Interview with Antal Szalai (Violin)

The Winner of 2002 International Web Concert Hall Competition

(Honorary Mention)

Antal, what violin do you use?

The violin I use is an 18th century Italian instrument. It is a great violin and I have been playing it for the past four years...  and I use a bow that was made by Kittel.

What is your concert schedule like?

In Hungary, there are very few concert agencies and they almost never undertake exclusive managements of any individuals. This is the reason why my concert activity is not balanced throughout the year... sometimes I have a lot of concerts in a short period of time, sometimes I don't have any concerts for 2-3 months or more... My concerts are scheduled based on needs of soloist, that is, orchestras and concert organizers look for me directly when they need a violin soloist. For example, the MATAV Hungarian Symphony Orchestra... in November, I have three concert tour in Germany. I will be playing Paganini concerto in D major and Mendelssohn concerto in E minor at the Great Hall of the Cologne Philharmonie.

Where do you live now (as of October 2002)?

I live in Budapest and I am a 3 year student of the Franz Liszt State University of Music. My plan is to get my diploma next year.

Tell us about your musical background.

I started to play the violin when I was five. My father is also a violinist. He plays traditional Hungarian gypsy music with his own orchestra. He recognized my sense of music and my interest in playing the violin very early but he preferred me to study classical music so I went to music school immediately. I started to play the violin in Budapest with a lady violin teacher who was famous for her fantastic sense of teaching young children. She was very kind and had patient with young players and I strongly believed she loved her profession very much. I spent two years with her. My next teacher was Mr. Laszló Denes. I studied with him at a music school and then at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest until 1995 and I went on to study with Mr. Peter Komlos at the Franz Liszt State University of Music.

Is anyone in your family a musician?

My father is a professional musician. He has been the leader of his orchestra since 1969 playing Hungarian gypsy music. For many years, his orchestra has been the most popular one in Hungary. They have 20 CDs and have performed in more than 40 countries all over the world and were the first of the Hungarian folk ensemble to perform in the Sydney Opera House. In 1995 and 1997 they had two concert tours across the United States with their two-hour-long concert program.

I understand that you studied in Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Did you receive scholarship to study with Pinchus Zukerman?

In 2001, Mr. Zukerman listened to my CD and invited me to the Young Artist Program of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. There I met him for the first time. After the master course he invited me to the Manhattan School of Music from September 2001. That one year was very interesting in my study. It was a great experience to be his student after watching his videos and listening to his recordings since my childhood. I have learned a lot of things with him and maybe the most important, he has taught me how I should play in a big concert hall. He made some changes in my bowing technique and that is why I think my sound has become larger and maybe a little bit more beautiful. Of course without his support, this would have not been possible. The Sir George Solti Foundation in London helped me with a grant for my living expenses in New York City and I am very thankful to them.

You have spend many years being trained in Hungary. What is your opinion of the strength of Hungarian music education?

Hungarian music education has a very strong connection with Hungary's first higher-level music education institution, the Franz Liszt State University of Music. Its first name was Hungarian Royal Academy of Music and it was opened in 1875. The founder, first president, and the leader of the piano master class was Franz Liszt. In 1886, David Popper, the most famous cellist of Europe in his time, was invited to become professor and then Jeno Hubay took over the violin department. The College was named after Franz Liszt on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Bela Bartók, Zoltan Kodaly, Leó Weiner, Ernst von Dohnanyi and many other internationally acknowledged musicians were among the professors of those days. Leó Weiner (1885-1960) was a legendary chamber music teacher at the Academy and he was an outstanding composer as well. The long list of his students includes some of the greatest names in the music world: George Solti, Janos Startker, György Sebok, Tibor Varga, Sandor Vegh, Miklós Rózsa, György Pauk, Peter Frankl, Antal Dorati, Géza Anda.

My teacher, Peter Komlos was also his student. Weiner's advice to my teacher was to establish a string quartet which became the Bartók String Quartet (this year they are celebrating their 45 anniversary.) So that, in my opinion, is the strength of Hungarian music education, the great tradition that should be continued by us, the new generation. It is great but it is also a great responsibility.

Tell us more about your teacher(s).

Between 2001-02 I spent one year as a student of Pinchas Zukerman at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. In 2002, I returned to Budapest to continue my studies with Mr. Peter Komlos at the Franz Liszt State University of Music in Budapest. Mr. Komlos is the first violinist of the most famous Hungarian string quartet, the Bartók String Quartet. I began to study with him in 1995. He is a wonderful musician and a great man with as much musical experience as a musician can pick up spending 45 years in the same string quartet. I am sure I have learned the most with him as he continues teaching the same way as his old teachers, Zathureczky, Weiner, and Kodály, handing down the great tradition of Hungarian music education. Of course, as many musicians I have learned a lot of things listening to recordings of great masters of the past. Two violinists impressed me the most and deepest, Jascha Heifetz and Leonid Kogan. Of course everybody knows Jascha Heifetz and I am a real fan of his playing but to me, the recordings of Kogan (especially his live concert recordings), give me inspiration, meaning unattainable perfection both musically and technically.

How did your teacher influence you as a musician? How did your friends, parents, etc. influence you as a musician?

Of course my father influenced me very much especially when I was very young. When I was 8-10 years old, I often went to listen to him. During his concert I was backstage. My best friend, József Balog, is one of the best pianists in Hungary. He is my piano-partner. We have known each other since I was 8 years old and he was 10. (That time we played Schubert's Sonatine in D major.) To play with him is very easy, usually we prepare pieces in a short time and the rehearsals are developed and we have a lot of fun.

Tell us about your practicing strategy

I play scales at least half an hour every day. I practice 3-4 hours daily, however, if I need to prepare a lot of pieces in a short time I might go up to 6 hours or more. If I have a goal to reach, for example a concert or a recording, then I usually practice best and I feel that my time was well spent. My ultimate goal is to play my program as well as I can, and in this case, I enjoy practicing from the first note to the last rehearsal.

Do you like any other forms of art? such as painting? a favorite writer? Tell us about it.

Yes, I like painting. If I am in a city where I have never been before, I always try to visit the local exhibition.

What are some of your recent readings?

One of my recent readings was in connection with music. It was the autobiographical book of the great Hungarian violinist, Leopold Auer, who was the teacher of Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, etc. It is a very interesting book with a fantastic description of the music life in Russia in the 19^th Century and the turn of the Century.

What do you do for hobby, if any?

I am a keen jazz musician, that is my hobby. I play jazz on the piano and the bass-guitar but never on the violin. I have been playing the piano for a long time. My favorite jazz pianist is Keith Jarrett. I think he is one of the greatest music geniuses of our time.

In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a good performer?

He /she should have his/her own imaginations of the piece and has to have a rich palette, both technically and musically. But I think a good performer never puts himself forward but he shows the composition itself to the audience.

MOL:  I think we need to wrap up at this point. So on be half of MusicalOnline, we would like to thank you for your time and we wish all the success.

Interviewed by MusicalOnline on October, 2002