petrovics BMC CD 017 * 2003

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

Hungaroton HCD32156 * 2010

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biogr ...

Violin Sonatas Nos. 1–3 Brilliant Classics 9165 * 2011 Béla Bartók Complete Works for Violin Vol.1 Brilliant Classics 9236 * 2012 Béla Bartók Complete Works for Violin Vol.2 Brilliant Classics 9270 * 2013 Béla Bartók Complete Works for Violin Vol.3 Brilliant Classics 9276 *2017

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

: 24 Caprices, Op.1. AZ1 *2017 Virtuosity Vol.1. AZ2 *2017 Virtuosity Vol.2. AZ3 *2019 Virtuosity Vol.3. AZ4

References

External links

Official website of Antal Zalai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zalai, Antal Hungarian classical violinists Male classical violinists 1981 births Living people 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Hungarian male musicians