Devich Gergely
cello
26 June 1998 (Budapest) -
Gergely Devich was born on June 26, 1998, in Budapest. His mother, Mária Kovalszki, is a pianist and professor at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music; his grandfather, János Devich, is a cellist and professor emeritus at the Academy of Music.
He began playing the cello at the age of eight. His first teacher was Zsuzsanna Antók, who taught music at the Szent István Király Music School in Zugló. At the age of 14, he was accepted into the preparatory department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, where he studied under László Mező. At the university, he studied with renowned professors such as István Varga, János Devich, Márta Gulyás, Péter Kováts, and Miklós Perényi. He graduated in 2022 and began his studies at the Doctoral School of the Liszt Academy of Music. In addition to his studies, he also participated in masterclasses with László Fenyő, Adrian Brendel, István Várdai, Oleg Kogan, Gustav Rivinius, Reinhard Latzko, Lluis Claret, György Pauk and Marko Ylönen. He is currently an assistant professor to István Varga at the Liszt Academy.
He has won prizes at several national and international competitions. In 2008 he won the Ede Gordon Competition in Budapest, followed by the 12th National Antal Friss Gordon Competition. In 2009, as a member of a cello quartet, he won first prize at the 1st Chamber Music Festival of the Zoltán Kodály Choir School in Budapest. Thanks to the competition, he was able to perform at the Hungarian Cultural Institute in London. In 2010 he won first prize at the National Alba Regia Chamber Music Competition, and in 2011 he won first prize at the V. Budapest Banda Ede Competition. In the same year, he came second at a concert in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, and in November he won first prize at the XIII. National Friss Antal Cello Competition in Szolnok.
In 2012, he performed with the Zugló Philharmonic Orchestra at the Palace of Arts. In 2015, 2018 and 2024 he had solo recitals at the Academy of Music, and in 2015 he released his first album, Adagio and Allegro, recorded with Mária Kovalszki on the Hungaroton label.
In 2014 at the request of Hungarian Television (MTVA) he represented Hungary at the 2014 Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Cologne, Germany. He finished in third place in the final on May 31. Gergely Devich is the first Hungarian competitor to reach the podium in any Eurovision competition. He is one of the winners of the Budapest Festival Orchestra's competition for music school students. He won first prize at the Salieri International Music Competition.
As a soloist, he has worked with renowned artists and ensembles such as Zoltán Kocsis, Kenichiro Kobayashi, Tamás Vásáry, András Keller, János Kovács, Gergely Madaras, Martin Rajna, Iván Fischer, Mihály Berecz, Fülöp Ránki, Balázs Dolfin, Ádám Balogh, János Stark, László Nyári, Míra Farkas, Dénes Várjon, Maxim Vengerov, Nobuko Imai, István Várdai, János Balázs, József Balog, Ernő Kállai, Vilmos Oláh, Andrea Vigh, Márta Gulyás, Márta Ábrahám, Haruka Nagao, Ágnes Langer, Szabolcs Zempléni, Lívia Duleba, Anastasia Razvaljajeva, Zsolt Fejérvári, the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Concerto Budapest, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, the Zugló Philharmonic Orchestra, the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Marosvásárhely Philharmonic Orchestra, the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, the Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the Pulzus String Quartet.
He is a member of the Korossy String Quartet, with which he won first prize at the National Leó Weiner Chamber Music Competition in 2019, and in 2021 they reached the finals of the Bartók World Competition, where they were awarded five different special prizes for their performance. In addition, they regularly participate in numerous domestic classical music festivals, such as the Budapest Festival Academy, Bartók Spring, kamra.hu and the Auer Festival in Veszprém.
In early 2020, he performed Robert Schumann's Cello Concerto with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tamás Vásáry at the Liszt Academy of Music. He has been the soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven's Triple Concerto on three occasions. First with Concerto Budapest, conducted by András Keller, alongside Júlia Pusker and Ádám Balogh, then with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Martonvásár, with Vilmos Szabadi and Zoltán Fejérvári, conducted by Tibor Bogányi. He also performed this work at the Müpa Budapest as a partner of Maxim Vengerov and Fülöp Ránki at a concert of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Christoph Campestrini. In 2021, he performed at the Academy of Music at the MTVA New Year's Overture concert, conducted by János Kovács. In memory of Zoltán Kocsis he performed the cello transcription of Bartók's Viola Concerto for the first time on Hungarian Classical Music Day, conducted by Gergely Madaras with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. At his 2022 diploma concert in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy, he played Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Martin Rajna. In February 2023 he gave a solo recital at the Kitara Concert Hall in Sapporo, and in March of the same year he performed Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicolás Pasquet. In the 2023 calendar year, they launched an independent series of four concerts at the Budapest Music Center in collaboration with pianist Fülöp Ránki and violinist János Mátyás Stark. In the same year, the Korossy Quartet's season ticket series also began at the BMC, in which they played all of Béla Bartók's string quartets in six concerts over two years.
Gergely Devich was voted Man of the Year in Zugló in 2011. He was awarded the Junior Prima Prize in 2014 and the Cziffra Talent Prize in 2017. He was awarded the Concorde Prize by the Friends of the Academy of Music. As a scholarship holder, he participated in Wagner performances at the Bayreuth Festival, and in 2022 he won the Fischer Annie Scholarship and, as a member of the Korossy Quartet, the Zoltán Kocsis Award. He is one of the main characters in the documentary film A mi Kodályunk (Our Kodály), released in 2020, alongside Fülöp Ránki. The film was broadcast on M5 and in numerous cinemas, and has received several awards.
