composer
"Electrifyingly imaginative and beautiful music."
Tünde Szitha
Universal Music Publishing
Erkel Ferenc Award-winning, Junior Prima Award-winning, twice Artisjus Award-winning composer and Assistant Professor at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.
About me
I was born in 1990 in Győr, a city on the western side of Hungary, into a musical family. In 2005 I was offered a place at the Art High School, Pécs, from which I graduated in 2009. There I specialised in the theory of music and composition under the direction of István Győrffy. I then completed my studies in composition at the Franz Liszt Academy, Budapest, under Zoltán Jeney, gaining a BA in 2012 and an MA in 2014. In 2013 I spent a year at the Conservatorio di Giuseppe Tartini in Trieste, Italy, where I studied composition with Fabio Nieder. The following year I spent working under the mentorship of Péter Eötvös at his Contemporary Music Foundation. In 2019, I obtained a DLA doctoral degree [summa cum laude] at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music with my dissertation on ‘The Vocal Art of András Szőllősy’.
As a doctoral student, I taught for three years in the composition department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music where I became a teaching assistant, then Associate Professor at the International Kodály Institute in Kecskemét [2017-2023] and then Associate Professor in the Department of Music Theory of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music [2014-present], the post I currently hold. I have been a guest lecturer at the University of Alabama [Huntsville, USA], the Shanghai Conservatory [China], the Mendelssohn Music Academy [Leipzig] and the Conservatorio di Giuseppe Tartini in Trieste.
From 2017-2018, I was Editor-in-Chief of the Universal Music Publishing Editio Musica Budapest where I was mainly working on the works of György Kurtág and for the 2021 – 2022 season, I was composer-in-residence with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra.
My pieces have been performed throughout Europe as well as in China, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Canada and the United States of America. Additionally, my music has been included at many international festivals, such as: Manifeste [Paris], MicroFest [Prague], ECCO [Brussels], Milano Musica [Milan], Opus Amadeus [Istanbul], Kurtág & Ungarn [Bern], Open Recorder Days [Amsterdam], Listening to China [Shanghai], Ostrava Days and Janáček May [Ostrava], Axes Kraków [Kraków], Secret Kiss [Tokyo] as well as, in Hungary, Valley of the Arts Festival , Café Budapest, St. Gellert Festival, Bartók Seminar, Music of Our Age, Budapest Spring Festival, Mini Festival, Transparent Sound Festival and ArTRIUM Festival.
Among others I have enjoyed working with the Max Brand Ensemble, Stadler Quartet [Austria], Sturm und Klang Ensemble [Belgium], Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and The Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra [China], Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostravská Banda [Czech Republic], Asasello Quartet, Ensemble Hartmann21, Ensemble Mozaik and Trio d’Irois [Germany], Alter Ego Ensemble [Italy], Slovenian National Choir [Slovenia], Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and JACK Quartet [United States of America] as well as, in Hungary, Győr Philharmonic, Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, Budafoki Dohnányi Orchestra,Budapest Strings, Classicus Quartet, Concerto Budapest, Danubia Orchestra, Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Hungarian National Choir, UMZE Chamber Orchestra, Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Hungarian Radio Ensembles, MÁV Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Philharmonic Orchestra.
My pieces are published by Universal Music Publishing Editio Musica Budapest, Universal Edition (Vienna) and Impronta Edition (Mannheim, Germany).
FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS:
English [C2], Italian [B2], German [B2], Chinese [Beijing Mandarin, HSK1].
AWARDS, PRIZES
2024
One of the winners of Music Madness Project (Durham, NC)
2024
One of the winners of Das Rucksack Project (Austria)
2023
One of the winners of ’Fifteen-Minutes-Of-Fame’ (Washington D.C.)
