At the age of nine, he started studying the piano at the Farkas Ferenc Elementary School of Arts, dr. As a student of Erzsébet Domoszlai. Over the years, Dunakeszi’s music-loving public got to know his piano playing more and more, thanks to his master’s understanding musical education. However, now, at the age of 18, he presented himself as a composer at the School of Arts.
Who is he? Benedek Kováts-Szőcs, semi-finalist of the Virtuosos, winner of national piano competitions, together with the Dunakeszi Symphony Orchestra, he performs Joseph Haydn’s piano concerto in D major. And in the meantime, his talent as a composer developed, with his first works already winning prizes in competitions. On December 15, we could listen to his varied repertoire at an all-night concert. “During the performance, you can see and hear a wide spectrum of styles of musical ages and expressions of emotions,” said his mother, Anita Kováts-Szőcs, the host of the evening, in the introduction, who thanked the management of the School of Arts for making this special musical event possible. and thanks to the teachers of the institution and the brothers who agreed to participate in the presentation of Benedek’s works.
The program began with Benedek playing the piano. Following the inspiration of Johann Sebastian Bach, he played his three-part invention in G minor, and then played his first Piano Sonata in a bravura performance, which evoked the world of the Viennese Classics.
A piano-oboe duo followed with Benedek and Blanka Kováts-Szőcs playing the oboe, which bore the romantic title “White Rose on the Blue Road”. A change of genre followed. He composed his work “Kezenben a lelketek” for the cello orchestra called AlMaTeBeVa, for which the orchestra leader, teacher Terézia Juhász, provided professional assistance. Bence Asztalos, Brúnó Kováts-Szőcs and Martin Tóth were also members of the band, and the author contributed again on the piano.
After that, we could listen to a band with a special line-up. The composition “Clockwork Quartett” was composed of piano, vibraphone, marimba and trumpet. The harmonies reminiscent of light music evoked the sound of clockwork. The piece was played by Kováts-Szőcs on Viola, student Alvin János Tóth on marimba, Norbert Mácsai on trumpet and, of course, the author on piano.
We could then listen to the largest and longest work, the three-movement String Quartet with the subtitle “Progression”. The highly influential composition presented an emotional musical journey in three movements performed by the school’s teachers Szabolcs Dobai, Márta Szitha Gecséné, Kornél Veres and Terézia Juhász.
Benedek’s performance concluded the evening with a deeply romantic and virtuosic piano fantasy. “Saarlandische Melodien” is named after the poetically beautiful German province where the composition was written. The work was a fitting end to the author’s evening, which can also be a gateway to the future. The special musical experience was honored by the audience with a long standing ovation.
The extremely versatile Benedek Kováts-Szőcs will not give up playing the piano, but next spring he will apply to the applied composition program at the Liszt Ferenc University of Music.
Soldier M. István
Recordings by the author
