György Kurtág, Honorary Doctor at the Music Academy

The Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest awarded world-renowned Hungarian composer György Kurtág an honorary doctorate on the occasion of his 100th birthday. The artist, who is a former student and teacher at the Academy of Music, received his honorary doctorate from the university's management on Friday.

György Kurtág is twice winner of the Kossuth Prize and three times winner of the Ferenc Erkel Prize and considered one of the most significant contemporary Hungarian composers alongside György Ligeti and Péter Eötvös, will turn 100 on February 19. The honorary doctorate was presented to him by Gábor Farkas, rector of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.

To mark György Kurtág's upcoming 100th birthday, the Budapest Music Center (BMC) is organizing a large-scale, year-long series of events across the country. The Kurtág100 festival will feature international stars and leading performers from the Hungarian contemporary music scene presenting a cross-section of Kurtág's oeuvre. Programs will be held in Budapest in Müpa, the Academy of Music and BMC, as well as in the cities of Győr, Szombathely, Pécs and Szeged.