In memory of György Cziffra: film, exhibition, and concert

The Cziffra Festival has become a defining event in the classical music scene. The series of events founded by Kossuth Prize-winning pianist János Balázs not only enriches cultural life with concerts, but is also a multifaceted artistic project that focuses on young people, talent development, and representing values and causes. A good example of this is the mini-festival organized in collaboration with the University of Miskolc, which welcomes the audience with film screenings, exhibitions, a commemoration of György Cziffra’s life’s work, and an extraordinary evening of music and prose by Petra Gubik and János Balázs.

The University of Miskolc is honoring the memory of György Cziffra with a full day of programs. After an unsuccessful attempt to defect, Cziffra was sent to Miskolc in the 1950s as a political prisoner to work on the construction of the university. The life and legacy of the world-famous pianist will be commemorated with a screening of the documentary film Cziffra100 – Tele van a két kezem boldogsággal (Cziffra100 – My Hands Are Full of Happiness) at 4 p.m., which traces the artist’s fate and life journey through the voices of Hungarian and international musical luminaries. The screenplay for the film was written by director Eszter Petrovics.

At 5 p.m. in the main building of the university, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony for the Cziffra memorial plaque, which was unveiled in 2023, followed by the opening of an exhibition entitled “From Shadow to Light” in the first-floor gallery, curated by music historian Eszter Veronika Kiss. The traveling exhibition presents György Cziffra’s extraordinary life journey from deprivation to world fame. Newspaper articles, reviews, and personal stories evoke the artist’s career and the atmosphere of his era. Admission to the film screening and the exhibition, which runs until December 23, is free of charge.

The themed day will conclude at 6 p.m. in the Díszaula with an evening entitled “Találkát adott a sors” (Fate Brought Us Together) by Petra Gubik and János Balázs. The performance focuses on important moments in the life of the legendary piano virtuoso, including how his relationships, important encounters, and those close to him and further afield determined his path. Prose and piano playing, classical and lighter melodies combine to conjure up the most turbulent period in history, the atmosphere of old Pest pubs, intimate scenes and lessons learned.

„A világszerte elismert Liszt Ferenc-díjas zongoraművész szellemi és zenei öröksége egyedülálló nemzeti és kulturális érték. Megőrzésében és ápolásában részt vállalni kötelessége a Miskolci Egyetemnek, amelynek falait Cziffra György kényszermunkásként maga is építette az 1950-es években” – fogalmazott a rektor, prof. dr. Horváth Zita. Hozzátette: a Cziffra Fesztivállal közösen rendezett programok széles körben mutatják be nem csak a művészi örökséget, hanem a magyar kulturális és zenei élet egy fontos részét.

A Cziffra Fesztivál támogatója a Miniszterelnökség és Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt.