On October 22, a statue commemorating world-famous Hungarian-born conductor Sir Georg Solti was inaugurated in front of the freshly renovated Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest; Foreign Minister János Martonyi gave a speech at the inauguration ceremony.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister declared that Sir Georg Solti had always been loyal to his home country, but his country had abandoned him both in 1939 and in 1945. He stressed that that the value of a nation is defined by what it can give to the world and to humanity in terms of talent, art and literature, but most importantly in music, since music can transcend linguistic barriers.

János Martonyi claimed that Solti had two native languages: one was Hungarian and the other was the universal language of music. Sir Georg Solti bore in his heart the Hungary of such composers as Liszt, Bartók, Kodály, Dohnányi and Leo Weiner.

The Liszt Academy of Music, which is part of our future and not merely a legacy from the past, is a worthy representative of Hungary, he added.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)