The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several valuable books and manuscripts donated by

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

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. The Franz Liszt Academy of Music was founded by Franz Liszt himself (though named after its founder only in 1925, about 50 years after it was relocated to its current location at the heart of Budapest).

Facilities

The Academy was originally called the "Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music" and it was also called "College of Music" from 1919 to 1925. It was then named after its founder

in 1925. It was founded in Liszt's home, and relocated to a three-story

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

building designed by Adolf Láng and built on today's

Andrássy Avenue Small arms of the Andrássy family The House of Andrássy is the name of a Hungarian noble family of very ancient lineage that was prominent in Hungarian history. The full family name is ''Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka''. Csí ...

between 1877 and 1879. That location is referred to as "Old Academy of Music" 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 "Ferenc Liszt Memorial and Research Center." Replacing the "Old Academy of Music", the Academy moved into a building erected in 1907 at the corner of Király Street and Liszt Ferenc square. It serves as a centre for higher education, music training, and concert hall. The

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style building is one of the most well known in Budapest. It was designed by

Flóris Korb Flóris Korb (born as Flóris Nándor Korb, Kecskemét, 7 April 1860 – Budapest, 16 September 1930) was a Hungarian architect.

and

Kálmán Giergl Kálmán Giergl (born as Koloman Giergl, 29 June 1863 in Pest, Hungary, Austrian Empire – 10 September 1954 in Verőce, Hungary), was a Hungarian people, Hungarian-German people, German architect and a significant figure in the Austro-Hungaria ...

at the request of Baron

Gyula Wlassics Baron Gyula Wlassics de Zalánkemén (17 March 1852 – 30 March 1937) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education between 1895 and 1903. Description In December 1895 Wlassics passed a law that allowed women, ...

, who was the Minister of Culture at that time. The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

is dominated by a statue of Liszt (sculpted by

Alajos Stróbl Alajos Stróbl ( slovakian ''Alojz Štróbl, full name Alojz Ján Viliam Štróbl, Strobl de Liptóujvár'', ''Aloysius Joannes Vilhelmus Strobel'' )) (21 June 1856 – 13 December 1926) was a Austro-Hungarian sculptor and artist of Slova ...

). The inside of the building is decorated with frescoes,

Zsolnay Zsolnay, or formally Zsolnay Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt (Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory Private Limited) is a Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, tiles, and stoneware. The company introduced the eosin glazing process and pyrogranite ceramics. Hist ...

ceramics, and several statues (among them that of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

and

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

). Originally the building also had

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows, made by

Miksa Róth Miksa Róth (26 December 1865 – 14 June 1944) was a Hungarian mosaicist and stained glass artist responsible for making mosaic and stained glass prominent art forms in Hungarian art. In part, Róth was inspired by the work of Pre-Raphaeli ...

. 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 (Bartók Béla Secondary School of Music, Instrument Making and Repair), and a student dormitory. Ever since its foundation, the Academy has been the most prestigious music university operating in Hungary. A major development in its history was the recent establishment of a new, independent Folk Music Faculty. The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is as much a living monument to Hungary's continued musical life, as it is to the country's musical past. Its president (rector) is

Andrea Vigh Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

Franz Liszt Museum (Budapest)

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music hosts the Franz Liszt Museum, also called the Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum, which shows three restored rooms of the home where Liszt lived at the end of his life, between January 1881 and April 1886. The museum is open to the public for HUF 3000, with alternate pricing for students, families, and children. From May 2023 to May 2024, the museum is running an exhibition "Liszt, the Teacher."

Other names

* Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem (2007–) * Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Főiskola egyetemi ranggal (2000–2007) * Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Főiskola (1925–2000) * Országos Magyar Zeneművészeti Főiskola (1918–1925) * Országos Magyar Királyi Zeneakadémia (1893–1918) * Országos Magyar Királyi Zene- és Színművészeti Akadémia (1887–1893) * Országos Magyar Királyi Zeneakadémia (1875–1887)

Notable alumni

Anneli Aarika-Szrok Eini Anneli Aarika-Szrok ( Fagerholm, 18 October 1924 – 2004) was a Finnish opera singer. Aarika-Szrok was born in October 1924 in Helsinki. She studied at the Sibelius Academy from 1944 to 1949, and then at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music i ...

