Artist's albums
Beethoven For Relaxation
2022 · album
Vivaldi For Inspiration
2022 · album
Beethoven For Inspiration
2021 · album
Beethoven For Study
2021 · album
Vivaldi For Study
2021 · album
Beethoven For Meditation
2021 · album
Peaceful Beethoven
2021 · album
Relaxing Vivaldi
2021 · album
Chill With Beethoven
2021 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Greatest Hits
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Romantic Beethoven
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Choral Works
2020 · compilation
Beethoven: 30 of the Best
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Music from His Late Compositional Period
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Concertos
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Music from His Middle Compositional Period
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Symphonies & Orchestral Works
2020 · compilation
Celebrate Beethoven: Music from His Early Compositional Period
2019 · compilation
Classic Ranking Top 50
2017 · compilation
Haydn: Nelson Mass - Little Organ Mass
2016 · album
The Essentials: Vivaldi
2016 · compilation
Purple Classics Presents: Elegant Dinner Music
2016 · compilation
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
2015 · single
Musique classique pour la méditation
2014 · compilation
Musique pour l'apocalypse zombie
2014 · compilation
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Biography
After beginning his career as a flutist, Bela Drahos has added the roles of chamber music leader and conductor to his dossier. With his recordings of the complete Beethoven symphonies, Drahos was propelled onto the international stage by the warm praise bestowed by critics, including H.C. Robbins Landon. Although he performs as an ensemble flutist and presents himself as an accomplished soloist, his work as a maestro has provided him with his greatest celebrity. While studying at the Gyor Conservatory beginning in 1969, Drahos won two flute competitions: in 1971, he took first prize in the Concertino Prague International Flute Competition, and in 1972, he placed first in an event produced by Hungarian television. After graduating with honors from Budapest's Liszt Academy, Drahos continued to win Central European awards such as the Hungarian Liszt Prize in 1985 and the Bartók/Pasztory Prize in 1988. Founder/leader of the Hungarian Radio Wind Quartet, Drahos was appointed principal flutist of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra in 1976. His solo career has taken him to numerous venues in Europe and the Far East. Drahos' podium activities significantly increased when he was engaged as resident conductor of the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra in 1993. A classical period orchestra, the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia, was assembled for Drahos in 1992 from members of the HSSO and principal players from other key Hungarian orchestras. Initially, the ensemble was intended for recordings only, but the NES eventually began performing public concerts. The ensemble's size varies from Baroque string groupings to mid-sized for the Haydn/Mozart symphonies and even larger for Beethoven orchestral works. The majority of Drahos' recordings have been made for the Naxos label. As a soloist, he has been featured on discs devoted to the flute sonatas of C.P.E. Bach, Vivaldi flute concerti, and the flute concerti of Leopold Hofmann. With the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia, Drahos' traversal of the complete Beethoven symphonies won top recommendations from many news publications and music magazines; his sinewy, rhythmically firm readings satisfied both period performance enthusiasts and those who preferred the more substantial sound of modern instruments. The conductor's recordings of Haydn symphonies and masses have also earned high marks from critics.