Banff is a city related to Hungarian, because the violinist Zoltan Sekele (1903-2001) lived there for thirty years and worked with the string quartet, the Hungarian string quartet. He also worked frequently with Béla Bartok (1881-1945), and provided the second composer. His violin concerto at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Zoltán Székely was also my role model, soloist, quartet musician, teacher, and festival and competition founder. Banff was invited by world-famous friends to teach alongside him, such as Lorand Fiennes, with whom my wife, Katalin Kokas, also studied in Toronto. But he also studied with pianist Georgi Sibek and cellist Janus Starker. It was an honor for me to be present in this place with deep Hungarian roots and to participate in the work of the jury.
Barnabas Clement says:
This year was the 14th Banff Quartet Competition, and this event is one of the oldest internationally recognized music festivals and competitions.
Barnabás Kelemen was unable to travel to the 2021 competition due to the pandemic, however, they and Kelemen Quartet recorded a recording of Bartók’s third exclusively for the festival. and fourth. From his string quartet, performed in the Haydn Chamber of Esterházy Castle in Kismarton.
Almost home to Amsterdam
Clement Barnabas playing Bartok’s violin concerto in the famous Amsterdam concert Zoltan Sekélé gave the premiere of Bartok’s second violin concerto in 1939. This year, the artist will perform five times on the stage of the Concertgebouw, which cannot be said about a Hungarian artist until now. On 14 and 15 September 2022, he will play Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 1 again as a soloist with the Gebau Concert Orchestra conducted by Evan Fischer.
Rehearsals start next week and I’m really looking forward to performing with the world’s number one orchestra
– The actress announces.
The Hungarian audience at Müpa can hear the same concert in Budapest on September 24, 2022. Together with Nicholas Altstedt and Aleksandar Lunkowicz, they will play their award-winning joint album program 2021 Gramophone at the Concertgebo Hall in December.
Festival Academy Budapest
The Kelemen-Kokas couple, when not traveling around the world, a Festival Academy Budapest As part of the year-round series of concerts and classes, she gives concerts and studies throughout the country and abroad and organizes international music competitions.
This is education, concert and additional training approved at the same time. This year they have already visited Szeged, Miskolc, Szombathely, Székesfehérvár, Nyíregyháza, Pécs, Csíkszereda, Marosvásárhely and Cluj.
(Cover image: Clement Barnabas. Photography: Andrea Velveje)