* Márta Ábrahám * Jenö Ádám * Eak-tai Ahn *

Géza Anda Géza Anda (; 19 November 192113 June 1976) was a Swiss- Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also considered to be a tremendous ...

Éva Andor Éva Andor (15 December 1939 16 May 2014) was a Hungarian opera soprano singer. She was a soloist at the Hungarian State Opera. Biography Andor was born in Budapest, Hungary on 15 December 1939. She studied under Zoltán Kodály from a young ...

Gábor Bánát Gábor (sometimes written Gabor) may refer to: * Gábor (given name) * Gabor (surname) * Gabor sisters, the three famous actresses, Eva, Magda and Zsa Zsa * Several scientific terms named after Dennis Gabor ** Gabor atom ** Gabor filter, a lin ...

* Laszlo Halasz *

György Bánhalmi György () is a Hungarian version of the name ''George''. Some notable people with this given name: * György Alexits (1899–1978), Hungarian mathematician * György Almásy (1867–1933), Hungarian asiologist, traveler, zoologist and ethnogr ...

Munir Bashir Munir Bashir (; ; 1930 – September 28, 1997) was an Iraqi-Assyrian oudist. Bashir is considered one of the foremost virtuosos of the Arabic oud, and is widely renowned as one of the most important figures in 20th century Middle Eastern music. ...

* Omar Bashir * Sari Biró *

Gergely Bogányi Gergely Bogányi (born 4 January 1974) is a Hungarian pianist. Coming from a musical family, Bogányi is one of the youngest pianists to have won the Kossuth Prize, becoming one of the leading pianists of his generation. Education Bogányi w ...

Margit Bokor Margit Bokor, born Margit Wahl, (1 June 1903 or 1 April 1900 – 9 November 1949 in New York City) was a Hungarian operatic soprano. She created the role of Zdenka in ''Arabella'' by Richard Strauss at the Semperoper in 1933, but then had to leav ...

Csilla Boross Csilla Boross is a Hungarian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since her professional debut in 2003. She is particularly well known for her portrayal of Abigaille in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Nabucco''. In 2009 she was the recip ...

Nicolae Bretan Nicolae Bretan (; 25 March 1887 – 1 December 1968) was a Romanian opera composer, baritone, conductor, and music critic. Biography Bretan was born in Năsăud. He studied at the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy, Conservatory of Cluj (1906–190 ...

* Charles Brunner *

Georges Cziffra Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1 ...

* Krisztián Cser * Gábor Darvas * José De Eusebio *

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish language, Finnish and Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator *Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hunga ...

Antal Doráti Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Antal Doráti was born in Budapest to a Jewish family. His father Alexander Do ...

* Maria Dunszt * Iván Erőd * Peter Erős *

Ferenc Farkas Ferenc Farkas (; 15 December 1905 – 10 October 2000) was a Hungary, Hungarian composer. Biography Born into a musical family (his father, Aladár Farkas, was an Olympian and soldier who played the cimbalom and his mother played the piano) i ...

* Edith Farnadi *

András Fejér András Fejér (born 1955) is a Hungarian cellist. He is a member of the Takács Quartet, having founded it with three classmates at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1975. He was born into a musical family and became familiar wit ...

* George Feyer *

Annie Fischer Annie Fischer (July 5, 1914April 10, 1995) was a Hungarian classical pianist. Biography Fischer was born into a Jewish family in Budapest and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Ernő Dohnányi and Arnold Székely. She began her c ...

Andor Földes Andor Földes (later Andor Foldes; 21 December 1913 – 9 February 1992) was an internationally renowned Hungarian pianist born in Budapest, who later took American citizenship. Career Földes first studied the piano with his mother, Valeri ...

Peter Frankl Peter Frankl (born 2 October 1935) is a Hungarian-born British pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period (particularly Mozart), the Romantic period and the early Modern period. His recordings include the complete solo piano m ...

János Fürst János Fürst (8 August 1935 – 3 January 2007) was a Hungary, Hungarian-born Conducting, conductor and violinist. Biography Fürst was born in Budapest to a Jewish-Hungarian family. He originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academ ...

Zoltán Gárdonyi Zoltán Gárdonyi (; 25 April 1906 – 27 June 1986) was a Hungarian composer and musicologist. He taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music for 26 years. Life and work Gárdonyi was born in Budapest. His mother, the pianist Maria Weigl, stud ...

Sylvia Geszty Sylvia Geszty (born Sylvia Maria Ilona Wytkowsky; ; 28 February 1934 – 13 December 2018) was a Hungarian-German operatic coloratura soprano who appeared internationally, based first at the Staatsoper Berlin in East Berlin and from 1970 at the S ...

János Gonda János Gonda (11 January 1932 – 10 March 2021) was a Hungarian jazz pianist. Born in Budapest, he studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and earned his diploma first at the musicological and then in the piano department. His activities inclu ...

Dénes Gulyás Dénes Gulyás (born 31 March 1954) is a Hungarian tenor. A native of Budapest, he studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in that city. He had an international career in the 1970s, and sang at the Metropolitan Opera, among other houses; ...

* László Gyimesi *

Julia Hamari Julia Hamari (born 21 November 1942) is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart. Professional career Julia Hamari was born in Budapest where she re ...

* Kato Havas * Erzsébet Házy * Endre Hegedűs * Frigyes Hidas * Marta Hidy *

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay von Szalatna ( ; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a German family of musicians in Pest, Hungary ...

Jenő Huszka Jenő Huszka (a.k.a. ; 24 April 1875, Szeged – 2 February 1960, Budapest) was a Hungarian composer of operettas. Life At the age of 5, he had his first performance – nicely played violin. He studied composition at the Academy of Music ( ...

Sándor Jemnitz Sándor Jemnitz, also known as Alexander Jemnitz (9 August 1890 in Budapest – 8 August 1963 in Balatonföldvár), was a Hungarian people, Hungarian composer, Conducting, conductor, Music journalism, music critic and author. Biography Jemnitz ...

Zoltán Jeney Zoltán Jeney (4 March 1943 – 28 October 2019) was a Hungarian composer. Jeney was born in Szolnok, Hungary. He first studied piano and attended Pongrácz's composition classes at the Debrecen Secondary Music School, later continuing compositi ...

Ilona Kabos Ilona Kabos (7 December 189327 May 1973) was a Hungarian-British pianist and teacher. Biography Kabos was born Ilona Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Budapest in 1893 (some sources give her year of birth as 1894, 1898 or 1902). She studied at the ...

Pál Kadosa Pál Kadosa (; 6 September 1903, Léva, Austria-Hungary (now Levice, Slovakia) – 30 March 1983, Budapest) was a pianist and Hungarian composer of the post- Bartók generation. His early style was influenced by Hungarian folklore while his ...

Emmerich Kálmán Emmerich Kálmán ( ; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian composer of operettas and a prominent figure in the development of Operetta#Austria–Hungary, Viennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most p ...

László Kalmár László Kalmár ( ; 27 March 1905, Edde – 2 August 1976, Mátraháza) was a Hungarian mathematician and Professor at the University of Szeged. Kalmár is considered the founder of mathematical logic and theoretical computer science in Hun ...

* Balint Karosi * Bela Katona * Egon Kenton * István Kertész *

Edward Kilenyi Edward Kilenyi Jr. (1910 – 2000) was a classical pianist. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 7, 1910. Kilenyi studied in Hungary with the composer/pianist Ernő Dohnányi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, earning a diploma in 1 ...

