BIOGRAPHY
“There is no ostentatious virtuosity here, no merciless hammering with pauses, but an intelligent and captivating differentiation that reveals the full richness of the composition.”
Pizzicato Magazin, Remy Franck
Benedek Horváth is a Hungarian pianist living in Switzerland, distinguished by his expressive interpretations and wide-ranging repertoire. His concert career has taken him to over 20 countries, with highlights including a tour of China, where he gave several concerts in Beijing and Shanghai. In 2017, he made his New York debut at Merkin Hall with Liszt's 2nd Piano Concerto and has performed at Switzerland's most prestigious festivals, including the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and the Lucerne Festival.
In 2025, his artistic focus centered on creating a truly singular experience built around Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Under the title “The Golden Hills”, he developed a concert-film concept in which live performance merges with expressive visual projection. The project was presented in several concerts throughout the year and will continue to grow, with plans to bring it to major venues internationally. Further details can be found on the website.
As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as the Sinfonieorchester Basel, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, and the Montenegro Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his solo career, he is deeply committed to chamber music. For eight years, he performed with the Trio Eclipse, winning prizes at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and the Migros Kulturprozent Wettbewerb. Other chamber music highlights include performances with the internationally renowned Dimitry Smirnov, the Casals String Quartet, and Zakar Bron.
Benedek Horváth has been recognized with numerous awards, including 1st prize at the Kiefer-Hablitzel Competition and the Rahn Music Prize. In 2016, he won the Laureate Prize of the Clara Haskil Competition and the renowned Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition. In 2018, he was awarded the Junior Prima Prize in Hungary.
His discography includes solo albums with works by Janáček, Bartók, and Kurtág (Artalinna Records), Bach's Goldberg Variations (IAN Records), and a recording of Liszt's piano works with the Sinfonieorchester Basel (Prospero Classical). In April 2025, his new solo album featuring works by Ravel, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff was released on Hungaroton.
Benedek Horváth has lived and worked in Switzerland for over ten years. He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and at the Musikakademie Basel with Claudio Martínez Mehner, where he has been an assistant professor since 2021. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as András Schiff, Dimitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, and Zoltán Kocsis.
2025/2026