‘Áron Horváth - ECHO Rising Star’

The cimbalom is an instrument at the crossroads of various traditions. It is a cousin of the Persian santur and a descendant of the mediaeval psaltery, an instrument in the zither family. The cimbalom, which is played with two sticks, is emblematic of Roma cultures. The Hungarian Áron Horváth is one of the young, virtuoso cimbalom players. He is determined to hoist the instrument over the threshold into the 21st century. Áron began by studying traditional music. He went on to train at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and he came into contact with jazz through the renowned saxophonist Mihály Dresch. Áron set himself the goal of promoting these diverse musical universes and bringing them together. He is one of the ECHO Rising Stars of the ’25-’26 season and will join his companions Lőrinc Ágoston Mohácsy (double bass) and Zoltán Fekete (drums) at Bozar to perform arrangements of works by the great Hungarian composers (Bartók, Ligeti, Kurtág). They will also present the first performance of a work by the British composer Charlotte Bray. 

Rising Stars is a project of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO). Áron Horváth has been nominated by Müpa Budapest and Konzerthaus Wien.