Romance and Fantasy Anna Várföldi & László Borbély

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Drei Romanzen, Op. 94 (Version for Violin and Piano):
• 1 Schumann: Drei Romanzen, Op. 94 (Version for Violin and Piano): I. Nicht schnell 03:27
• 2 Schumann: Drei Romanzen, Op. 94 (Version for Violin and Piano): II. Einfach, innig 04:06
• 3 Schumann: Drei Romanzen, Op. 94 (Version for Violin and Piano): III. Nicht schnell 04:45
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100:
• 4 Brahms: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100: I. Allegro amabile 09:21
• 5 Brahms: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100: II. Andante tranquillo 06:36
• 6 Brahms: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100: III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi Andante) 06:11
• Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (Version for Violin and Piano):
• 7 Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (Version for Violin and Piano): I. Zart und mit Ausdruck 03:47
• 8 Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (Version for Violin and Piano): II. Lebhaft, leicht 03:22
• 9 Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (Version for Violin and Piano): III. Rasch und mit Feuer 04:05
• Total Runtime 45:40

Info for Romance and Fantasy

The duo is undoubtedly the most intimate form of chamber music-making. The musicologist Antal Molnár aptly goes so far as to call the violin-piano playing a “spiritual communion”. The two composers featured on the album, Schumann and Brahms, are unquestionably giants of the chamber music literature. The Drei Romanzen and Fantasiestücke are striking proof of Schumann’s overflowing imagination and inexhaustible musical invention. Meanwhile, Brahms’s affection-filled Sonata in A major is one of the most popular works of the composer regarded as the “Schumann successor.” The performer is therefore not in an easy position, as their task is nothing less than making these works “valid” in the 21st century. This can mean nothing other than a continuous questioning of the self-evident, and simultaneously, illuminating with the vertigo of reality instead of repeating well-worn clichés. In this case, “reality” can mean nothing else but the perfect experiencing of the moment, of the present tense — a kind of constant readiness. The uniqueness of this recording lies in the fact that the album’s performers form a “duo” in real life as well, so this first collaborative album is a long-cherished dream come true.

Anna Várföldi, violin
László Borbély, piano

Anna Várföldi
graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where she studied in Natasa Sós’s class. She regularly attended master classes taught by Dénes Zsigmondy and also had the opportunity to work with György Pauk and Kim Kashkashian. She took part in master classes led by Ádám Fischer at the Attergau Summer Academy and by Zoltán Kocsis at the Pommersfelden Summer Academy. She was a member of Concerto Budapest for eight years, performing with the ensemble in more than a hundred concerts at numerous prestigious concert halls around the world. In addition, she sang for ten years with the Schola Hungarica ensemble, founded by László Dobszay, and has contributed to numerous recordings. She has been playing with her husband, László Borbély, for nearly twenty years.

László Borbély

He was born in 1984. In 2007 he got his diploma with honours (Master of Music in Performance and Teaching) then his doctoral degree (Doctor of Liberal Arts) at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Budapest, where he is an assistant professor of Piano Faculty.


He played concerts at international festivals such Collegium Musicum Pommersfelden (Germany), Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander (Spain), International Holland Music Sessions in Bergen (The Netherlands), TCU/Cliburn Institute in Fort Worth (USA), FestivaLiszt in Grottammare (Italy), Liszt Festival in Raiding (Austria), Liszt Festival in Bayreuth (Germany), International Bartók Festival Ankara (Turkey), International Conservatory Week Festival Saint Petersburg (Russia), Festival der Klänge in Vienna (Austria), CAFe Budapest Festival, Budapest Spring Festival, Beethoven Festival Martonvásár (Hungary), International Bartók Festival Szombathely (Hungary).


He played concerts with prestigious artists such Zoltán Kocsis and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Barnabás Kelemen (violin), Lajos Lencsés (oboe), Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), Lajos Rozmán (clarinet), Judit Rajk (voice), etc.


He took master classes in Geneve (Switzerland), Würzburg (Germany), Tbilisi (Georgia) and gave podium-lectures in Izmir (Turkey) and Saint Petersburg (Russia). 
He is member of Metrum Ensemble.


He won numerous prizes at national and international competitions including the 2nd Prize and a special prize for the best performance of the set piece at the EPTA International Piano Competition in Osijek (Croatia), the Yamaha Scholarship Award of the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the special prize of the Hungarian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, the „Educational Award” at the London International Piano Competition, the 2nd prize at the International Liszt-Bartók Piano Competition in Budapest, the Annie Fischer Performers’ Scholarship (three times: in 2008, 2009, 2010), the „Junior Prima Prize” of Hungary.

Booklet for Romance and Fantasy