Described by pianist Kirill Gerstein as

“an artistic personality possessing many rare and important qualities: an extremely sensitive musicality, a probing intellect, a strong and independent viewpoint, charisma and charm. This, coupled with his musical and cultural knowledge, memory, and pianistic skills gives him a real possibility of being a concert artist,” 

János Palojtay has attracted the attention of the musical world with his profound, powerful, bright and natural musicianship and pianism. Palojtay’s approach has a strong link to the richly improvisational and distinct languages of the baroque style, contemporary music and jazz. His interpretations are quite unique because of a balance he achieves between analytical thinking and musical instinct. Janos feels a strong connection with the music of Bartók, Schubert and Scriabin. The artistry of Bach, Ravel, Liszt and Chopin also fascinate him and bring him closer to their works in particular.

János began his international career after winning the third prize at the Santander Paloma O’Shea Piano Competition in 2012. This success led to solo recital invitations to perform in renowned concert halls in Spain, France, Austria and Italy, including the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and the Salle Cortot in Paris. In the same year, he made his debut in the United States in Kalamazoo, Michigan as soloist of the Gilmore Foundation’s Rising Stars series. Since then, he has performed several times with the cellist Lev Sivkov in illustrious concert halls including Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. In Europe, his important solo and chamber music performances include concerts in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Ligeti Saal in Graz and the L’Auditori in Barcelona. Palojtay has also performed in Asia; in India, Taiwan and South Korea. Janos regards the Encuentro de Música in Santander, Spain, the Festspiele in Mecklenburg, Germany, and the Sommerakademie in Salzburg, Germany as his most important festival appearances. His time as a returning artist at the Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music in Cornwall, UK has greatly contributed to his career as a young artist. He was invited to the Marlboro Music Festival at the personal invitation of Mitsuko Uchida multiple times. Marlboro had a profound impact on his musical development, where he could perform in the company of some of the world’s most prominent musicians.

János enjoys collaborating and performing with, among others, esteemed musicians such as Lev Sivkov, Tamás Pálfalvi, Peter Stumpf, Yura Lee, Radovan Vlatković, Zoltán Fejérvári, Miklós Perényi, Barnabás Kelemen, Ditta Rohmann and the Quarteto Casals. As chamber musician, János looks for a common ground with all his partners, enabling everyone to step beyond individual personalities and limits in gratitude and service to the music.

János Palojtay has been surrounded by music from an early age. Whether playing the piano, improvising, composing or singing at home with the family, he always regards music first and foremost as a game. He received his first official piano lesson at the age of 5 and studied composition for several years at the Bartók Béla secondary school. From the age of 13 he continued his studies at the School of Exceptional Young Talents of the Liszt Academy of Music, from which he later graduated as the student of András Kemenes and Rita Wagner. At the Mozarteum University, Salzburg, Imre Rohmann was his professor; then after his graduation he further developed his musical skills under the supervision of Kirill Gerstein in Stuttgart. As all of his professors were students of Ferenc Rados, Palojtays artistry is directly tied to the inimitable musician’s essence-seeking musical thinking and attitude.

He also gained artistic inspiration from the performances of András Schiff, whom he met while working with him in various master classes. The young talent attracted the attention of Schiff, who invited Palojtay to perform in masterclasses at the Schubertiada in Schwarzenberg and the Wigmore Hall in London. Upon the recommendation of Schiff, Palojtay had the opportunity to perform a concert tour as a soloist of the Building Bridges series in 2017/2018 in eminent European concert halls. Masterclasses with Murray Perahia, Claudio Martinez-Mehner and Dmitrij Bashkirov had a significant impact on Palojtay’s artistic development.
János made his debut in Budapest in the Hungarian National Opera hall with the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 with Christopher Hogwood conducting in 2012. He is a frequent soloist with leading Hungarian symphony orchestras at venues such as the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall (Müpa-Budapest), the Liszt Academy of Music and the Kodály Center of Pécs. In the last few years he performed with conductors such as Gergely Madaras, Oliver von Dohnányi, Jesus Lopez Coboz, Juanjo Mena, Gergely Vajda, Zsolt Hamar and András Keller.

As a member of the Ludium Ensemble, he has been working intensively with the music of György Kurtág. He also gained experience as an orchestral pianist with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the direction of Iván Fischer.
Intrigued by the ways in which classical music can become more free of formalities, Janos explores how to create an intimate concert experience for an audience. He performs regularly in the Budapest underground scene, where he plays contemporary and jazz improvisations as well as classical pieces.

János Palojtay has been surrounded by music from an early age. Whether playing the piano, improvising, composing or singing at home with the family, he always regards music first and foremost as a game. He received his first official piano lesson at the age of 5 and studied composition for several years at the Bartók Béla secondary school. He continued his studies from the age of 13 at the School of Exceptional Young Talents of the Liszt Academy of Music, from which he then graduated as the student of András Kemenes and Rita Wagner. At the Mozarteum University, Salzburg, Imre Rohmann was his professor and after his graduation, he developed further his musical skills under the supervision of Kirill Gerstein in Stuttgart. As all of his professors were students of Ferenc Rados, Palojtays artistry is directly tied to the inimitable musician’s essence-seeking musical thinking and attitude.

He also gained artistic inspiration from the performances of András Schiff, whom he met while working with him in various master classes. The young talent attracted the attention of Schiff, who invited Palojtay to perform in masterclasses at the Schubertiada in Schwarzenberg and the Wigmore Hall in London. Upon the recommendation of Schiff, Palojtay had the opportunity to perform a concert tour as a soloist of the Building Bridges series in 2017/2018 in eminent European concert halls. Masterclasses with Murray Perahia, Claudio Martinez-Mehner and Dmitrij Bashkirov had a significant impact on Palojtay’s artistic development.
Janos made his debut in Budapest in the Hungarian National Opera hall with the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 with Christopher Hogwood conducting in 2012. He is a frequent soloist with leading Hungarian symphony orchestras at venues such as the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall (Müpa-Budapest), the Liszt Academy of Music and the Kodály Center of Pécs. In the last few years he performed with conductors such as Gergely Madaras, Oliver von Dohnányi, Jesus Lopez Coboz, Juanjo Mena, Gergely Vajda, Zsolt Hamar, and András Keller.

As a member of the Ludium Ensemble, he has been working intensively with the music of György Kurtág. He also gained experience as an orchestral pianist with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the direction of Iván Fischer.
Intrigued by the ways in which classical music can become more free of formalities, Janos explores how to create an intimate concert experience for an audience. He performs regularly in the Budapest underground scene, where he plays contemporary and jazz improvisations as well as classical pieces.