Geza Legocky

"Our goal is to be spiritual,not to understand the spiritual."
"Anyone would attempts to understand Geza will never succeed, especially when the empire of the average dominates our times and everyday news. The insidious reminiscences of some dogmatic mistakes carried through recent changes in society, not long ago converged in an artificial reality which is restricting more and more artistic freedom and brings very often results which have an enormous lack of authenticity. Intellectual speculation has a main role in this increasing phenomena of indifferent inertia in the musical programming which could even lead soon to the Ice age of Classical Music. The audience needs to feel some real substance, so as to free your mind and prepare to meet an Avatar of the violin which is born in the darkest hour before dawn" The exceptional musical world of Geza Hosszu bears a striking resemblance to the violin titans of the past. His rare and beautiful expression transmutes and glows at every moment, tantalizing the audience with fire, allowing limitless boundaries to his performances and a spiritual transfiguration which sometimes even evokes the dashing bravery of legendary heroes in a mythical battle with ghostly lighting. He has undoubtedly an overwhelming personality yet is always driven by the forces of love and through omnipresent feelings he unveils the realm of the sacred, leading his poetic side to such mystical moments of restraint, that when the power of imagination takes over the audience he could even induce audible levitation. But his greatest power in radically altering the state of the listener is an enormous gift to communicate the dramatic meaning of life, embodying in his sound an intensity beyond the unusual that pierces the hearts and awakens sensitivity. Most probably it is for this reason he has been compared more than once to the divine Maria Callas. Strangely they were born on the same day.The elegant bohemian Geza Hosszu Legocky has an exotic provenance. He is the descendant of a line of renowned musicians from whom he inherited the traditional and mysterious knowledge that guards the spirit of the coveted gypsy and klezmer music world. He proudly cultivate the values of his Jewish and Roma ancestors channelling his authentic roots through what he is: an international concert violinist. There is indeed a fascinating story at the very essence of this unique musician born in Lausanne with Hungarian blood boundaries that even relates him with G.Cziffra.He was a very restless child prodigy, playing with anything that came upon his hands and only when someone gave him a violin he did gain a sense of calm. He wanted more than anything to play music with his father and during his entrance examination at the Vienna Academy of Music the experts inexorably proclaimed that if anyone was born to play the violin it was Geza Hosszu. He was six at the time and his extraordinary talent dazzled his professor Dora Schwarzberg, a great Russian teacher representing the school of Oistrach and Jankilevitch. One year later Geza was touring in Italy and France and at the age of nine he performed his debut with the ORFF TV. Many concerts ensued with orchestras in Hungary and when he was only ten his phenomenal performance in Moscow caused a true sensation.His entire youth he was supported and guided by his courageous mother, but the tragic death of his father brought a deep sorrow upon twelve year old Geza. His meeting in Switzerland with Tibor Varga was decisive for his emotional strength. With open arms, this heir of the old Hungarian school of Carl Flesch and Leopold Auer showed Geza the interactive relation of the classical tradition with the folkloric roots of Hungary, not only reminding him of his origins but also inspiring his freedom of spirit. Off stage, Geza made a cameo appearance as a gypsy violinist in Francois Girard's film: The Red Violin.At the age of fourteen upon his return to Vienna he received the violin of his grandfather. It was in the same year at Verbier's Festival that he met Martha Argerich and the legendary pianist started inmediately confessing her fascination for one of his videos: "Zigeunerwissen" shown to her by his teacher Dora three years before. Martha was enthusiastic right from the start but what particularly struck her from his interpretation was the depth and mystery of his ageless soul revealed through the emotional expression of the gypsy melody "Csak egy kislany vana vilagon". Indeed it's impossible to know the age of Geza's soul when he performs. His spirit fluctuates freely according to the music, sometimes evoking a young adolescent in love or sometimes severely expressing the depth of wisdom. During his developmental years his teachers and coaches also included Marina Sokorova, Ruggiero Ricci, Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel... He graduated from the Vienna Academy of Music with top honors. 2001 was a significant year for Geza. He was chosen amongst a select few young artists from around the world and was invited to participate in the prestigious Dorothy Delay Symposium and Master Classes at the Juilliard School of Music in the class of the violinist Robert McDuffie. Upon hearing him, McDuffie immediately engaged him to perform at the Aspen Music Festival in an international concert broadcast on NPR, reaching over three million listeners worldwide. In the meantime the preference of Martha Argerich for this young violinist was extensively shown with deference, as she immediately included him in her film "Evening Talks" and performed with him in innumerable venues across the world. The acclaim followed, and he was recognised by music critics and colleagues as one of the elite violinists of our time. Geza never forgot his roots in not only rendering the well known classics of the great Violin repertoire but also proudly presenting his beloved gypsy music, honouring his ancestors in fascinating crossover projects and finally creating his award-winning ensemble "The Five Devils". His solid academic formation combined with the inherited traditional knowledge, led his intuitive music to transcend to a superior level of performance and the sophisticated intensity of the result rocked many halls astonishing the audiences.He continues to perform regularly at the most renowned music festivals around the world and previous performances include sold-out concerts at the prestigious Verbier Festival with Roby Lakatos and other artists such as Ida Haendel, Vadim Repin, and Sayaka Shoji. In 2003, he was invited by the Violin Festival in Cassis (France) to perform with Ruggiero Ricci and Ivry Gitlis and at the 2005 Saratoga Festival Geza made his recital debut with Martha Argerich to thunderous standing ovations. His regular chamber music partners include also many other musicians such as Gautier and Renaud Capucon, Vadim Repin, Nelson Freire, Gabriela Montero, Akane Sakai, Giorgia Tomassi and Lily Maisky. Praised by musicians, audiences, and music critics as a rising "tour de force" in the classical music scene, Geza Hosszu-Legocky's critical acclaim culminated with the nomination of two Grammy Awards, including the "Best Classical Music Album 2005" and "Best Chamber Music Recording 2005" for his recording of the Schumann Violin Sonata in A minor and other chamber music works with an all-star cast including Martha Argerich, Maxim Vengerov, Lilya Zilberstein, and Gabriela Montero on EMI Classics. In 2003, he also released his first EMI Classics recording performing traditional Hungarian Gypsy music with his ensemble "The Five Devils" and as a guest soloist he was invited to perform with major orchestras and ensembles throughout the world including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with Myung-Whun Chung and Thierry Fischer, the NHK Orchestra with Charles Dutoit, and the Kremerata Baltica with Gidon Kremer. Geza Hosszu-Legocky now plays the ex Joachim-Aranyi Stradivarius (1715), offered to him by the Nippon Foundation with the support of Lorin Maazel and Janos Starker. Recent unconventional collaborations include projects with Michael Guttman and the Roma-Sinti Orchestra, his recent performance with Michael Legrand and the creation of a new apotheosising chamber orchestra " The Bohemian Virtuosi" which will cause sensation very soon. It is perhaps the combination of his extreme facilities with the driving forces of his excessive and ludicrous temperament the main reason which convey the conclusion of many: Geza Hosszu possesses a Demonic virtuosity. This term, having been attributed to the great Paganini himself is carrying a very special meaning in the violin history, but in reality, the nobility of ideals of Geza prove that although he is a Dionysian passionate artist who surely has power over the crossroads, he always chooses to give ardour and love with the generosity of a Promethean. In every concert rendering the authentic musical message of his inside voice,always as if it was his last performance. He holds a dual Swiss and American citizenship and currently resides in Switzerland and Belgium.