The most talented classical musicians in Hungary showcased their skills at the 22nd National Ernő Dohnányi Chamber Music Meeting and Competition. A total of sixty gifted music students from Hungarian higher education institutions in the arts – including students from the Faculty of Music of the University of Debrecen – took the stage in nineteen ensembles, impressing a distinguished professional jury.
The annual event, organized by the Faculty of Music of the University of Debrecen and the Conservatory Foundation, aims not only to create a competitive environment but also to provide students with valuable experience by learning from both established artists and their peers.
The competition was open to ensembles featuring string instruments (duos, trios, quartets, quintets), woodwind groups (trios, quartets, quintets), mixed string and woodwind ensembles, as well as piano chamber music groups combining strings, woodwinds, and piano. The professional level of the National Ernő Dohnányi Chamber Music Meeting and Competition continues to grow each year, and this year’s event once again represented the highest standards. The most talented young musicians performed in the Liszt Hall of the Faculty of Music.
An important mission of the event is to highlight the significance of contemporary Hungarian compositions and to promote the chamber music legacy of Ernő Dohnányi and Leó Weiner.
Students of the University of Debrecen Faculty of Music regularly achieve outstanding results at the competition. In 2026, Enikő Gréta Mester (flute) and Roland Mózes Dávid (piano) received special awards for excellence.
According to Mihály Duffek Jr., Associate Professor and Head of the Chamber Music Cabinet, the event is an important benchmark for students and educators alike.
“It is a great pleasure that ensembles from every Hungarian music higher education institution attended the event, including all regional training centers. The meeting is more popular than ever and remains one of the most important professional and educational forums of Hungarian music higher education. It offers excellent opportunities for knowledge exchange, allowing young musicians to observe each other and discover works they may have previously only heard in recordings. Collaborative chamber performance is a key part of the event, as students learn to cooperate and perform challenging works together at the highest possible level,” he said.
In addition to the University of Debrecen, competitors also arrived from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, the Bartók Béla Faculty of Arts of the University of Szeged, the Faculty of Arts of Széchenyi István University in Győr, the Institute of Music of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Pécs, and the Bartók Béla Faculty of Music of the University of Miskolc.
Each institution had up to 70 minutes to present its program. Performances were evaluated by a professional jury consisting of Liszt Prize-winning clarinetist László Gy. Kiss, and conductors Zoltán Bolyky and Géza Török, who assessed not only instrumental performance but also the cooperation, coordination, and unified musical interpretation within the ensembles.
The full results of the 22nd National Ernő Dohnányi Chamber Music Meeting and Competition are available in the downloadable document.
(unideb.hu)
