"Balogh, pers, has been a main player in Portland's classical music scene. He was Principal Second Violinist with the Oregon Symphony for many years. He founded the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and was its maestro from 1974 to 2012. He founded the Portland Festival Symphony and conducted it from 1981 to 2016. He served on the faculties of Marylhurst College, Portland State University and Lewis and Clark College."
""I was robbed of my teenage years because they coincided with the first years of WWII," he said. "My hometown had been bombed. My high school was turned into a military hospital. School was held in the morning during those years. So for music, there was not much that you could do. Everything was focused on the war. I would have been in the music business much earlier.""
"In his very large living room were a couple of music stands with scores open. I asked him about his daily routine. "I still play Bach on my violin before I go to bed," he replied. "God bless you. Go!""
Lajos Balogh, age 94, underwent surgery for a herniated esophagus, was admitted to the emergency room, survived the operation and returned home about a week later. He has been a central figure in Portland's classical music scene, serving as Principal Second Violinist with the Oregon Symphony, founding and directing the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (1974–2012) and the Portland Festival Symphony (1981–2016), and teaching at Marylhurst College, Portland State University and Lewis and Clark College. He grew up in Hungary, attended the Liszt Academy in Budapest, studied with Zoltán Kodály, and experienced disrupted teenage years during WWII. He maintains daily violin practice, playing Bach before bed.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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