Dome Room Faculty Concert
featuring faculty from the University of Pécs and the University of Virginia
The UVA Department of Music will present a free chamber music concert in the Rotunda Dome Room that will feature UVA faculty along with faculty from the University of Pécs in Hungary. The concert, which is part of an ongoing artistic and cultural collaboration between the two universities, will take place on Saturday, April 22 at 1:00 PM.
The residency and concert are sponsored by the UVA Arts Council/Enriching the Arts on Grounds.
The program will feature works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Dohnányi. UVA faculty musicians Daniel Sender, violin; Kelly Peral, oboe; Adam Carter, cello; and Ayn Balija, viola will be joined by Hungarian colleagues Máté Szücs, viola, Zoltán Bánfalvi, violin; and Lászlo Pólus, cello.
The seeds for the partnership between the University of Virginia and the University of Pécs were planted during Sender’s Fulbright Fellowship in Hungary from 2010-11. Since that time, he has developed relationships with institutions throughout Hungary as well as the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. In 2018, Sender met with faculty, students and administrators at the University of Pécs, finding tremendous enthusiasm for the partnership and beginning planning for future collaborations. In the Spring 2019 semester. Faculty from the two universities collaborated on gala concerts in each city, including masterclasses and meeting with students and community members. Other highlights have included Sender spending a semester teaching at the University of Pécs and collaborating on concerts and teaching; and a weeklong residency by UVA faculty, students and recent graduates that included a gala concert that was livestreamed around the world. The partnership has also resulted in the development of a new biannual course at UVA, “Experiencing Hungarian Music and Cultural History,” that will include an immersive study abroad component.
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| Máté Szücs, viola | Lászlo Pólus, cello | Zoltán Bánfalvi, violin |
Violist Máté Szücs has had a career as an award-winning soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player, in addition to being a renowned pedagogue. He was principal viola in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2011 to 2018 where he also appeared as a soloist playing the Bartók Viola Concerto in September 2017. As a chamber musician, Máté has been a member of various chamber ensembles including the Mendelssohn ensemble; Con Spirito piano quartet, Trio Dor, Enigma Ensemble and “Fragments” ensemble. He has worked with prominent musicians such as Janine Jansen, Frank-Peter Zimmermann, Christian Tetzlaff, Vadim Repin, Ilja Gringolts, Vladimir Mendelssohn, László Fenyő, Kristof Baráti and István Várdai, Camille Thomas, Kirill Troussov and Julien Quentin. In addition to performing solo with the Berlin Philharmonic, he has soloed with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, the “Bamberger Symphoniker”, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden”, the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra and at the “Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen,” where also served as principal viola.
Lászlo Pólus (cello) is the principal cellist of the Hungarian State Opera and a member of the performance faculty of the University of Pécs’ Institute of Music and Fine Arts. A graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and the Basel Academy of Music, Mr. Pólus was the 1st Prize Winner of the Popper Competition, the Hungarian Radio Competition, and the National Cello Competition. He was formerly a member of the Hungarian Radio Symphony, the National Symphony of Hungary and the Budapest Wiener-Szász Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Pólus is also the cellist of the Somogyi String Quartet, a group which maintains an active performance schedule through Hungary and abroad. His recordings have been released on the Hungaraton and BMC record labels. Mr. Pólus has been an active participant the artistic exchange with UVA since 2018.
Zoltán Bánfalvi (violin) received his initial training from his father, Béla Bánfalvi, before matriculating to the Liszt Academy as a student of Dénes Kovács. Dr. Bánfalvi is a member of the Budapest Sextet, Hungarian Chamber Orchestra and is the current concertmaster of the Pannon Philharmonic based in Pécs, Hungary. He has appeared as a soloist throughout central Europe, has released several recordings under the Hungaraton label, and is on the faculty of the University of Pécs’ Institute of Music.
The Rotunda is located at 1826 University Avenue. Parking is on the street or in one of the many parking lots & garages on "the Corner" or in the Central Grounds Parking Garage. The Charlottesville Free Trolley stops in front of the Rotunda on University Avenue.
For those who can not make it to the Rotunda, we will be live-streaming the concert on our UVA Music YouTube page at https://bit.ly/dome-room-live-feed-4-22-23
Mozart: Oboe Quartet in F Major, K.370
Kelly Peral, oboe
Zoltán Bánfalvi, violin
Máté Szücs, viola
Adam Carter, cello
Dohnanyi Serenade in C Major, Op.10
Zoltán Bánfalvi, violin
Máté Szücs, viola
Lászlo Pólus, cello
-Intermission-
Mendelssohn String Quintet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op.87
Violin 1 - Daniel Sender
Violin 2 - Zoltán Bánfalvi
Viola 1 - Máté Szücs
Viola 2 - Ayn Balija
Cello - Lászlo Pólus
Musicians From University of Pécs will present a Masterclass on Thursday, April 20 at 5:00 PM at Old Cabell Hall
All programs are subject to change.
For more information, please contact the Department of Music at 434-924-3052 or music@virginia.edu.