“Zsolt Kalló’s virtuoso violin playing is rich in emphasis, dynamic, and charged with a fine kind of intensity.”
“The self-evident and confident virtuosity with which Kalló and the orchestra play, and the fire that animates it all, fills the performance with life and variety and sweeps me off my feet.”
(Kristóf Csengery)
“Zsolt Kalló played the violin with a radiantly beautiful and slender, yet not weak, but rounded, clear and rich sound. His melodies soared, his phrasing was confident, and he did not have the orchestra accompany him, but rather added his own leading line to the musical texture.”
(János Malina)
Zsolt Kalló is a Liszt Ferenc Prize-winning violinist, Artist of Merit, habilitated university professor, and artistic director of Capella Savaria. He was born on 6 March 1967 in Győr. His parents were not professional musicians, but they played instruments. To this day he recalls the waltzes and songs they played. The music of Johann Strauss, as well as Chopin’s mazurkas, made a particularly strong impression on him.
At the age of six he began to study the violin at the Liszt Ferenc Music School in Győr, where his first teacher was Józsefné Czágásch. After completing his conservatory studies, under the guidance of Márta Molnárné Svikruha, he was admitted in 1985 to the Liszt Academy in Budapest to the class of Eszter Perényi. He obtained his violinist diploma with distinction there in 1990. His formative chamber music teachers were György Konrád and András Mihály.
In 1988–1989, interrupting his studies, he became a student at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and a member of the Camerata Academica, founded in 1952 by Bernhard Paumgartner and led by Sándor Végh, with which he performed in numerous prestigious concert halls around the world.
After returning from his studies abroad, he became leader of the Sonora Hungarica chamber orchestra, founded in 1992, and of the Ernő Dohnányi Symphony Orchestra, founded by László Nemes in 1970, between 1989 and 1991. He performed with several leading Hungarian chamber orchestras, including Concertus Hungaricus, founded by Péter Popa in 1985, Concerto Armonico, founded by Miklós Spányi, Péter Szűts and Balázs Máté in 1988, and the Orfeo Orchestra, founded by György Vashegyi in 1991. In addition, he was a member of the Rubin Trio alongside Márta Rubin and Csilla Vályi from 1989, with several of their recordings preserved by the Hungarian Radio Corporation. From 1992 he has been leader of Capella Savaria, founded by Pál Németh in 1981, and since 1999 its artistic director. He is also a teacher at the Secondary School of Arts in Szombathely. Since 1990 he has been engaged in baroque violin performance.
Capella Savaria boasts nearly 90 recordings, 5 of which have received the ‘Recording of the Year’ award. A large proportion of these recordings are of world premieres and are rightly recognised at an international level. In 2006 Capella Savaria received both the professional and audience awards at the Prima Primissima Awards in Vas County. On the occasion of the ensemble’s 40th anniversary in 2021, they presented Handel’s opera Theodora. The Canadian Opus Magazine praised the ensemble as “one of Europe’s finest orchestras.” The ensemble performs outstandingly across several genres and interpretative approaches. At one of their earlier concerts they presented works of several different musical styles, naturally in different interpretative manners. A reviewer wrote: “I was of the opinion that Capella Savaria releases recordings with a commendable frequency, and that it would therefore have been more justified to take advantage of this and publish a complete Telemann selection and later an anthology consisting entirely of Hungarian dance music, as it would have been to the benefit of both repertoires. I will probably still stand by this argument, yet it is a fact that, upon listening to the recording, the experience offered by the interpretations silenced all my prior reservations. Capella Savaria performs the Hungarian repertoire with such vitality, indeed with such fire, with such inner temperament, and they so fruitfully make use in their playing style, even of the expressive means of the authentic folk music style of the dance house tradition, that the pleasure of listening sweeps aside every doubt.” (Kristóf Csengery)
In 1997, he founded the Kalló Quartet, with which he performed on modern instruments and also played contemporary music. Their collaboration lasted until 2005. In addition to Kalló, the members of the ensemble were Tamás Mérei, János Császár and Gábor Rác.
He has given concerts as leader of numerous chamber orchestras, including Arpeggione (Hohenems, Austria), Aura Musicale (Budapest), Concerto Armonico (Budapest), Ensemble Philippe (Budapest), Affetti Musicali (Budapest) and the Orfeo Orchestra (Budapest). He has performed in almost every country in Europe, as well as in Japan, China, Taiwan, Macao, South Korea, Iceland, Israel, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay and Canada.
As a soloist he has appeared with Concerto Budapest, the Dohnányi Symphony Orchestra, the Győr Symphony Orchestra, the Szombathely Symphony Orchestra, the Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra, the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra and the Duna Symphony Orchestra, as well as with other chamber orchestras.
He has been invited to perform at numerous prestigious international festivals. His violin playing is preserved in television and radio recordings and on CDs.
With Capella Savaria he has made approximately 40 CD recordings. As a soloist, alongside the violin concertos of Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schubert, he has also presented previously unknown violin concertos, for example works by Michael Haydn, Joseph Martin Kraus, Luigi Tomasini and Georg Philipp Telemann.
