Bela Horvath, internationally known violinist and protégé of Pinchas Zuckerman.

Aurelia Mika Chang, pianist.

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CAPE MAY – Bela Horvath, internationally known violinist and protégé of Pinchas Zuckerman, and Aurelia Mika Chang, pianist, who performs on three continents will bring their music, especially chosen for Valentine's Day, to the Cape Island Baptist Church at 4 p.m. on the 11th of Feb. Cape Island Baptist is located on Gurney and Columbia Streets in Cape May, and parking is free and in the rear of the church.

Tickets for the concert are $20 adults, $l5. seniors. The event will be followed by a three course gourmet dinner at the Peter Shield's Inn, including tax and gratuity which will cost $50 per person. Peter Shields is a Zagat rated restaurant.

"We only have 38 dinner availabilities, and we need reservations immediately for that," said Barbara Beitel, director of Access to Art, Inc. who is sponsoring the concert.

Aurelia Mika Chang is the director of the Sam Maitin Summer/Fall Chamber Music series hosted in the Summer and Fall in Cape May and has an MM from Juilliard.

Music will include works by Mozart, Dvorak, Kreisler, Brahms and Monti. They will perform excerpts of Hungarian dances and czardas.

Interviewing Bela Horvath, I asked him what was the difference on both sides of the Danube with violin playing? He replied: "It's how the people see and hear, it's the food, the culture, the people are different , they look different and they play differently because they have a different perception and a different way of seeing things. Vienna is as far away as NY to Philadelphia, but I remember going there as a child, from Budapest, and thinking that this begins the Eastern European feel to the music . Hungarian music has a lot of folk material." Horvath said.

"Bartok and Kodaly were great Hungarian composers. They took Hungarian folk material and put it in the music. It created an atmosphere from 100 years ago." he said.

"In Hungary, we start music in lst grade. We can all read music, we know what is a quarter note, and who are the composers..we know Bach, Beethoven. We study music twice a week in school and it continues that way until you graduate high school." It's part of the culture, and part of the sensibility of the people, and part of a child's serious cultural education.

"How," Barbara Beitel asked him, "did you meet Pinchas Zuckerman? "He came to Hungary in 2002," Horvath replied. " He was performing at a venue and we had tickets way in advance, some of my friends and I. The place had an open dress rehearsal. I was sitting at the dress rehearsal and I was blown away. I was impressed with his technique and his musicality. I was amazed. I was learning English and it wasn't so good at that point. I called my English teacher when I went home and I asked her how I could say "Can I work with you? Can I play for you?" She told me how to say it in English. And I memorized it." Horvath said.

"I said it over and over to myself in English. I stood in front of the mirror at home and I repeated the English. When I got to the performance there was an intermission, and I went back stage. I was a nervous wreck. " I asked him if I could play for him in Europe, do a masterclass. I was so nervous, I forgot it. I did communicate though, and he understood. " Pinchas Zuckerman, said" no, I am not doing anything in Europe in the summer. "But this summer", he said," I have a three week summer camp in Ottawa, Canada and you can come. I sent my material on VHS, that's what they were using back then. The deadline for the class was six weeks past. I heard back from them, and they said I could come. I wanted to play for him and his associate, Ms. Kopec. So I was invited." Horvath said.

"After a couple of lessons with her, he asked me what I was going to do, was I going home to Hungary.. He invited me to attend Manhattan College to be in his special program for violin there. But he said. "It isn't inexpensive. It's $45,000 per year. He asked me if I could afford it. I said no. He said he would call his office and see what they could do. He told the director of the school: "I want this violinist in September." They had already allocated their scholarships in the spring, and they had no money left. "He told them: "I don't care. Find the money. " So they called their sponsors or benefactors, and the money appeared. I went home, I packed. I came." Horvath said.

"At the time, I was looking to get out of Hungary. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to study in Germany and my father said that it's too far, "let's go to Vienna." The person who was interested in me working with her got sick, and almost died, so it did not work out. My father did not want me far away. I wanted to study in Germany. He didn't want me that far from home." said Horvath.

When Mr. Zuckerman said you can go to New York City, my father said, "I don't mind if you go to New York City. I will let you go." Horvath said.

