Meet the Musicians
Daniel Szasz,
Concertmaster
The Hugh Kaul Chair
Daniel Szasz, “a sensitive, carrying player who sublimates his virtuosity to better serve the music.”
Active as a concert soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, Daniel Szasz has been the Concertmaster of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 1997. A versatile musician, interested in performing both standard and less familiar repertoire, Szasz has been consistently praised for his “expressive, rich and warm sound” as well as for his “strong, confident, and assertive playing.” His performances have been described as “breathtaking” and “exquisite,” and have generated great enthusiasm among his audiences and in the press.
Born in Romania in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, Szasz began playing the violin at age six under the supervision of his father, a former principal trumpet player with the Sibiu State Philharmonic Orchestra. At the age of eight he played his first solo recital, and at thirteen he performed his first concerto with a professional orchestra. His teachers in Romania included Mihai Wunderlich, Victoria Nicolae, and Andras Agoston .
While a student at the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj, at only nineteen, Szasz landed a position with one of the top orchestras in Romania, the Cluj State Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he toured Europe extensively, recorded, and performed as a soloist on many occasions. Following studies with Alberto Lysy at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland, Szasz moved to the U.S. and continued his violin studies with Vasile Beluska, Yair Kless, Gerald Jarvis, and Patrick Rafferty. He also studied chamber music with members of the Franz Schubert Quartet, Audubon Quartet, and Fine Arts Quartet.
Mr. Szasz has won numerous awards in national competitions in Romania as well as international competitions in Italy and the United States, including the “Public Prize” at the prestigious Vittorio Gui International Chamber Music Competition in Florence, Italy, playing with his wife, pianist Alina Voicu. Over the years, Szasz participated in several music festivals, including the Graz Music Festival in Austria; the Sopron Music Festival in Hungary; and the Blossom, Chautauqua, and New Hampshire Music Festivals in the U.S. In the summer of 2006, Mr. Szasz was selected as the new concertmaster of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, a summer festival orchestra in Lake Placid, New York.
In 2004, in collaboration with The Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Szasz initiated the establishment of “The Romanian-American Music Days” in Sibiu, Romania, an annual summer music festival that promotes American music and supports active professional interactions between Romanian and American musicians.
Mr. Szasz’s upcoming appearances include solo and chamber music concerts in Europe as well as performances with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in the Masterworks and Concertmaster and Friends series.
