A specialist in early keyboard instruments and a conductor, Zsombor Tóth-Vajna is one of the outstanding figures of this generation of young Hungarian musicians.
At the Liszt Academy in Budapest, he graduated with honours in harpsichord and organ as a pupil of Miklós Spányi and Borbála Dobozy, then completed a Master’s degree in the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he graduated in organ, harpsichord, fortepiano, and clavichord under Menno van Delft, Richard Egarr, and Jacques van Oortmerssen. He studied conducting with Howard Williams and Zsolt Hamar. In addition, he completed studies at the General Medicine programme at the Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University in Budapest.
He is a frequent guest at concert venues in Hungary and abroad, from the Thomaskirche in Leipzig to Westminster Abbey in London, and he has appeared as keyboard soloist and conductor not only in many countries in Europe, but also in the United States.
He has made recordings for Hungarian Radio and Hungarian Television, including some with András Batta, to popularize early keyboard music. He is the founder and artistic director of the Harmonia Caelestis Baroque Orchestra, founded in 2015, and his passion for keyboard music for four-hands finds expression in the Piano e Forte Duo, with his twin Gergely.
He further perfected his keyboard skills at masterclasses with Pierre Hantai, Skip Sempé, Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, Malcolm Bilson, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Christine Schornsheim, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, Jon Laukvik, Andreas Staier, and Hans Fagius. As a teacher, he has given masterclasses in Hungary and abroad, and has been a member of the juries at international competitions. In 2020 he gained a scholarship for a doctorate at the Royal College of Music in London.
His field of research is performance practice in seventeenth-century English keyboard music. To date, he has released nine solo CDs. In 2013, Zsombor Tóth-Vajna earned the highest recognition of the Semmelweis University, the Kerpel Prize, in 2015 the magazine La Femme included him in the list of the fifty most talented young people in Hungary, and in 2019 he won the Bach Festival Prize.
Prizes:
2018 „Fellowship for Talents of the Nation”, Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary 2017 „50 Talented Young Hungarian”, La Femme Magazine, mentor
2016 Hungarian Templeton Program, junior fellow
2016 Kerpel Research Scholarship, Semmelweis University
2015 „Fellowship for Talents of the Nation”, Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary 2015 „50 Talented Young Hungarian”, La Femme Magazine, award-winner
2013 Kerpel Award, Semmelweis University
Masterclasses (selected list):
Harpsichord: Christine Schornsheim and Ketil Haugsand (Germany), Skip Sempe and Pierre Hantai (France)
Organ: Hans Fagius (Sweden), Ton Koopman (Netherlands), Jon Laukvik and Wolfgang Zerer (Germany), Masaaki Suzuki (Japan), Michael Radulsecu (Austria), Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini and Lorenzo Ghielmi (Italy), William Porter (USA)
Clavichord: Miklós Spányi (Hungary), Menno van Delft (Netherlands), Joel Speestra (Sweden)
Fortepiano: Malcolm Bilson (USA), Jos van Immerseel (Belgium), Ulrika Davidsson (Sweden), Richard Egarr (UK)
Piano: András Schiff and Ferenc Rados (Hungary)
WEB: https://www.toth-vajna.com
„Zsombor is an artist of great talent and potential. He is a very skilled player, not only on the organ, but on other keyboard instruments, especially on the harpsichord and the clavichord. Zsombor has very versatile musical gifts, interests and, consequently, activities, ranging from harpsichord playing to leading early music ensembles. Her performances testify his open-mindedness towards performance problems and possibilities resulting in convincing and colourful music. He was one of my best students, with a special interest in the field of early music.” Jacques van Oortmerssen (Professor of Organ at the Conservatory of Amsterdam)„Zsombor is a multifaceted musician, who lead his career in service of introducing and performing „early keyboard music”. He plays the harpsichord, the clavichord, the fortepiano, the organ – he shares the beauties and excitement of discovering the rare gems of keyboard compositions with his audience, many times including his smart introductions or explanations. His innovative artistic goal: something else, somehow else.”
András Batta (Professor and Rector Emeritus of Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music)
„I have had the enormous pleasure of teaching Zsombor for the last 2 years at the Amsterdam Conservatory. He is an extremely gifted and deeply sensitive keyboard player, at home on organ, harpsichord and fortepiano. He is thoroughly dedicated to historical keyboards, and I am sure that he will continue to grow and develop in his career.”
Richard Egarr (Professor of Harpsichord and Fortepiano at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music London)
Own instruments: French harpsichord, Eckehart Merzdorf 1996, identical replica of the instrument made in Paris in 1730 by Francois Blanchet German harpsichord, Eckehart Merzdorf 1997, identical replica of the instrument made in Thuringia in 1714 by Johann Heinrich Harrass Italian harpsichord, Fabrizio Acanfora 2012, replica of the instrument made in 1512 by Hyeronimus Bononiensis Flemish harpsichord, Titus Crijnen 2019, identical replica of the instrument made in Antwerp in 1614 by Andreas Ruckers Fortepiano, Paul Mcnulty 2015, replica of the instrument made in 1805 by Anton Walter Fortepiano, John Broadwood, 1805 London (original instrument) Pedal-Harpsichord, Eckehart Merzdorf 1986 Clavichord, Eckehart Merzdorf 1996, replica based on instruments made in the 18th century Clavichord, Dick Verwolf 2019, replica based on a German Anonymus instrument from 1700 Clavichord, Dick Verwolf 2019, replica of Mozart’s travel clavichord
