Béla Drahos
Encyclopedia
Béla Drahos is a Hungarian conductor
and flautist
.
in his hometown when he was just 8 years old. At the age of 12 he became the principal flautist, and as a young man he won several flute competitions. He didn't make his conducting debut until 1992 with an all-Beethoven programme. His first recording as a conductor was a disc of three Haydn symphonies
for Naxos Records
. He has also been soloist
and conductor in a disc of Vivaldi flute concerti
, as well as conducting flute concerti by Leopold Hofmann
with another soloist. Moreover, he worked with the Hungarian composer Robert Gulya
and the Austrian guitarist Johanna Beisteiner
and published recordings with them for Gramy Records
. He was conductor during the recording of the critically acclaimed soundtrack
of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
and Hitman: Blood Money
, composed by Jesper Kyd
and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
.
Biography
Drahos started out as a flautist, joining the orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in his hometown when he was just 8 years old. At the age of 12 he became the principal flautist, and as a young man he won several flute competitions. He didn't make his conducting debut until 1992 with an all-Beethoven programme. His first recording as a conductor was a disc of three Haydn symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
for Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
. He has also been soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
and conductor in a disc of Vivaldi flute concerti
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
, as well as conducting flute concerti by Leopold Hofmann
Leopold Hofmann
Leopold Hofmann was an Austrian composer of classical music.-Biography:...
with another soloist. Moreover, he worked with the Hungarian composer Robert Gulya
Robert Gulya
Robert Gulya is a Hungarian composer. He composes contemporary classical music as well as film scores.- Life :Robert Gulya studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and attended a film scoring advanced program at the University of...
and the Austrian guitarist Johanna Beisteiner
Johanna Beisteiner
Johanna Beisteiner is an Austrian classical guitarist.- Life :Johanna Beisteiner received her first guitar lessons at the age of nine at the Josef Matthias Hauer music school in her hometown Wiener Neustadt...
and published recordings with them for Gramy Records
Gramy Records
Gramy Records is a Hungarian record label spezialising in different forms of art music, such as jazz, world music and classical music.-History:The company was founded in 1999 by Attila Egerhazi to publish recordings of art music...
. He was conductor during the recording of the critically acclaimed soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. Released for the Xbox game console on September 30, 2002, it is the second entry in the Hitman series and the sequel to Hitman: Codename 47...
and Hitman: Blood Money
Hitman: Blood Money
Hitman: Blood Money is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the fourth entry in the Hitman game series....
, composed by Jesper Kyd
Jesper Kyd
Jesper Jakobson Kyd is a Danish video game and film score composer.Kyd combines sounds of dark ambient, electronic and symphonic music and has won many awards. He is also notable for his early work in the Amiga demoscene, where he composed a large amount of music in his teenage years, in...
and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir.
Discography (incomplete)
- 1992: Bach, C.P.E.: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord, Wq. 83-87 (Naxos)
- 1998: Vivaldi: Flute Concertos Vol. 1 (Naxos)
- 2000: Vivaldi: Flute Concertos Vol .2 (Naxos)
- 2002: Chill with Vivaldi (Naxos)
- 2004: Between Present and past (Gramy RecordsGramy RecordsGramy Records is a Hungarian record label spezialising in different forms of art music, such as jazz, world music and classical music.-History:The company was founded in 1999 by Attila Egerhazi to publish recordings of art music...
) - 2005: Flute Moments (Naxos)
- 2010: Live in Budapest (Gramy RecordsGramy RecordsGramy Records is a Hungarian record label spezialising in different forms of art music, such as jazz, world music and classical music.-History:The company was founded in 1999 by Attila Egerhazi to publish recordings of art music...
) Videos of Concerto for guitar and orchestra and the tango The Milonguero and the Muse by Robert GulyaRobert GulyaRobert Gulya is a Hungarian composer. He composes contemporary classical music as well as film scores.- Life :Robert Gulya studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and attended a film scoring advanced program at the University of...
played live by Béla Drahos, Johanna BeisteinerJohanna BeisteinerJohanna Beisteiner is an Austrian classical guitarist.- Life :Johanna Beisteiner received her first guitar lessons at the age of nine at the Josef Matthias Hauer music school in her hometown Wiener Neustadt...
and the Budapest Symphony Orchesta.