After finishing her studies at that history clad Budapest conservatory, Orsolya, further headed Solti’s advice to continue her violin studies at New York’s Juilliard School. Here, Orsolya became one of the last students of the late Dorothy Delay, and worked with Itzhak Perlman and Rohan de Silva, his steady pianist accompanist, carrying on the legacy of violin virtuoso Ivan Galamian.
After winning the Dorothy DeLay Award and the Cornelius Vander Starr Award, two prestigious prizes granted to further the development of outstanding talent, she settled in Vienna, while keeping her strong ties to her native Budapest. Besides performing the regular violin repertoire both as a soloist and chamber musician, she continued to follow her special interest in Jewish themes and composers.
“It just always felt so natural and personal to me,” she describes her activities in pursuit of restoring these rare Jewish treasures to renewed reception, connecting the dots further and creating a broader cultural perspective.
She served as the ambassador for the Jewish Summer Festival in Budapest and artistic director of the “Missing Links” concert series at the Holocaust Memorial Centre and the Budapest Goldmark Festival.
As the artistic advisor and artist-in-residence for the Vienna Jewish Cultural Festival, she performed with artists such as Grammy nominee clarinet player David Krakauer, and with mandolin player Avi Avital – a Grammy nominee, Echo Award winner, and Deutsche Grammophon artist.
Besides showcasing Orsolya’s versatile command and compelling sound, both recordings are markers on her penetrating journey of discovery, which has made Orsolya one of its devotees and protagonists: Jewish identity in music performance.
What is the common thread among all these different angled composers, where do they fit into the genre of their time and is there a mutual connection, identifying a particular Jewish spirit? No easy questions, given the multitude of characteristics of each of these very different artists. In her latest 2017 recording then, fully devoted to one single composer’s path, Orsolya transports the listener to an affecting place, within the tragic background of its time.
Silenced, released on the Deutsche Grammophon label explores the individual musical identity of Sándor Kuti, in the light of tragic history. The recording, in collaboration with soloists of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, presents the first original collection of all of the Hungarian-Jewish composer’s surviving chamber works for string, including the Sonata’s World Premiere Recording; it also brings Orsolya’s personal path full circle.
In Orsolya’s capable hands, academic research – she is currently also completing her PH.D at the University of Jewish Studies and working on her first book titled Sándor Kuti – Music is silenced – translates into a captivating witness of a time in turmoil and a soulful listening experience. Photo: © Posztós János / BTF Uránia National Film Theatre, Budapest
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