Artist database

He started to play flute when he was 8 and already in 1966 was member of the Kaposvár Symphony Orchestra. In 1967 he became 1st Flutist of the Kaposvár Theatre Orchestra. He entered the Győr Conservatory in 1969 and in 1971 won 1st Prize at Concertino Praha - 1 International Music Competition - later in 1972 Main-Prize at the Flute Competition of Hungarian Television and in 1973 UNESCO Grand Prize in Bratislava. In the meantime between 1970-73 he established a string chamber orchestra giving successful concerts everywhere. Mr.Drahos continued his studies at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest being parallel (1973-78) 1st Flute player to the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera. In 1976 he was taken to be Solo Flute player of the Hungarian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra (until 1993). In 1976 he established the Wind Quintet of the Radio Orchestra gaining Main-Prize at the most important Wind Quintet Competition in Colmar (France).
In 1985 he was awarded the Liszt Prize by the Hungarian Government for his outstanding results; in 1986 he was elected Artist of the Year, and in 1988 he was awarded the prestigious Bartók-Pásztory Prize. He played innumerable concerts in the most important concert-halls of the world: London (Barbican), New-York (Carnegie Hall), Tokyo (Suntory Hall), Moskow (Main Hall of the Conservatory), Munich (Hercules Hall), Salzburg (Festspielhaus) as soloist, chamber musician or solo-flute player in orchestra.
In 1988 soloist of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand, and in 1989 soloist of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonia Hall, in 1990 solo recital at the same place. In 1991 Berlin again thereafter in the same year: Paris.
In 1990 Mr. Drahos recorded Mozart: Flute Concertos for Hungaroton, in 1991 C.P.E. Bach: Sonatas and in 1992 Vivaldi: Il Pastor Fido, Op. 10 Sonatas for NAXOS.
Playing in orchestra with great Maestros (Bernstein, Matacic, Inbal, Doráti, Zecchi, Ferencsik) his ambitions of conducting became stonger. In 1991 took part at the Masterclass of Prof. Karl Österreicher in Vienna, who also later gave him help and advise - for his debut with the Radio Orchestra in the same year conducting a Beethoven program at the Main Hall of the Music Academy in Budapest. In 1992 conducted the Hungarian State Orchestra in Eisenstadt and in the same year was invited to be chief conductor of the Kaposvár Symphony Orchestra, where in 1994 he was awarded the For Kaposvár Prize. In the meantime in 1993 he became solo-flute player and assistant conductor of Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro at the Hungarian State Orchestra, conducting them on tours in England, Germany and Austria.
In 15 March 1994 he was given The Little Order of the Hungarian Republic by the Hungarian President, for his outstanding musical results. His first recording as a conductor for Naxos was a symphony of Haydn, later further Haydn symphonies, and in 1997 he was invited to conduct all of the Beethoven symphonies for the Jubilee Publication of the 10 years old Naxos - gaining highly successful critical acclaim with them (like formerly from HC Robbins Landon, the great American musicologist in BBC Music Magazine, Sept 1996 - writing about his Haydn recordings). Mr. Drahos began recording all of the Haydn symphonies recently.
He conducted in New Zealand in 1988; in the meantime at home working with the Radia Orchestra, MÁV Symphony Orchestra and the most important Hungarian regional orchestras.