IN regard to the Harpsichord; the Manner of Playing as described by the term Legato, or chaining the Passages, by some spirited Touch of the Finger, is much more suitable to the Style of these Pieces, than That of the Staccato, or invariable marking of the Notes by means of the Wrist. In this latter Case, there is an entire Vacancy of Sound between every Note or Key so truck; whereas in the former, by keeping the Key till another is taken, the Sounds, thus touching each other, as it were, produce that pleasing Thrill and Sprinkling of the Notes which is peculiar to this Instrument: For however strange it may seem to assert, that different Performers give the same Harpsichord a very different Tone, the Fact is nevertheless true, and may be justly accounted for, from the different Methods of playing here noted, i. e. either with, or without lifting the Wrist.
/ Charles Avison/
Born in Budapest (Hungary) in 1984, Márton Borsányi studied harpsichord, continuo playing, and historical improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’ Leipzig and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he was taught by Nicholas Parle, Jesper Christensen, and Rudolf Lutz. In 2009, he held a scholarship at the Academia Montis Regalis in Mondovì (Italy). For many years, he has focussed his musical endeavours on seventeenth-century keyboard music from German-speaking, Lutheran regions.
Márton Borsányi gives regular concert performances as a soloist and chamber musician, at the harpsichord as well as the organ. He is the organist at the Reformed Church in Oberwil (Basel-Landschaft) and at the Roman-Catholic church of St Martin in Egerkingen. Between 2016 and 2019 he held a teaching appointment at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz. Since 2017 he teaches harpsichord specific organology at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. Since 2017 he also teaches the harpsichord class at ISAEM Festival in Warsaw and organises the Pannonia Early Music Academy in Hungary, since 2019 he teaches at MDW Vienna.
He is also an enthusiastic harpsichord and organ teacher with a huge interest and experience in organology and early music research. He has worked as a harpsichord expert and 'intonateuer' for Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Budapest, Conservatory Ljubljana, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Basel, Kunstuniversität Graz, for CD Recordings such as Bartók and Baroque - Helga Váradi Harpsichord, or 7 Toccatas by J. S. Bach - Eva Maria Pollerus Harpsichord and many more private customers in Hungary, Switzerland, Germany and Slovenia. As an 'intonateuer' Márton Borsányi also has more than 10 years of experience working with both real quills and delrin and also gives lectures on harpsichord maintenance and regulation.
He feels most at ease with harpsichords built by Titus Crijnen, Bruce Kennedy, Ferguson Hoey, the late Werner Iten, but believes that each harpsichord can be made special by giving it a voicing and a regulation that makes a perfect and very personal connection between the instrument and its owner. This personal touch will make every instrument unique in the end and will keep us, harpsichord players flexible and always open for new ideas.