“There is no showy virtuosity here, no merciless hammering with pauses, but an intelligent and gripping differentiation that reveals the full richness of the movement.”

Pizzicato Magazin, Remy Franck

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Since 2021 September, Benedek has been an assistant professor at the Music Academy Basel.

 

Hungarian pianist Benedek Horvath’s new Liszt album with Prospero Classical was released in early October 2020 and eagerly welcomed by critics. The program includes Concerto No.1 and Totentanz with the Symphony Orchestra Basel, conducted by Meistro Hans Drewanz and Liszt’s most important piano work, the B Minor Sonata. Benedek is preparing for his next project in the upcoming months, in co-production with SRF, to record Bach’s masterpiece, the Goldberg Variations.

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In 2017 Benedek debuted at New York’s Merkin Hall performing Liszt’s 2nd Concerto. Since his debut, other performance highlights include Mozart's Piano Concerto K459 together with Theodor Guschlbauer and the Musikkollegium Winterthur, at the Tonhalle Zurich as well as Liszt's "Totentanz" at the Stadtcasino Basel with the Basel Symphony Orchestra.

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Performing as a soloist, Benedek has worked together with the Montenegro Symphony Orchestra, the Real Filharmonía of Galicia, and the Szeged Symphony Orchestra, naming just a few. Benedek’s recitals took him to China, the US, and various European cities, including Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Vienna (broadcasted live on ORF Radio), Gstaad Festival, Milan, Rome, Krakow, Tirana, Podgorica, and many more.

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Benedek is the first prize winner of both the Kiefer Hablitzel Competition (Bern) and Rahn Musikpreis (Zürich). He won the Laureate prize at the Klara Haskil Competition in 2016 and the highly prestigous Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition as well.

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In 2018, Benedek was awarded the ‘Junior Prima’ prize in Budapest. It is one of the most important prizes for young artists in Hungary; only few receive it every year.

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Benedek performs not only as a soloist, but he is a passionate chamber musician as well. In Summer 2019, he debuted with his trio, Trio Eclipse, at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. Trio Eclipse’s first CD, ‘Spheres,’ was released in 2020 with Prospero Classical presenting works by Gershwin, Nino Rota, Thomas Demenga and more. They are also prize winners of the esteemed International Osaka Chamber Music Competition and the Migros Kulturprozent Wettbewerb. Additional chamber music highlights include playing with internationally renowned Casals String Quartet and Zakar Bron.

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Benedek holds a Soloist Diploma from Basel Music Academy and has worked together with numerous renowned artists such as András Schiff, Dimitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, Claudio Martínez Mehner, Ferenc Rados and Zoltán Kocsis.

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At the age of 13, Benedek recorded his first CD with the MATAV Symphony Orchestra, performing two piano concertos by the Armenian-American composer Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee, who later dedicated several pieces to him. In 2016, he recorded his first solo album with works by Liszt and Bartók for the French label Artalinna.

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In addition to the piano, Benedek also plays the violin and various percussion instruments. As a teenager, he also performed in a band to expand his knowledge in different segments of music. He also has an avid interest in photography and videography and a keen photographer himself.

 

2022 / 2023 season