Artist database

Marcell Dargay (1980) was a composition student of István Fekete Győr in the Bartók Conservatory, Budapest. He graduated in 2004 from the Liszt Academy of Music in composition under László Vidovszky, and in music theory as a student of Katalin Komlós. Amongst his teachers were Gyula Fekete, Zoltán Jeney, Zsolt Serei and András Wilheim.

Between 2003 and 2005 he was répétiteur at the Hungarian State Opera House, since 2004 has taught music theory at the Bartók Conservatory Budapest. In 2003 he took part in Murail, Christian Wolff , Alvin Lucier and Frederic Rzewski, in Ostrava, Czech Republic. As well as in Hungary, his works also have been played in the USA, France and Germany. Since 2005 he has been a beneficiary of a composer's grant from Artisjus, and received Artisjus Award in 2001.

Several of his works were written for famous festivals - the Budapest Autumn Festival, the Spring Festival, Music of Our Time and Making New Waves. He has written incidental music for several pieces at the József Katona Theatre, the Miklós Radnóti Theatre, the University of Theatre and Film and the Ódry Theatre. As a performer of contemporary works he often features as a pianist, and there have been several radio and TV broadcasts of him both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles. As a soloist his premieres include that of Attila Bozay's Improvisations No. 3 with the Budapest Chamber Symphony, Gyula Bánkövi's piece Sodrás with the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, and László Vidovszky's 405, accompanied by Componensemble.

Since 2000 he has played in a two-piano duo with Dániel Dinyés, and several Hungarian composers (Gyula Fekete, Ádám Kondor, Balázs Horváth, Balázs Futó) have written pieces for them. In 2007 Editio Musica Budapest published his pieces First Words After The Last and Városligeti fasor 33. (No. 33 City Park Avenue).

His work "An[a]them[a]" was qualified for the final of the "Új Magyar Zenei Fórum 2009" (New Hungarian Music Forum 2009) composers´ competition. In January 2011 he won 3rd prize of UMZF 2011 in category of chamber music.

His chamber opera, Hálátlan dögök (Unthankful Beasts) presented in Munich in 2011 July in coopertion with Krétakör Ensemble Budapest and Bayerische Staatsoper. His piece Book of Job was honoured with Artisjus Prize in 2024 in the category classical music of the year.