The Grand Hall
Acoustics ranked among Europe's finest, with gilded ornament and a great organ — an unforgettable listening experience.
The Liszt Academy is both a teaching institution and a concert hall, and it is among the finest Art Nouveau buildings in Budapest and among the least discovered by visitors. Franz Liszt himself founded it in 1875 — the most famous pianist of the 19th century and one of its most important composers — and it moved into its present building in 1907. The building, by Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl, is thorough Hungarian Art Nouveau: a foyer faced in coloured Zsolnay tile, stained glass, gold mosaic, ironwork balustrades in plant patterns, and a bronze Liszt above the main entrance. Its Grand Hall ranks among the best concert acoustics in Europe, and it was fully restored in a multi-year programme that returned the colours and ornament to their original state. The best way to see it is to attend a concert: the programme runs almost daily and includes academy students alongside professional ensembles, and student concert tickets are very cheap — among the best cultural value in Budapest. If the timing does not suit, published guided tours cover the Grand Hall and foyer.
Acoustics ranked among Europe's finest, with gilded ornament and a great organ — an unforgettable listening experience.
Coloured Zsolnay tile, gold mosaic and plant-form ironwork — Hungarian Art Nouveau at its purest.
A bronze of the founder looking over the square — Budapest's best-known musical frontage after the Opera.
A concert, without hesitation: you sit in the hall for ninety minutes and hear the acoustics it was built for, and student tickets are very cheap. The tour is a good fallback only if no performance time suits.
The Opera is for opera and ballet and is the grander room; the Liszt Academy is for instrumental and classical concerts and has the better acoustics. For opera, the Opera House. For pure listening at a lower price, the Academy.
A 19th-century Hungarian composer and pianist, regarded as among the greatest pianists in history and one of the inventors of the solo recital as we know it. He founded this academy in 1875 and was its first president, and his name is on the building, the square and Budapest's airport.
Andrássy Avenue is right outside, the Opera five minutes on foot, the House of Terror seven, and District VII with the Dohány synagogue to the south — all on one walking route.
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A tree-lined café square in front of the building — one of the calmest places to sit near Andrássy Avenue.
Liszt Ferenc tér 8, Pest 1061