* Elisabeth Klein *

Zoltán Kocsis Zoltán Kocsis (; 30 May 1952 – 6 November 2016) was a Hungarian pianist, conducting, conductor and composer. Biography Studies Born in Budapest, he began his musical studies at the age of five and continued them at the Béla Bartók Conser ...

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

* Rezső Kókai * Péter Komlós * Gyula Kovács * Tibor Kozma * Lili Kraus *

Adrienne Krausz Adrienne Krausz is a Hungarian pianist. The winner of the 1989 Cincinnati World Competition while a student at the Ferenc Liszt Academy, she took part at the 1992 and 1993 Montecarlo Masters, reaching the finals. Soon afterwards she was engaged ...

György Kurtág György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. According to ''Grove Music Online'', with a style that draws on " Bartók, Webern and, to a lesser extent, Stravinsky, his work is c ...

* István Kuthy * Magda László * Sylvia Leidemann *

Vlastimil Lejsek Vlastimil Lejsek (21 July 1927 – 12 March 2010 in Brno) was a Czech composer and pianist. Biography Lejsek was born on 21 July 1927 in Brno. He was the son of the Moravian choirmaster František Květoslav Lejsek. He studied at the Brno Conserva ...

* András Ligeti *

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

Pál Lukács Pál Lukács (; 27 April 1919 in – 22 May 1981) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian viola virtuoso, concert and recording artist, and music educator. Lukács studied voice, and also violin with Imre Waldbauer at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music ...

* Edith Lorand *

Éva Marton Éva Marton (born 18 June 1943) is a Hungarian dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's ''Turandot'' and ''Tosca'', and Wagnerian roles. Vocal training and early years Marton was born in Budapest, where she ...

* Gwendolyn Masin * Tibor Ney * Gábor Ormai *

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

*Attila Pacsay *Ditta Pásztory-Bartók *Zoltán Peskó *László Polgár (bass), László Polgár *David Popper *Ferenc Rados *Thomas Rajna *Charles Reiner *Fritz Reiner *József Réti *Lívia Rév *Anthony Ritchie *Andrea Rost *Ákos Rózmann *Vera Rozsa *Zoltán Rozsnyai *György Sándor *Szabolcs Sándor *Sylvia Sass *András Schiff *Károly Schranz *György Sebők *Jenő Sevely *Rane Shephard *Béla Síki *Georg Solti *László Somogyi *János Starker *Rezső Sugár *Enid Szánthó *Zoltán Székely *Eugen Szenkar *Alex Szilasi *András Szőllősy *Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick *Zeynep Üçbaşaran *Gregory Vajda *Tibor Varga (violinist), Tibor Varga *Margit Varró *Tamás Vásáry *Balint Vazsonyi *Gabriel von Wayditch *László Weiner *Leo Weiner *Josef Weiss *Wanda Wiłkomirska

Notable faculty (past and present)

*Emil Ábrányi *Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross *Lajos Bárdos *

* Iván Erőd *

* Edith Farnadi *

*Lájos Hernadi *

*Jenő Jandó *

*Hans von Koessler * Rezső Kókai *Dénes Kovács *Erzsébet Kozma *

*Márta Kurtág *

*David Popper *Ferenc Rados *József Réti *Albert Simon *Péter Solymos *László Somogyi *Arnold Székely *Árpád Szendy *Gusztáv Szerémi *István Thomán *Sándor Végh *Sándor Veress *János Viski *Leo Weiner *Ede Zathureczky

References

External links

Official site

Liszt Academy of Music at Google Cultural Institute
{{Authority control Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Buildings and structures in Budapest Music of Budapest Music schools in Hungary 1875 establishments in Hungary Art Nouveau architecture in Budapest Concert halls in Hungary Art Nouveau educational buildings Art Nouveau theatres Music venues in Budapest