Since 2005 he has been a teacher at the Varga Tibor Institute of Music of Széchenyi István University in Győr. In 2010 he obtained a DLA doctoral degree at the Liszt Academy. The title of his dissertation is A historikus előadásmód hatása és alkalmazása napjaink hegedűoktatásában (lit. The impact and application of historically informed performance in contemporary violin pedagogy). In the dissertation he summarises the practical experience he acquired on the baroque violin, much of which can be applied to modern violin playing. In his thesis he writes:
“Modern violin pedagogy primarily directs attention towards flawless instrumental technique, and we rarely receive clear instructions concerning stylistic performance. I wished to remedy this deficiency with my writing, since there are many good violinists, but far fewer good musicians who possess proper stylistic knowledge. With my study I aim to give greater prominence to the theoretical knowledge of proper principles in music.” Relatively few scholars address this subject, particularly in terms of accepting that historically informed performance is not the sole valid approach.
As a soloist he has performed with the Concerto Budapest Orchestra, the Dohnányi Orchestra, the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, the Savaria Symphony Orchestra, the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Duna Symphony Orchestra, the Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra, and the University Orchestra of Győr. He has also appeared with chamber orchestras as soloist and leader, including Capella Savaria, the Orfeo Orchestra, Concerto Armonico, Aura Musicale, Arpeggione, Anima Musicae, and the Budapest Strings. He has also had the opportunity to perform with world-renowned conductors and soloists such as Nicholas McGegan, Simon Standage, Barthold Kuijken, and Bernhard Forck.
Chamber music has always played an important role in his life. He is regarded as an excellent partner and an outstanding colleague, at least this is how his fellow musicians describe him. Most recently he recorded double concertos on CD with a colleague, of which a critic wrote: “The two string players, Zsolt Kalló and László Paulik, play throughout in a communicative, conversational manner, with tight yet flexible rhythm, shaping articulated phrases and employing lively emphasis.” (Kristóf Csengery: Kettősversenyek (lit.Double Concertos). Élet és Irodalom, 6 April 2023.)
On period instruments he is a founding member of Trio Antiqua and the Authentic Quartet. The Trio was established in 2000, comprising fortepiano (Tamás Szekendy), cello (Csilla Vályi), and violin (Zsolt Kalló). The members of the Quartet are Zsolt Kalló and Balázs Bozzai on violin, Gábor Rácz on viola, and Csilla Vályi on cello. They continue to perform to this day and have produced numerous CD recordings. (The Trio ceased activity in 2014 following the death of Tamás Szekendy.)
He has been a guest artist and soloist at prestigious international festivals. As a soloist with Capella Savaria he has made numerous CD recordings, on which, alongside the concertos of Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schubert, he has also presented previously unknown violin concertos, including works by Michael Haydn, Joseph Kraus, Franz Benda, Luigi Tomasini, Carl Stamitz, and Brescianello, compositions previously unheard in Hungary.
With the Authentic Quartet, 14 CDs have so far been released by Hungaroton, through which they have explored and documented masterpieces by composers who had previously been little known.
He began his teaching activity in 1992 at the Secondary School of Arts in Szombathely. Since 2005 he has been a violin and chamber music teacher at the Institute of Arts of Széchenyi István University. In the academic year 2011–2012 he taught baroque violin at the Liszt Academy. He obtained his habilitation diploma in 2019 in Budapest at the Liszt Academy, and in 2020 he was appointed full professor. He regularly gives lectures and courses on appropriate interpretation. He is a guest jury member at national music competitions and also takes part in the evaluation of academic degrees as a member of doctoral and habilitation committees.
The most important element of Zsolt Kalló’s artistic career is so-called historically informed, or authentic, violin performance. The movement that brought this phenomenon to the fore in Hungary began in the 1980s, owing to Capella Savaria, founded by Pál Németh. Zsolt Kalló was formerly the ensemble’s leader and is today its artistic director. For him, distinguishing between playing on historical and modern instruments poses no difficulty, as he employs both in his artistic practice. It is well known among early music performers that historical instruments are tuned a semitone lower than modern ones, that is, not to the now customary A at 440 Hz. In Viennese Classical music the pitch is lower by a quarter tone, which initially represents a serious challenge for all performers. The existence of the modern violin, however, provides a certain sense of security, since metal strings are far more stable. They allow for much more energetic playing, in contrast to the gut-strung authentic violin, as gut strings are considerably more delicate. This fact, however, can result in a more sensitive, more richly coloured style of playing.
Zsolt Kalló is one of the outstanding masters and teachers of early music performance in Hungary and internationally, and of baroque violin playing in particular. Many musicians are intrigued by baroque violin performance, since we know relatively little about it. We can only make deductions from written sources and from the study of performance markings in original scores.