"When I got to New York, to Manhattan School of Music, it was very hard. They taught a different method. If students studied with someone else, you have to change what you know technically and relearn how to play the violin." he said.

"He (Mr. Zuckerman) had Ms. Kopec teach me. She handles all the technical aspects of things. They teach you a system--you can start to be more technical. At home, I could play something very well, from intuition or native talent one hour, and the next hour I played it , and it would be horrible. I needed structure, consistency. There was more to it than native talent and emotion. They teach you a system--you can start to be more technical. Consistency is everything." Horvath said.

"When I started with Ms. Kopec, I had two lessons with her. I knew that things worked and things didn't work. I needed to have a structure. " Horvath explained.

"In Hungary, there is a whole different approach. Now that I have the structure, I can duplicate an excellent performance; I don't need to rely on my intuition solely. I have the technique now to repeat it and to do it well both times." he said.

"I am most thankful for Ms. Kopec. Every Monday at 9 a.m., I would have a lesson. We would have a skype lesson, not exactly skype, but similar, with a big screen and good quality sound. If Mr. Zuckerman were in Germany, he would critique us oversees on this system. He could see us perform, and we could see his critique of our playing, and then play it back, and see what he was correcting and what and why he was teaching us." he said.

"Mr. Zuckerman is the conductor at the National Art Center where he is the Director in Canada. He has to be there. He does about two or three concerts per week, and he plays a hundred or so concerts a year across the world. In Japan, in Germany, in Canada, he checks in with us. He is on a big screen so it's like having him in the room. The video concert thing really helps. You can replay it, and check it out, and see why he says this or that, and you can improve your performance." Horvath said.

Beitel asked him how often he could go home to Hungary to see his family. "Twice a year, two months in the summertime, and I go home during Christmas for three weeks. I use skype, phone, ipad, so I can talk to my family while I am walking on the street. It's helpful. When I first came, I didn't have a computer, or any gadgets, so I had to call Hungary on the phone. The first year was busy, so I didn't get to call them that often." he said.

"When did he meet Mika Chang? Beitel asked. "I know Ari for four years, her son, I taught him violin at the JCC in Englewood. I would practice with Mika when he was going to do a performance. We would play it through together. Ari plays like a man, not like an 11 year old," he said. "And Leo, her younger son, plays the violin as well. They are two different personalities, but they both love the violin." he said.

"When did you start playing?" "I started at 3 1/2 years old. My grandfather played the violin. My dad started on the violin and he quit and started on the clarinet. My uncle liked the Beatles, so he did drums. I was the next male. So my grandfather said: I want to teach someone the violin. My dad said, by all means. I loved the violin, because I loved him. He encouraged me and introduced me to it." Horvath said.

"My grandparents lived 60 miles away from Budapest. I couldn't be there all the time. I went there in the summer and he sat me on his lap and showed me where to hold the bow, where to put your fingers--very simple. He instructed according to my age." he said.

"It's like swimming. You throw them in the water. You tell them to hold their nose, to paddle. He wanted to see where the raw talent is. He told me --play. There is the danger of developing mistakes. A proper way of starting is important. He managed not to allow too many mistakes.

He was an amazing violinist. He was like a computer. He could tell you such and such a bar--he knew how to teach. The personal relationship really, really matters. When I was a kid, I didn't have tennis, soccer, baseball, all these distractions. I had the violin. My friends told me that this is not a toy. If you want to do it, you have to do it. A teacher cannot develop a relationship on one hour per week. It takes a lot of time to become a violinist. You have to give yourself to it totally. I did." Horvath said.

The perfect combination of my parents, my grandparents, my violin teachers is what I had. My grandfather just practiced with me later when I had teachers. They never objected to him. He never intruded on them.

"It's a good kind of work and it's a work I want to do. I can't see myself doing anything else." said Bela Horvath.

"If you would like to see the product of years of work, in Aurelia Mika Chang's case, from the age of six, when she decided to become a pianist, and his Bela's case, from the age of 3 1/2, this concert is an opportunity to see the fruit of their labors." said Barbara Beitel, Access to Art, Inc. director.

Send checks to Access to Art, Inc., 4l7 E. Pacific Ave., Cape May Court House, N.J. 08210. Or call (609) 465-3963 for reservation information.