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Dániel Dobri
Contemporary music director, Composition
Teaching Philosophy
We often think of composition as an art that can be taught with precision. Over the centuries, our craft has developed a clear methodology through the study of counterpoint, form, stylistic analysis, and orchestration. Technical knowledge is essential for becoming a composer, but it is not enough. For me, composition is not only a craft, but a psychological and spiritual process of self-knowledge - and teaching it is no different.
A good composition lesson creates a space that feels almost therapeutic: not a place of judgment, but one that is intellectually open and grounded in trust, where the right questions can begin to emerge. Once the true source of a creative blockage is recognized, what remains is simply the craft.
I am Dániel Dobri, lecturer at the Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest and Artistic Director of the Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra. For me, composition and teaching remain ongoing journeys of self-knowledge. They help transform inner doubts and questions into music - into an order that can sometimes say more than words.
Biography
Dobri earned his master’s degree in composition with distinction from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he studied under Professors Gyula Fekete and Zsófia Tallér. After graduating, he attended courses at the Peter Eötvös Foundation with esteemed composers such as Peter Eötvös and Unsuk Chin. He completed his doctoral degree at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest, focusing on the dramaturgical aspects of choral composition. Since 2022, he has been a lecturer at the Franz Liszt Academy.
His early musical background as a jazz guitarist soon led him to compose incidental music for theatre, before turning towards concert works, opera, and ballet. Since 2009, he has composed original scores for over 60 stage productions, and served as a musical supervisor in Hungarian theatres, collaborating with renowned directors and choreographers such as Kornél Mundruczó and Tamás Juronics.
Dobri’s international recognition includes awards such as the 2020 New Hungarian Music Forum prize for his orchestral piece PentaTones and the 2023 Artisjus Award for Best Young Composer. His chamber opera Un’altra Roma has seen continuous performances across Europe, and his work States of Matter was selected for the 2024 Chamber Music Series of the Art Music Society in Washington, D.C.
Currently, Dobri serves as the contemporary artistic director and composer-in-residence of the Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. His work also reflects his deep involvement in music education and historical research. His music, influenced by spectralism and electronic elements, is defined by versatility, interdisciplinarity, and the constant crossing of boundaries between genres and art forms.
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