2023
1st Prize – ’MicroFest Prague’ Composer Competition (Prague)
2023
Artisjus Prize (Budapest)
2023
One of the four winners of RenMus Project (Warsaw – Prague – Bratislava – Budapest)
2023
Honorable Award – Free Range Composer Competition (London)
2022
Franz Erkel Prize (Budapest)
2022
3rd Prize – Fanfare Competition of the Veszprém Cultural Capital of Europe Program
2021
3rd Prize – II. Impronta Composer Competition (Mannheim)
2021
5th Prize – Gilgamesh Composer Competition (Los Angeles)
2020
3rd Prize – GENERACE Composer Competition (Ostrava)
2020
‘Support Excellence’ Award – Composer Competition of the Central European String Quartet (Budapest)
2020
Salvatore Quasimodo Prize
2019
Fidelio 50 Prize (Budapest)
2018
2nd Prize – ‘Beethoven in Buda’ Composer Competition (Budapest)
2018
Junior Prima Prize (Budapest)
2018
Honorable Mention – Composer Competition of the Central European String Quartet (Budapest)
2017
1st Prize – UMZF Composer Competition (Budapest)
2016
Artisjus Prize (Budapest)
2015
Winner of the ECCO Competition of the European Composers’ and Songwriters’ Alliance (Bruxelles)
2015
Honorary Award – GENERACE Composer Competition (Ostrava)
2015
1st Prize – UMZF Composer Competition (Budapest)
2015
2nd Prize- UMZF Composer Competition (Budapest)
2013
Winner of the ‘Out at S.E.A.’ Opera Competition of the Péter Eötvös Foundation (Budapest-Paris-Milan-Riga)
2013
3rd Prize – UMZF Composer Competition (Budapest)
2011
1st Prize – Composer Competition of the Liszt Academy (Budapest)
2011
1st Prize – The Composer Competition of the Hungarian National Choir (Budapest)
2010
1st Prize – Chanson Competition of the University of Theatre and Film Arts (Budapest)
PRINCIPAL PREMIERES
2024
2023
2023
2023
2022
2022
2022
2021
2021
2020
2019
2019
2019
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2015
2013
2012
Upcoming concerts
2024
Apr 24
Liszt Ferenc Academy, Grand Hall
19:00
Pax et bonum at the Liszt Ferenc Academy
Balogh’s 'Moses’ Song' will be sung by the Pax et bonum Chamber Choir led by Boldizsár Kiss among Renaissance pieces.
2024
Apr 26
Budapest Music Center, Library
18:00
‘Kipling’s Speech’ recited by the composer
Balogh’s 'Kipling’s Speech' will be played by Máté Bán, Morgane de Lafforest and Imre Dani, accompanied by the recitation of the composer.
2024
Apr 30
Kodály Center, Pécs
19:00
‘Ostdeutsche Autofantasie’ – wind orchestral version
The world premiere of Balogh’s tuba concerto, the wind orchestral version of ‘Ostdeutsche Autofantasie’ (East-German Car-Fantasy) played by Roland Szentpáli & the Zsolnay Wind Orchestra led by András Major. Movements:
1.) Trabant 601
2.) IFA W50
3.) Wartburg 353
2024
May 11
Ave Verum Festival in Baden bei Wien, Austria.
18:00
‘Moses’ Song’ in Baden bei Wien
Balogh’s 'Moses’ Song' will be recited by the Pax et bonum Chamber Choir led by Boldizsár Kiss at the Ave Verum Festival in Baden bei Wien, Austria.
2024
May 23
International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan
19:00
Premiere at the Baku Contemporary Music Days, Azerbaijan
The premiere of Balogh's 'Seepferdchen und Flugfische' played by clarinetist Szilárd Benes at the Baku Contemporary Music Days, Azerbaijan.
2024
Jun 01
Várfok Gallery, Budapest
18:00
The New York School Project – Opening
The opening session of the so-called The New York School Project organized by the Várfok Gallery. Next to the presentation of paintings, poems, texts and music reflected to the American experimental phenomena (50-70s) created by contemporary Hungarian artists, Balogh’s pieces will be played as well.
2024
Jul 15
Kateřinská zahrada, Prague
19:00
Thoreau Second Hand in Prague
RenMus Project – Prague Station. New ensemble pieces by Ian Mikyska (CZ), Samo Hvozdík (SK), Katarzyna Krzewinska (PL) and Máté Balogh, associated with renewability and sustainability, played by the BERG Orchestra.
2024
Jul 20
Music Gardens Festival, Warsaw
19:00
Thoreau Second Hand in Warsaw
RenMus Project – Warsaw Station. New ensemble pieces by Ian Mikyska (CZ), Samo Hvozdík (SK), Katarzyna Krzewinska (PL) and Máté Balogh, associated with renewability and sustainability, played by the Hashtag Ensemble.