General Information

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory founded in 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, featuring several valuable books and manuscripts donated by Liszt upon his death, and the AVISO studio that is the result of cooperation between the governments of Hungary and Japan to provide sound recording equipment and training for students.

History: Highlights

The Academy was founded in Liszt’s home and relocated to a three-storey neo-Renaissance building built around 1879 on today’s Andrássy Avenue. That location, referred to as “the old Music Academy” and commemorated by a plaque, was replaced when the Academy moved into a building erected in 1907 at the corner of Király Street and Liszt Square.

History: Explained

The Academy was named after its founder only in 1925. Initially, it was christened the “Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music”, and was also called “College of Music” from 1919-1925. The building of “the old Music Academy” was repurchased by the conservatoire in the 1980s, and is now officially known as The Ferenc Liszt Memorial and Research Centre.

Architecture: Highlights

The Art Nouveau style building is one of the best known in Budapest. Its façade is dominated by a statue of Franz Liszt. The inside of the building is decorated with frescoes, ceramics and several statues, among which are those of Béla Bartók and Frédéric Chopin. Originally the building also had stained glass windows.