Why did you choose percussion?
– I came into contact with music relatively late, at the age of eighteen, when I entered the University of Music in Mannheim, Germany, from what was then Yugoslavia. That was over forty years ago, and I still get scared when I think about it. Regimes have fallen since then, and I still remember the Hungarian-Serbian border. The border guards did not let anyone pass, they had a passport box around their necks, the bribe had to be put together with the passport, and then everything was fine. It’s been amazing for a long time. But to answer the question, I’ve always wanted to be a hitter. Then came the solo lifestyle. But I am primarily a family man, while in my career I am a composer, performer and teacher. This triple unit defines my art.
– He sang in such concert halls as: “Konzerthaus” in Vienna, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, the Herkulessaal in Munich or the Eremitage Theater in St. Petersburg. He played with such famous orchestras as the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, or the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, to name a few. It’s safe to say he’s always on the move. How do you feel about this way of life?
– The last period was really very meaningful. Of course, I haven’t traveled much in the past 10 years. But for thirty years it was really so. The last time I was in Moscow. Right where nobody wants to go now. But culture is far above politics. It wasn’t easy to arrange trips, I have six kids and I’ve been away from my family a lot. I have held courses in almost every part of the world, in the United States at nearly a hundred institutions. I couldn’t even count. Then there is South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and China.
– How important is talent management and educating the future generation to you?
This has been my main goal for the past ten years. This important mission has emerged in my life. Because it really matters. An example of this is Tamás Kecskés, whom I taught, and who now also deals with young people and teaches here in Győr. The joy of playing music must be passed on to the future generation. Confidence, technical knowledge, practice and radiance are important. And it’s all really good if you find it fun to play music in.
Nothing supports his success as a better composer, he is considered one of the most performed composers in the world. His works are part of the concert repertoire from the USA through Europe to Japan. He had now arrived in Rivers City for a two-day training course. What kind of students are the students here? What experiences have you had?
– is a relatively new instrument that has developed in Hungary in recent years. As for his repertoire, it has been formed over the past thirty to forty years and is constantly evolving. Therefore, in this sense, it cannot be compared, for example, with pianos, which are hundreds of years old. Returning to the percussion instrument, they are increasingly able to exploit the talents of young children, and I feel that there are local forces not only in Budapest, but also in the countryside, in small towns, who want to develop and bring percussion performance to a higher level.
What are your plans for the near future?
– At the moment, composition is the most important thing for me, since I received an invitation from the Belgrade Symphony Orchestra for a Double Concerto for Cello and Percussion by the beginning of September. I’ll be taking another semester in Italy in June, but will also be back here in August, when I’ll also be a competition judge. I also make and make my own racquets. Not just for myself, but for extortionists all over the world. It keeps me busy and fills my daily life. In addition, because I have customers from Japan to the United States.
