An alumnus, scholar and prize winner of the Royal College of Music, Abel Balazs is a versatile violinist specialising on historical violins. His repertoire ranges from the early 17th century and 20th centuries with a specific interest in late 18th century German repertoire and early 19th century music.
During his MPerf degree and Artist Diploma studies at the RCM, he was a Parnassus Award Holder studying under Professor Catherine Martin and Bojan Čičić. For his Artist Diploma recital in June 2019, he was awarded the McKenna Prize 2019 for having the highest mark in a baroque instrument at the Royal College of Music.
Abel has participated in masterclasses and received tutoring from various prominent musicians, among them, Pavlo Beznosiuk, Enrico Gatti, Vittorio Ghielmi, Amandine Beyer, Chiara Banchini, Adrian Butterfield, Monica Huggett, Catherine Mackintosh and Alessandro Tampieri.
Abel has been performing and recording with several leading period instrument ensembles and conductors in the U.K., including Florilegium, Gabrieli Consort & Players (Paul McCreesh), Academy of Ancient Music (Richard Egarr, Laurence Cummings), The English Concert (Harry Bicket, Trevor Pinnock), Monteverdi String Band (Oliver Webber), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (András Schiff, Steven Devine, John Wilson), Early Opera Company (Christian Curnyn), La Nuova Musica (David Bates), La Serenissima (Adrian Chandler), Oxford Bach Soloists (Tom Hammond-Davies), VOCES8 Baroque Orchestra (Barney Smith), Nonsuch Baroque Players (Tom Bullard), The Brook Street Band, The Baroque Collective (Alison Bury), Dunedin Consort (John Butt), Norwich Baroque and The Illyria Consort (Bojan Čičić).
In the U.K., he was a Handel House Talent member at Handel & Hendrix in London (2019-2021) and held a La Serenissima Emerging Artist Chair 2020.
In Portugal, he is a tutti violinist of the Orquestra Barroca da Casa da Música, a guest artist of Ludovice Ensemble and a member of Real Câmara led by Enrico Onofri. In Italy, he regularly performs with Theresia Orchestra, led by Alfredo Bernardini, Chiara Banchini, Claudio Astronio, Giovanni Antonini and Vanni Moretto.
Abel plays on a John Betts (c.1800) violin, on loan from the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.
Photo credit: Sandra Vijandi