Artist database

The Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1977 with the recently graduated students of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. In 1982 the orchestra won the Belgrade International Chamber Orchestra Competition.

Since 1983 the Budapest Strings has given concert series in the Great Hall of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and has been also frequently performed at the Budapest Vigadó /Redoute/, the Great Hall of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and almost in all important concert halls in Budapest and Hungary.

In 1995 the Budapest Strings established and started to organize the International Haydn Festival in Fertőd at the gorgeus Eszterhazy Castel with the participation of such renowned musicians as Andrea Rost, Jenő Jandó, Reinhold Friedrich, Miklós Perényi, András Ágoston, Irena Grafenauer, Lajos Lencsés, Béla Drahos, Nicolas Daniel etc.

The orchestra now constitutes one of the world's leading ensembles which gives concerts worldwide with outstanding artists: György Pauk, Zoltán Kocsis, Kristóf Baráti, László Fenyő, Josef Suk, Maria Kliegel, Peter Frankl, Stefan Vladar, Michael Martin Kofler, Paula Robison, Guy Touvron, Eugene Rousseau.

They regularly appear in the concert halls of Europe, the United States, South America and Japan.

They are frequent guests at international music festivals like: Budapest Spring Festival, Carinthian Summer (Austria), Danubius Fesztival (Italy), Norwich, Canterbury, Cricklade Festivals (England) Walloon Festival (Belgium) and Lancut (Poland).

Their concerts are often broadcasted live or recorded on radio and television in different countries. They recorded CD-s for various recording companies: Hungaroton, Nuova Era, Naxos, Laserlight, Capriccio.

The Budapest Strings has an exclusive contract with Delta Music for whom they recorded more than 40 CDs. Series of recordings have been issued, including the world premiere recording of the complete Sinfonia Concertantes by Johann Christian Bach. All members of the Orchestra frequently perform in smaller chamber ensembles and give concerts both at home and abroad too.

From 2009 the Orchestra presents an exclusive concert series the so called Royal Concert Series in the gorgeous Grand Ballroom of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest. In this series the most prominent representatives of the Hungarian performers has been invited, like Andrea Rost, Miklos Perenyi, Vilmos Szabadi... The Budapest Strings strives to attract the audience and the young generation with new ideas and concept for their concerts. The ensemble frequently introduces young talented performers and composers for the public.

The ensemble is a renowned participant of the Hungarian cultural life and has been invited to prestigious international stages too. In 2001 the chamber orchestra was awarded the Bartók-Pásztori Prize, which is one of the highest musical award in Hungary. In 2006 they received the artistic award of the Hungarian Club Society and in 2008 a special prize by Artisjus. In 2009 as a result of the categorization of the Hungarian professional music ensembles the Budapest Strings became one of the two Chamber Orchestras which received the highest degree. In 2025 They have given the Artisjus Prize again.

The legendary cellist Károly Botvay is the Artistic Director of the Ensemble.