Bartok Piano Concerto No II. (For Piano and Orchestra) László Borbély, Savaria Symphonic Orchestra & János Kovács

• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): Concerto II. For Piano And Orchestra:
• 1 Bartók: Concerto II. For Piano And Orchestra: I. Allegro 09:50
• 2 Bartók: Concerto II. For Piano And Orchestra: II. Adagio 12:40
• 3 Bartók: Concerto II. For Piano And Orchestra: III. Allegro molto 06:19
• Total Runtime 28:49

Info for Bartok Piano Concerto No II. (For Piano and Orchestra)

The biggest undertaking of my life is the recording of these three Bartók masterpieces. I am grateful to fate and to pianist László Borbély (we were both students of Mariann Ábrahám, a few decades apart) for bringing this production together with his unstinting determination and unparalleled virtuosity. We can't be grateful enough to the excellent Savaria Symphony Orchestra, who played the seemingly unplayable parts. Conquering Bartók's Piano Concertos is an impossible task - we took the first steps boldly. János Kovács, conductor

László Borbély, Steinway „D” model grand piano
Savaria Symphony Orchestra
János Kovács, conductor

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 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 (Budapest), Beethoven Festival Martonvásár (Hungary), etc. He won numerous prizes at national and international competitions. He won 2nd Prize and a special prize for the best performance of the set piece  at the EPTA International Piano Competition in Osijek (Croatia) in 2001. In 2002, he won the Yamaha Scholarship Award and also two 2nd and one 3rd prizes in different divisions of the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition where he won two special prizes too: prize for the „most artistic performance” and a special prize of the American Liszt Society. In 2019 he won Artisjus Prize, in 2020 he won the 41st Liszt Ferenc Record Grand Prix.



 János Kovács

After obtaining his college diploma, he swiftly found a position as a répétiteur with the Hungarian State Opera, and then signed on as a conductor in 1976. For three years in a row (1979-81), he worked as musical assistant at the Bayreuth Festival. He also served as the Opera's chief conductor from 1987 to 1990. He regularly conducts concerts with all of Hungary's leading orchestras, and was also formerly principal conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. A regular guest conductor at the Tokyo Philharmonic since 1992, he was made its principal guest conductor in 1998. He has guest conducted in numerous European cities, including touring in Berlin and London with the Orchestra of the Hungarian Opera House, and in Germany and Brazil, among other countries, with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. Made principal conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic in 2001, he also served as acting principal musical director in 2003, as well as from 2006 to 2007. Between 2007 and 2014 he has been the Hungarian State Opera's principal conductor. János Kovács is regularly invited to conduct the leading Hungarian symphony orchestras with a demanding repertoire that ranges from classical and romantic operas and symphonic pieces to contemporary music. A regular guest conductor of the three major orchestras of Budapest, and has also worked widely with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He was the chief conductor of Savaria Symphony Orchestra.

He was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1984, the Meritorious Artist Award in 1996, the Kossuth Prize in 2001, the Prima Primissima Prize in 2015, the Order of Merit of Hungary, Civilian branch, in 2018 and the Artisjus Prize in 2019.


 Savaria Symphony Orchestra

The Savaria Symphony Orchestra has become one of the most significant representatives of Hungarian music in the past few years. Its repertoire includes classical and romantic compositions and music from the 20th century. Besides performing as a symphony orchestra, the musicians of the ensemble frequently feature at opera galas of very high artistic standard. The orchestra regularly performs at various Hungarian and international festivals including International Bartók Festival and Seminar, Iseum Festival. For its outstanding quality of work, the orchestra received the Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Award in 1990. The Orchestra is also renowned for being a successful performer of contemporary music. The professional artistic standard represented by the orchestra is justified by a series of concerts broadcast in the radio, on TV and on LPs. The orchestra is well known all over Europe. It has performed in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, Turkey, Italy and other countries of Europe, as well as in South Korea. The Orchestra has performed with world-famous conductors and soloists including Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro, John Cage, Tamás Vásáry, Colman Pierce, Péter Eötvös, János Ferencsik, Gidon Kremer, Pavel Kogan, Natalia Guttmann, Miklós Perényi, Csaba Onczay, Zoltán Kocsis, Vilmos Szabadi, and many others.

Booklet for Bartok Piano Concerto No II. (For Piano and Orchestra)