Zsolt Kalló

Violinist Zsolt Kalló stands among the leading figures advancing historically informed performance practices throughout Hungary. He established the Authentic Quartet and serves as artistic leader of the chamber orchestra Capella Savaria while appearing as concertmaster or soloist with numerous additional groups.

Born on March 6, 1967, in Győr, the northwestern Hungarian city situated between Budapest and Vienna, Kalló entered the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1985. There he worked with Eszter Perényi and received his diploma with honors five years later. He pursued advanced training at the Salzburg Mozarteum under violinist Sándor Végh. Following these studies, he collaborated with several period-instrument ensembles, among them Sonora Hungarica, Concerto Armonico, and the Orfeo Ensemble, and gained frequent exposure on Hungarian radio and television broadcasts. At a moment when historically oriented interpretations remained uncommon in Hungary, he launched Trio Antiqua and, in 2002, the Authentic Quartet, where he continues as first violinist. The latter ensemble has appeared at the Haydn at Esterháza Festival and has released first recordings of Classical-era quartets by Beethoven’s teacher Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Joseph Wölfl, and Franz Krommer. Kalló later assumed the directorship of Capella Savaria, the Szombathely-based orchestra that retains the city’s Roman designation, and has guided its performances throughout Europe.

For the Hungaroton label, Kalló has recorded extensively with Capella Savaria, beginning with an album of Telemann violin concertos issued in 1995. The discography encompasses Baroque and Classical repertoire as well as the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, and Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 90 (“Italian”). In 2020, Kalló and Capella Savaria, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, released a new account of Mozart serenades. He has taught at the Szombathely Conservatory of Music, the Tibor Varga Institute of Musical Arts, and István Széchenyi University.