Cziffra Festival

The György Cziffra Festival was founded in Budapest in 2016 by the Kossuth Prize-winning concert pianist and Young Steinway Artist Janos Balazs with the intention to commemorate a Hungarian pianist of extraordinary talent, György Cziffra. The main idea behind it was to organise a series of classical music concerts that would pass on the romantic spirit that the master had represented. The events of the festival create a bridge between various genres and art forms. In addition to classical performances, the programme also features jazz and improvisational concerts, applied art exhibitions, lectures on science and art history and the worldwide popular Hungarian Gypsy music.

The festival places special emphasis on the support of young talents, also providing them with concert opportunities and masterclasses. The festival is also committed to offering awards to encourage young talents starting their careers as well as to recognise – both morally and financially – human achievements producing the highest cultural values.

Besides prominent Hungarian artists, the renowned performers of the festival come from all over the world. In recent years, some of our guest artists were Evgeny Kissin, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Mischa Maisky, Vadim Repin, Arcadi Volodos, Jose Cura and Tamas Vasary, who are all heirs to the legacy which creates masterpieces through sound, in which the audience and the artist become united.

The Cziffra Festival has become one of the most popular and prominent event series in Hungary. Its programmes are hosted annually by the Liszt Academy Budapest, the MOM Cultural Centre, Müpa and other notable venues. In the past two years, the festival also crossed borders: in 2021, more than 160 concerts, exhibitions, lectures and other events took place in 17 countries and 47 cities within the framework of the international memorial year organised for the 100th anniversary of György Cziffra’s birthday. The international presence continues with collaborating partners in the future so that the audience can encounter the programmes of the Cziffra Festival in a number of European countries.