After ten years of renovation, the Liszt Academy of Music will reopen on October 22, the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice announced on Monday. The reopening of the famous institution, founded in 1875, will also mark the 202nd birth anniversary of its founder, Franz Liszt. The academy nurtures the cultural heritage of Franz Liszt, Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartok and Ernő Dohnányi.
The Hungarian Government considers the opening ceremony a highlight in Hungarian and universal cultural life and also the beginning of a new era. The renovation was one of the largest EU-sponsored cultural investment projects.
Once reopened, the Academy will not only serve as a higher institution for musicology and musical art, but as a concert centre as well. On October 22, both the Hungarian Government and the academy will pay tribute to eminent conductor Georg Solti by erecting a statue in front of the building.
The opening ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, senior members of the diplomatic corps as well as several Hungarian artists of international acclaim, such as Ádám Fischer, Iván Fischer, András Schiff, Zoltán Kocsis, Éva Marton, Andrea Rost and Dezső Ránki.