World Bartok music competition announced in Hungary

The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music has announced the World Bartok Competition and Festival to mark the 135th birthday of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok here.

The competition will be held in September 2017 and organizers would like to see it repeated every two or three years.

Academy of Music rector Andrea Vigh, who came up with the idea of the competition, explained at a press conference that it will actually be a series of contests based on Bartok's oeuvre.

The first competition of the series will be for violin, the second for piano, and the third for chamber music. Each will offer talented young artists the chance to become recognized while networking the music world.

State Secretary for Culture Peter Hoppal told a press conference that the government was contributing 160 million forints (548,000 U.S. dollars) to finance the event.

Program director Andras Csonka said that violinists under the age of 30 can apply to participate before a March 26 deadline while finals will be held from Sept. 10 to 17.

The finals will include a Mozart violin concerto, with the three top contestants ranked on their performances of Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, or Tchaikovsky concertos along with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Overall, more than 40,000 euros (43,000 U.S. dollars)will be distributed in prizes. Endit