As a child, he dreamed of becoming a famous composer and a noted performer of classical music, but during his years at the conservatory, he was seduced by jazz. Following the example of his role model, Leonard Bernstein, however, he has always endeavoured in the course of his career to feel comfortable in every musical genre, which meant that he never completely moved away from classical music. In 2002, he performed Mozart's "Coronation” Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major with the Hungarian National Philharmonic, playing his own jazz improvisations in the cadenzas. He is also fond of making forays into pop and folk music.
For this concert, he's putting together a programme spanning the most diverse imaginable range of genres, with improvisation taking on an important role in both parts. He'll start off by playing Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto for Two Pianos in C minor together with his son Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos, who shares his father's versatility as a musician. Next, the Kelemen Quartet will perform Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 2, with Szakcsi joining in with his improvisations between the movements. The second half will bring to the stage Szakcsi Lakatos's guest Gábor Presser, who will join the pianist for some joint improvisation before they perform some of Presser's songs together, these embellished further with the vocals of Mariann Falusi.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest