Roby Lakatos Foundation
From the beginning, the support of the musical talents of the young generation was an
essential part of the musical career of the world famous violin virtuoso Roby Lakatos. It was
the best expressed in the way he welcomed and invited young people to his own orchestra.
However, after a musical career of over 40 years, the Maestro has decided to support the
musicians in the framework of a foundation that was founded in 2018.
The foundation, which aims to develop young musical talents, started in Hungary. In addition
to the Maestro's local patriotism, it is also a priority for him to support the cultural life of the
country.
Based on this conviction, the foundation started its operation in the Bence Szabolcsi Music
School with the support of the Municipality of Belváros-Lipótváros, Budapest.
The uniqueness of the Roby Lakatos Foundation's musical education is that it is based on a
complex approach to educate young people, especially those with marginalised backgrounds.
This is expressed in the pedagogical method of Roby Lakatos. Besides the musical education
(solfege, classical piano and composition, improvisation exercises, etc.), an equal weight is
given to the development of competences (foreign language training, economic knowledge,
key competences, etc.) that are essential for social integration and for a career in music.
The long term goal of the Roby Lakatos Foundation is to create an educational institution in
the quality of Julliard & Berklee.
Roby Lakatos International Improvisational Violin Contest
A Roby Lakatos Alapítvány 2019-ben nemzetközi szinten is egyedülálló, a világhírű magyar művész nevét viselő Improvizációs Hegedűversennyel érvényesítette a megalakulásukkor megfogalmazott célkitűzéseit.
A hegedűverseny egyedülállósága abban rejlett, hogy az teljesen eltért az eddigi nemzetközi hegedűversenyektől. Ugyanis a hegedűversenyek általában egy-egy zenei stílus szabályait szem ellőtt tartva értékelik a versenyre érkező fiatalokat. A Roby Lakatos nevével fémjelzett hegedűverseny ettől teljesen eltérve a fiatalok jelentkezőket nem egy-egy zenei stílus merev szabályai alapján értékelte, hanem improvizációs gyakorlatuk alapján.
This gave
young people the opportunity to express their own musical style and the musical
elements of their national identity.
A nemzetközi verseny megszervezésével a Magyarországon és más országokban élő nemzetközi karrierrel még nem rendelkező zenei tehetségeknek szerettek volna egy olyan zenei platformot létrehozni, amely a pénzjutalom mellett lehetőséget teremt egy nemzetközi ismeretség megszerzésére.
By organising an international competition, the aim was to create a musical platform for musical talents from Hungary and other countries who do not yet have an international career, which, in addition to the financial reward, would provide an opportunity to gain international exposure. In addition to Roby Lakatos, the jury of the musical initiative included violinist Michael Guttman, pianist Eliane Reyes, violinist Vilmos Oláh, pianist Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, pianist Tamás Vásáry, pianist and conductor, and violinist Lajos Sárközi. The first prize was awarded to László Duka, the second prize was shared by Luanne Homzy and Léo Ullmann, and the third prize went to Róbert Zsigmond. At the award ceremony of the contest, organised by violin virtuoso Roby Lakatos and cymbalom artist Mihály Farkas, three renowned instrument makers, Fabien Gram from Belgium, Károly Losó and Pál Rácz, offered a violin in addition to the financial awards.
Conversation with Roby Lakatos about the International Improvisation Violin Competition
"Free realisation is meant to symbolise musical freedom. They can improvise in any style, but it's all about their own voice and ideas." /Roby Lakatos/