Palojtay János
piano, keyboards
Place of Birth
Budapest
Date of Birth
1987
Orchestra
Web
János Palojtay was born in Budapest in 1987 and started playing the piano at the age of five. In high school he studied composition for several years. In 2000, at the age of 13, he was accepted into the Special Talents Department of the Liszt Academy of Music. A year later, he enrolled in the composition course at the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music, where he was awarded first prize in the school's improvisation competition in 2003. In 2004, he won the Sári Bíró Memorial Prize of the Liszt Academy, and in the same year he won second prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Budapest.
In 2005, he continued his studies at the Music Academy with András Kemenes, while studying for two years with Imre Rohmann at the Mozarteum in Salzburg on a scholarship. He participated in masterclasses with Ferenc Rados, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Dmitri Baskirov, Murray Perahia and András Schiff, and in postgraduate studies with Kirill Gerstein at the Stuttgart College. András Schiff invited him to perform at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and at the Wigmore Hall, and also invited him to perform at the Building Bridges European Concert Series 2017/2018. Dmitry Baskirov also called him back to his courses as a scholarship holder, and Ferenc Rados invited him to study at Prussia Cove. In 2011, he was awarded the Gundel Art Prize, which gave him the opportunity to perform with the Philharmonic Society Orchestra conducted by Christopher Hogwood.
In 2012, he was awarded 3rd prize in the Paloma O'Shea Piano Competition in Santander, which has led to concerts in Spain, France, Austria and Italy, performing in major concert halls such as the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and the Salle Cortot in Paris. In the same year, he made his debut as a soloist with the Gilmore Foundation's Risign Stars series in Kalamazoo, USA, and subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco with his regular chamber partner, cellist Lev Sivkov. He also made his debut at the Budapest Opera House in 2012, conducted by Christopher Hogwood.
In addition to Europe and the United States, he has performed in India, Taiwan and South Korea, and has appeared in concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Ligeti Saal in Graz and the Auditorium in Barcelona. His chamber music partners have included Miklós Perényi, Barnabás Kelemen, Tamás Pálfalvi, Peter Stumpf, Yura Lee, Radovan Vlatković, Zoltán Fejérvári, Ditta Rohmann, and the Quarteto Casals, and he has worked with conductors such as Gergely Vajda, Gergely Madaras, Zsolt Hamar, András Keller, Oliver von Dohnányi, Jesus Lopez Coboz and Juanjo Mena. He has been a frequent guest at festivals such as the Encuentro de Música in Santander, the Festspiele in Mecklenburg, the Sommerakademie in Salzburg, Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music and the Marlboro Music Festival, where he has participated several times at the invitation of Mitsuko Uchida. He has given concerts with major orchestras in Hungary (e.g. Concerto Budapest, Pannon Philharmonic, Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, Savaria Symphony Orchestra).
As a member of the Classicus Ensemble, he has given concerts as part of the Central European University (CEU) Resident Concert Series. He has been a member of the Ludium Ensemble under the direction of Gábor Csalog and has also performed with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
On 18 May 2023 he gave a sold-out doctoral concert at the Liszt Academy.
In 2005, he continued his studies at the Music Academy with András Kemenes, while studying for two years with Imre Rohmann at the Mozarteum in Salzburg on a scholarship. He participated in masterclasses with Ferenc Rados, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Dmitri Baskirov, Murray Perahia and András Schiff, and in postgraduate studies with Kirill Gerstein at the Stuttgart College. András Schiff invited him to perform at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and at the Wigmore Hall, and also invited him to perform at the Building Bridges European Concert Series 2017/2018. Dmitry Baskirov also called him back to his courses as a scholarship holder, and Ferenc Rados invited him to study at Prussia Cove. In 2011, he was awarded the Gundel Art Prize, which gave him the opportunity to perform with the Philharmonic Society Orchestra conducted by Christopher Hogwood.
In 2012, he was awarded 3rd prize in the Paloma O'Shea Piano Competition in Santander, which has led to concerts in Spain, France, Austria and Italy, performing in major concert halls such as the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and the Salle Cortot in Paris. In the same year, he made his debut as a soloist with the Gilmore Foundation's Risign Stars series in Kalamazoo, USA, and subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco with his regular chamber partner, cellist Lev Sivkov. He also made his debut at the Budapest Opera House in 2012, conducted by Christopher Hogwood.
In addition to Europe and the United States, he has performed in India, Taiwan and South Korea, and has appeared in concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Ligeti Saal in Graz and the Auditorium in Barcelona. His chamber music partners have included Miklós Perényi, Barnabás Kelemen, Tamás Pálfalvi, Peter Stumpf, Yura Lee, Radovan Vlatković, Zoltán Fejérvári, Ditta Rohmann, and the Quarteto Casals, and he has worked with conductors such as Gergely Vajda, Gergely Madaras, Zsolt Hamar, András Keller, Oliver von Dohnányi, Jesus Lopez Coboz and Juanjo Mena. He has been a frequent guest at festivals such as the Encuentro de Música in Santander, the Festspiele in Mecklenburg, the Sommerakademie in Salzburg, Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music and the Marlboro Music Festival, where he has participated several times at the invitation of Mitsuko Uchida. He has given concerts with major orchestras in Hungary (e.g. Concerto Budapest, Pannon Philharmonic, Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, Savaria Symphony Orchestra).
As a member of the Classicus Ensemble, he has given concerts as part of the Central European University (CEU) Resident Concert Series. He has been a member of the Ludium Ensemble under the direction of Gábor Csalog and has also performed with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
On 18 May 2023 he gave a sold-out doctoral concert at the Liszt Academy.
| Year | Title | Publisher | Code | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | László Vidovszky: Le piano et ses doubles, Promenade, Blackout | BMC Records | BMCCD294 |