In the 17th and 18th centuries violins were fitted with gut strings. The neck and fingerboard were shorter than those of modern instruments, and the internal bracing was also different. We know this because many instruments from this period have survived without having been rebuilt. Just think of certain master instruments made by Antonio Stradivari, preserved in their original state in museum collections. Most old instruments were rebuilt in the 18th century, mainly thanks to the German composer Louis Spohr (1784-1859). The principal aim was to increase volume and stability. The neck of the instrument was angled, and the bass bar was reinforced. As a result, the instrument lost some of the special timbre provided by gut strings. The sound of gut strings is distinctive and more delicate than that of modern strings. There are no fine tuners on the tailpiece, which likewise make the sound more metallic. The construction of the bow also differs from that of the modern bow. Its tip tapers to a point, it is lighter and shorter than its modern counterpart, and it contains less hair.
Zsolt Kalló does not play exclusively on historical instruments. His personal arsenal comprises some ten instruments of various types, including a viola, which he also plays. He does not wish baroque music to be appropriated solely by proponents of historical instrument use. In his view, a great deal can be learned from playing on period instruments, but these works must also be played on modern instruments. As he writes in his dissertation: “I am convinced that it is also possible to play with style through the correct use of modern instruments.”
The problem often lies in the fact that baroque music is performed by large orchestras, although these works were fundamentally written for very small ensembles. Historicism is an approach whose aim is period-appropriate performance, that is, to produce the sounds that the composer had in mind. He also holds a clear view on the quality of instruments, according to which it is not irrelevant on what kind of instrument a given work is performed: “I consider it important that we possess comprehensive knowledge not only of the music of different periods, but also of their instruments. The stylistic conventions of musical periods can become authentically accessible to us only through the study of the given era. Contemporary violin education focuses on the acquisition of modern instrumental technique. When interpreting the music of earlier periods, this method does not employ the most appropriate musical and technical solutions, which in many cases also follows from changes in the instrument itself.”
A major turning point in Zsolt Kalló’s life came when he first heard period performances of baroque works. It was at this point that he began to understand, and to interpret correctly, for example the solo sonatas of J. S. Bach. His Salzburg teacher, Sándor Végh, although he cannot be regarded as a representative of historically informed performance, held the view that musical works should be performed as they appear in the authentic score (Urtext). The period he spent with Concerto Armonico also helped him to become acquainted with this approach. They sought out original manuscripts and set aside all later interpretative schemes. In their view, music should be performed in a way that is aligned with the composer’s conception. At that time this was not yet customary in Hungary, where performers tended to imitate the styles of the leading figures and famous violinists of the day. Kalló came to realise that historicism is the same as musicality, and articulation as musical interpretation.
According to Zsolt Kalló, violinists often place excessive emphasis on technical perfection, perhaps more than on the study of music and music history. He considers it a positive development that this is now beginning to change, and that a proper balance is emerging between the theoretical and practical aspects of instrumental performance. To this end, familiarity with the ever-expanding body of research findings is essential. As he puts it: “Young people’s interest in this is steadily growing, and thus the responsibility falls to us, who are also teachers of our instrument, to guide them towards a sound musical approach, beyond the fact that this is at least as important for ourselves.”
For Zsolt Kalló, the most important aspect is the manner of playing, allowing the music to speak. Performers are often reproached for playing too romantically. In Kalló’s view, all music is romantic, since it expresses human emotions. Baroque music, therefore, must also be performed with emotional richness, but not with the same means as nineteenth-century music. Without emotion it has little value. Since baroque scores contain no performance or dynamic markings, these must come from the performer. The means of expression are therefore different, but emotions must be conveyed in the music of every period.
Zsolt Kalló today lives in a very charming and beautiful village with the enigmatic name Sé. The settlement lies in Vas County, close to Hungary’s western border, and has a population of around 1,300. Here he built a house with his wife, and from here their three children have flown the nest. The rooms now stand empty. The garden is beautiful, with fine plants and a carefully tended hedge, which he looks after with pleasure in the tranquil village. From here he sets out daily either to his workplace or to the capital, depending on where his duties call him.
Violin playing is also a kind of ars poetica for him. Through this instrument, and through playing it, he communicates all of his inner message to the world. He considers it important that on this instrument he himself creates not only the music but the sound itself, shaping its pitch and colour, forming the agogics, and moulding the entire inner essence of the music. This is essential not only in early music but also in classical and contemporary works. The identification of the violin’s sound with the human voice is likewise a key element of his thinking. In effect, he sings when he places the violin under his chin. To all this is added a pure and sincere faith in God, which, by his own account, also influences his thinking about music and its interpretation.
A critic wrote about him: “Capella Savaria is a mature musical ensemble, well rehearsed and cohesive, so it is hardly surprising that it performs in complete harmony with its soloists. In the performances the orchestra is in complete musical accord with the soloists, and the principle of chamber-music communication, fundamental even in concertos, is fully at work. Of the three soloists, Zsolt Kalló strikes me as the most distinctive, and this will perhaps not come as a surprise. He is a violinist of great experience and commanding knowledge, with many concerto interpretations and recordings behind him, and he has long possessed that complete technical assurance which allows him to focus on musical expression. Accordingly, his playing is marked by intensity and temperament and is rich in ideas, with many elements of apparent spontaneity and a confident command of style.” (Kristóf Csengery, Élet és Irodalom, vol. LXII, no. 22, 1 June 2018)
[2024]