Máté Balogh
*9 November 1990
Works by Máté Balogh
Biography
Máté Balogh is a Hungarian composer and associate-professor of the Liszt Academy, Budapest. His music has been presented in many international festivals, such as: Manifeste Festival (IRCAM-Paris), ECCO Concert Series (Bruxelles), Milano Musica, Opus Amadeus (Istanbul), Kurtág&Ungarn (Bern), Listening to China (Shanghai), Ostrava Days, Axes Kraków, Café Budapest, St. Gellert Festival, Bartók Szeminárium, Korunk Zenéje, Budapesti Tavaszi Fesztivál, Minifesztivál, Átlátszó Hang Fesztivál, Artrium Festival. His pieces were interpreted by Ensemble Mozaik (GER), Alter Ego Ensemble (ITA), Sturm und Klang Ensemble (BE), Ensemble Hartmann21 (GER), Max Brand Ensemble (AUS), Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra (PRC), Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (USA), Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (CZ), The Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra (PRC), JACK Quartet (USA), Asasello Quartet (GER), Stadler Quartet (AUS), Slovenian National Choir (SLO), Ostravská Banda (CZ) etc.
He was awarded the Junior Prima Prize, the Artisjus Prize and the Salvatore Quasimodo Prize, while his pieces have been awarded at many international composer competitions.
He is the composer of Zsófia Szilágyi's film entitled One Day (2018) which was awarded the Fipresci Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2018.
Recently, he is living in Budapest.
About the music
Máté Balogh in his compositional work mainly focuses on speech-like declamations in a clear emotional phrasing based on strong verbal gestures. Even in his instrumental pieces one could find exact reactions to the genres of recitation, cantillation, lamentation, invocation, etc. His ouvre contains mainly vocal pieces for a wide ammount of variety, while there are orchestra and chamber pieces as well. He often reacts to well-known classical pieces, using the topic or subject of the pre-composed works.
As once a critic suggested: 'Máté Balogh's music could be defined as a mix of Anton Webern, Louis Andriessen and Leonard Bernstein. It's quite surprising but true.'