Today was a treat for both eyes and ears. We toured two spectacular music facilities—the Budapest Opera House and the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and heard concerts at the opera hours, the academy of music, and the Music History Museum.

The Budapest Opera House was under renovation for 5 years, reopening only last year. it is a spectacular 1,000 seat facility with amazing frescos and carvings covered in gold leaf. Two of the house opera singers performed a selection of opera arias on the grand staircase for us. Exhilarating.

The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music wa started by Franz Liszt in 1875. Its elegance was a stark contrast to the opera house in that the academy was art deco with a darker ambience.

The entrance hall featured a fountain with a shell head as decoration.

Our tour of the academy ended where László Váradi (http://youngpianistseries.com/2019-pianists/laszlo-varadi/) played Liszt Sancta Dorothea, Chopin Etude in C minor, and Chopin Fantasie in F major.

After dinner, we took a ride to the Music History Museum for a private concert by the Kodaly Quartet and Professor Csaba Király. Their musical selections were curated to give us a taste of Hungarian music and its influences. Musicologist Dr László Gombos preceded each selection with a short lecture. We heard pieces by Schumann, Haydn, Liszt, Márk Rózsavölgyi, Haydn, Dvořák and Dohanányi. (Image: Recital hall in the Music History Museum)

The front of the Lizst Academy of Music.

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