Gergely Devich was born on June 26, 1998, in Budapest. His mother, Mária Kovalszki, is a pianist and professor at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music; his grandfather, János Devich, is a cellist and professor emeritus at the Academy of Music.
He began playing the cello at the age of eight. His first teacher was Zsuzsanna Antók, who taught music at the Szent István Király Music School in Zugló. At the age of 14, he was accepted into the preparatory department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, where he studied under László Mező. At the university, he studied with renowned professors such as István Varga, János Devich, Márta Gulyás, Péter Kováts, and Miklós Perényi. He graduated in 2022 and began his studies at the Doctoral School of the Liszt Academy of Music. In addition to his studies, he also participated in masterclasses with László Fenyő, Adrian Brendel, István Várdai, Oleg Kogan, Gustav Rivinius, Reinhard Latzko, Lluis Claret, György Pauk and Marko Ylönen. He is currently an assistant professor to István Varga at the Liszt Academy.
He has won prizes at several national and international competitions. In 2008 he won the Ede Gordon Competition in Budapest, followed by the 12th National Antal Friss Gordon Competition. In 2009, as a member of a cello quartet, he won first prize at the 1st Chamber Music Festival of the Zoltán Kodály Choir School in Budapest. Thanks to the competition, he was able to perform at the Hungarian Cultural Institute in London. In 2010 he won first prize at the National Alba Regia Chamber Music Competition, and in 2011 he won first prize at the V. Budapest Banda Ede Competition. In the same year, he came second at a concert in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, and in November he won first prize at the XIII. National Friss Antal Cello Competition in Szolnok.
In 2012, he performed with the Zugló Philharmonic Orchestra at the Palace of Arts. In 2015, 2018 and 2024 he had solo recitals at the Academy of Music, and in 2015 he released his first album, Adagio and Allegro, recorded with Mária Kovalszki on the Hungaroton label.
In 2014 at the request of Hungarian Television (MTVA) he represented Hungary at the 2014 Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Cologne, Germany. He finished in third place in the final on May 31. Gergely Devich is the first Hungarian competitor to reach the podium in any Eurovision competition. He is one of the winners of the Budapest Festival Orchestra's competition for music school students. He won first prize at the Salieri International Music Competition.
As a soloist, he has worked with renowned artists and ensembles such as Zoltán Kocsis, Kenichiro Kobayashi, Tamás Vásáry, András Keller, János Kovács, Gergely Madaras, Martin Rajna, Iván Fischer, Mihály Berecz, Fülöp Ránki, Balázs Dolfin, Ádám Balogh, János Stark, László Nyári, Míra Farkas, Dénes Várjon, Maxim Vengerov, Nobuko Imai, István Várdai, János Balázs, József Balog, Ernő Kállai, Vilmos Oláh, Andrea Vigh, Márta Gulyás, Márta Ábrahám, Haruka Nagao, Ágnes Langer, Szabolcs Zempléni, Lívia Duleba, Anastasia Razvaljajeva, Zsolt Fejérvári, the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Concerto Budapest, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, the Zugló Philharmonic Orchestra, the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Marosvásárhely Philharmonic Orchestra, the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, the Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the Pulzus String Quartet.
He is a member of the Korossy String Quartet, with which he won first prize at the National Leó Weiner Chamber Music Competition in 2019, and in 2021 they reached the finals of the Bartók World Competition, where they were awarded five different special prizes for their performance. In addition, they regularly participate in numerous domestic classical music festivals, such as the Budapest Festival Academy, Bartók Spring, kamra.hu and the Auer Festival in Veszprém.
In early 2020, he performed Robert Schumann's Cello Concerto with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tamás Vásáry at the Liszt Academy of Music. He has been the soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven's Triple Concerto on three occasions. First with Concerto Budapest, conducted by András Keller, alongside Júlia Pusker and Ádám Balogh, then with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Martonvásár, with Vilmos Szabadi and Zoltán Fejérvári, conducted by Tibor Bogányi. He also performed this work at the Müpa Budapest as a partner of Maxim Vengerov and Fülöp Ránki at a concert of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Christoph Campestrini. In 2021, he performed at the Academy of Music at the MTVA New Year's Overture concert, conducted by János Kovács. In memory of Zoltán Kocsis he performed the cello transcription of Bartók's Viola Concerto for the first time on Hungarian Classical Music Day, conducted by Gergely Madaras with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. At his 2022 diploma concert in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy, he played Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Martin Rajna. In February 2023 he gave a solo recital at the Kitara Concert Hall in Sapporo, and in March of the same year he performed Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicolás Pasquet. In the 2023 calendar year, they launched an independent series of four concerts at the Budapest Music Center in collaboration with pianist Fülöp Ránki and violinist János Mátyás Stark. In the same year, the Korossy Quartet's season ticket series also began at the BMC, in which they played all of Béla Bartók's string quartets in six concerts over two years.
Gergely Devich was voted Man of the Year in Zugló in 2011. He was awarded the Junior Prima Prize in 2014 and the Cziffra Talent Prize in 2017. He was awarded the Concorde Prize by the Friends of the Academy of Music. As a scholarship holder, he participated in Wagner performances at the Bayreuth Festival, and in 2022 he won the Fischer Annie Scholarship and, as a member of the Korossy Quartet, the Zoltán Kocsis Award. He is one of the main characters in the documentary film A mi Kodályunk (Our Kodály), released in 2020, alongside Fülöp Ránki. The film was broadcast on M5 and in numerous cinemas, and has received several awards.
| Year | Title | Publisher | Code | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Gergely Devich with Mária Kovalszki: Adagio & Allegro | Hungaroton | HCD 32756 |
Own |