Franz Liszt Academy of Music

The New Academy, facing Ferenc Liszt Square

The Liszt Academy of Music (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as Zeneakadémia, "Music Academy") is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several valuable books and manuscripts donated by Franz Liszt 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.

Facilities

The Academy was originally called the "Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music" and it was also called "College of Music" from 1919-1925. It was then named after its founder Franz Liszt in 1925. It was founded in Liszt's home, and relocated to a three-story Neo-Renaissance building designed by Adolf Láng and built on today's Andrássy Avenue between 1877 and 1879. That location is referred to as "the old Music Academy" 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 "the Ferenc Liszt Memorial and Research Center."

Replacing "the old Music Academy", the Academy moved into a building erected in 1907 at the corner of Király Street and Ferenc Liszt Square. It serves as a centre for higher education, music training,[1] and concert hall. The Art Nouveau style building is one of the most well known in Budapest. It was designed by Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl at the request of Baron Gyula Wlassics, who was the Minister of Culture at that time. The façade is dominated by a statue of Liszt (sculpted by Alajos Stróbl). The inside of the building is decorated with frescoes, Zsolnay ceramics, and several statues (among them that of Béla Bartók and Frédéric Chopin). Originally the building also had stained glass windows, made by Miksa Róth.

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 (Béla Bartók Secondary Grammar and Technical School of Music), 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.[2] Its president (rector) is András Batta.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty (past and present)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Franz Liszt Academy of Music". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  2. ↑ "Franz Liszt Academy of Music", Budapest Corner, retrieved 2010-12-20

External links

Coordinates: 47°30′11.69″N 19°3′52.26″E / 47.5032472°N 19.0645167°E / 47.5032472; 19.0645167

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