Gábor Farkas

Gábor Farkas (1981) began his music studies at the age of five and holds a DLA and an MA degree in piano performance and teaching from Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest (his teachers were until the Master degree: Sándor Falvai, Attila Némethy , in the doctoral studies: Zoltán Kocsis, Tamás Vásáry), after the Liszt Academy he studied by William Grant Naboré at the International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy.

His special talent is appreciated internationally: in 2009, he won the 6th International FRANZ LISZT Piano Competition in Weimar as well as the ?Audience’s Prize? and an award for best performance of Haydn Sonata, in 2003 he received the first prize of the ?Hungarian National Radio’s Piano Competition?, and in 2001 he received third prize on the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Budapest. In May 2009 he received the ?Gundel Art Prize?, in November 2008 he was given the ?Prima Junior? prize; and in March 2008 he was awarded a special state prize ?The best young artist of the year?. In 2012 he received the biggest musical award from the Hungarian State, the ?Liszt Award?.

His uplifting performance has enchanted the audience throughout Europe and the world: along the past years he performed in the major concert halls of Hungary, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, Finland, England, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, China etc. He was invited to prestigious international festivals, such as the Budapest Spring Festival, International Piano Forum, Berlin, Pélerinages Festival, Weimar, Schumann Festival, Zwickau, Musicathlon Festival, Beijing, Summer Festival in Dorset, (England) and the Ferenc Liszt Festival in the Castle of Gödöllő, Hungary.

In January 2011, he was the soloist of the Official Opening Concert of the Liszt Year 2011, Zoltán Kocsis conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the Palace of Arts and he was also the soloist of the Closing Concert of the Chopin Year, 2010 with the Sinfonia Varsovia in Budapest. So far, he has worked with such world-wide known conductors as Ádám Fischer, Tamás Vásáry, Olli Mustonen, Philippe Bender and George Tchitchinadze.

Gábor Farkas has attended the master courses of professors Malcolm Bilson, Dmitry Bashkirov, Fou T’song, Arie Vardi, Ferenc Rados, Péter Frankl, Rolf Dieter Arens, John Perry, Brigitte Engerer and William Grant Nabore. In the past years, he received the scholarships ?Pro Europe?, ?Annie Fischer? and ?Ferenc Liszt? in Budapest; and in 2001 he won the scholarship of the European Cultural Foundation in Strasbourg.

His debut CD recording entitled ?An evening with Liszt? was published by Warner Music in November 2008, which won the prestigious Grand Prix as the best Liszt recording of the year 2009 given by the Franz Liszt International Society. His second album is a live recording of the Official Opening Concert of the Liszt Year, 2011 with Zoltán Kocsis and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, also published by Warner Music in July 2011, which has became the reference recording of the Liszt Year in Hungary.