LISTEN TO YOUR EARS!
“Storytelling” concerts by pianist Balázs-Fülei at METTRIN
We perceive, receive, and understand music through our ears. However, music can connect and stimulate more of our senses. Balázs Fülei, Liszt Prize-winning pianist and head of department at the Liszt Academy of Music, is not only an outstanding instrumentalist, but also has a way with words that brings people closer to music.
The „Listen to Your Ears!” series invites listeners on a shared musical journey, where we can experience well-known and lesser-known piano pieces through our five senses. We will hear the difference: music can be played more sweetly, more darkly, more harshly, more smoothly, more perfumely, more softly, or more sharply – since music is the life proper surrounding us. Listening to Balázs Fülei’s performances we also realize that the perception of music works mainly through our open hearts and alert senses.
- The VISION – Saturday, February 7, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
Music has the power to conjure up through certain musical elements and details, different moods and images before our eyes. Why a Brahms’ ballad we hear as dark, and a Beethoven’s sonata movement as light? Are there blurry and sharp images in the realm of sound? There are pieces of music that seem to tell us a story, as if a scene were evolving before our eyes. What do we see with our ears?
Performed:
Franz Liszt: Legend No. 1, „St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds”
Ravel: A Ship on the Ocean
Debussy: The Interrupted Serenade
Brahms: Ballade in D minor, Op. 10/1
Bartók: Music of the Night
Beethoven: Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 7, excerpts
Schubert: Sonata in A major, D 959
2. THE TASTE – Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
Music is very close to taste. You can hear what it’s like when Chopin’s music isn’t creamy and soft enough, what it’s like when Beethoven’s music isn’t sharp enough, and what it’s like when Bartók’s music is bittersweet. What are the ingredients, what are the spices, and what are the right proportions? We’ll find out!
Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. posth.
Mozart: Sonata in A major, excerpts, KV 331
Beethoven: Sonata in C-sharp minor („Moonlight”), Op. 27/2
Liszt: Venice and Naples – Gondoliera
Bartók: Allegro Barbaro
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
3. THE TOUCH – Sunday, April 5, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
We often use the expression: the experience touches us. Music touches us too, but how? Does it caress us gently, or does it pierce our skin? It depends on the piece of music, but also on the performer, how close he dares to get. Can Chopin’s music be harsh? What is it like when Latin American melodies are not sensual enough? How does Brahms’ music touch us? Does it caress us comfortingly or touch us coolly? What are the performer’s tools?
Chopin: Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17/4
Brahms: Intermezzo in B minor, Op. 119/1
Schumann-Liszt: Liebeslied
Debussy: The Happy Island
Ginastera: Argentine Dances
Wagner-Liszt: Isolde’s Love Death
Liszt: The Lorelei
Ravel: Alborada del gracioso
4. THE SMELL – Sunday, May 17, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
Some pieces of music are more fragrant, some are more sultry, and some evoke crystal-clear air. What scent do you smell when you hear a spicy chord combination? Can we escape from scents? Is it possible to play Chopin’s nocturne more fragrantly? Should we perfume music that is already as fragrant as a mountain forest?
Chopin: Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15/2
Mendelssohn: Song without Words, A major, Op. 62/6
Debussy: Granada Evening
Liszt: Tarantella
Janáček: The Madonna of Frydek
Bartók: 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs
Ravel: Valley of the Bells
Schubert: Impromptu in A-flat major, D 935/2
5. THE HEARING – Sunday, June 7, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
“One sees well only with the heart.” Is what is truly important inaudible to the ear? You decide! Which of our senses do we use to truly experience music? This concert is not only about hearing, but also about synesthesia. We will connect the different senses to listening to music and experience together two of the most complex works in music literature.
Beethoven: Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110
Schubert: Sonata in B flat major, D 960
BALÁZS FÜLEI’S PORTRAIT
„It gave me a great pleasure to listen to the performance of the young Hungarian pianist, Balázs Fülei. According to his achievements I find him one of the most promising Hungarian artists of his generation.” – Zoltán Kocsis
Balázs Fülei is a Franz Liszt, Artisjus and Junior Prima award winner pianist with more than thirty piano concertos in his repertoire, including all the concertos by Beethoven, Brahms and Bartók among them. The sophisticated compilations of his solo recitals, usually accompanied by the artist’s personal introduction, always put classical music in an exciting new perspective. He is assistant professor at the Liszt Academy and has been the Head of the Department of Chamber Music since 2015. He has held masterclasses all over the world and he is the founder and artistic director of the Echo Summer Academy held every year in the Károlyi Castle in Fehérvárcsurgó.
Balázs Fülei has also created a new genre based on his excellent lecturing, communicating and verbal skills. It is new at least in Hungary, since the tradition of so-called “storytelling” concerts in America dates back several decades and is linked to Leonard Bernstein. At these unusual concerts, the pianist includes the audience, presents the pieces performed with a few stories; often projects pictures and quotes poems related to the topic. He aims at bringing music closer to everybody, to put the audience in the perspective of their own lives.
Balázs Fülei has entered the international music scene at an early age. He had his debut solo recital in 2008 at the Carnegie Hall in New York considered one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world; besides he has given concerts in the Konzerthaus Vienna, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow, the Kioi Hall Tokio and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam as well. He played together with leading symphony orchestras in Hungary and abroad. Balázs Fülei has already performed not only in almost every country in Europe, but also in Israel, the United States of America, Australia, Japan, China and Vietnam.