🇬🇧
The Hungarian Record Company (the predecessor of Hungaroton) was founded in 1951 by the state. Due to the company's position, in addition to Hungarian classical and popular musicians, even the best actors in the country made recordings here, resulting in a valuable sound archive of tens of thousands of titles. After lengthy preparations, Hungaroton was privatized in 1995 and became part of the Fotex Group. As of 1 January 2013, Hungaroton was merged into Fotexnet Ltd., preserving publishing activities and the brand name.
Over the past decade, Hungaroton's activities have shifted from releasing physical records to digital distribution in response to changing consumer behavior. By utilizing the technology and development experience of Fotexnet to digitally process and deliver the audio library on modern platforms, Hungaroton has become an export-oriented retailer, primarily using digital channels.
The label puts emphasis on maintaining the traditions of the past by recording with the most respected and successful classical artists. It also launched a series of audiobooks featuring actors who won the Kossuth and Jászai Mari Prizes.
Our history
The name Hungaroton is practically synonymous with Hungarian record production. As one of Europe's most respected publishers, our catalog includes performances by some of the most important artists of the last 70 years. We strive to record the music of the next generation of great Hungarian artists, many of whom have already achieved international fame. Simultaneously, we recognize the importance of sharing our legendary and remarkable archive recordings with listeners.
The predecessor of Hungaroton was the Hungarian Record Manufacturing Company (MHV), established by the Hungarian state in 1951 under the name “Qualiton.” Due to MHV's strong market position, most Hungarian classical and pop musicians and the top actors recorded their music at MHV. Its archive contains nearly 10,000 valuable records. Additionally, Hungaroton is known for releasing world premiere releases and has many rare recordings in its archives.
Annie Fischer
Locomotiv GT (János Karácsony, Tamás Somló, József Laux, Gábor Presser)
In the mid-1960s, exports increased significantly, and the company changed its name from Qualiton to Hungaroton. The Qualiton brand remained focused on Hungarian music, gypsy music, and operetta, while new brands for popular music (Pepita, Bravó, Krém) were established in the 1970s. This period, particularly the 1970s and 1980s, marked the label's peak, with prominent pop singers and bands easily selling over 100,000 records, meeting the Gold record certification threshold. The high quality of the LPs and the artists' performances contributed to a substantial worldwide sale of classical music albums. Starting in 1988, Western pop music records and classical music recordings, which were previously difficult to acquire, became more accessible. Hungaroton was privatized in 1995 after extensive negotiations.
At Hungaroton, we are proud to feature a diverse range of talented and highly acclaimed classical music performers across several generations. Our roster includes renowned pianists such as Annie Fischer, Tamás Vásáry, Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki, András Schiff, Malcolm Bilson, József Balog, Gábor Farkas, Zoltán Fejérvári, and Dénes Várjon. Our conductors include János Ferencsik, Tamás Vásáry, Iván Fischer, and Zoltán Kocsis, and our violinists feature Kristóf Baráti, Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas, and Vilmos Szabadi. We are also proud to collaborate with distinguished cellists such as Miklós Perényi, István Várdai, and Péter Szabó and renowned flutists like Gergely Ittzés and Noémi Győri.
Furthermore, we have renowned albums with the Tátrai and Bartók String Quartets and Liszt Ferenc, Capella Savaria, and Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestras. Furthermore, the world-renowned Amadinda Percussion Ensemble also recorded many memorable albums at our label.
Máté Szűcs, Dénes Várjon, Giovanni Guzzo, Miklós Perényi
Klári Balázs, György Korda
Hungaroton has been associated with many evergreen Hungarian pop stars, such as iconic singers like Zsuzsa Koncz, Zsuzsa Cserháti, Kati Kovács, György Korda, Péter Máté, Zorán, Tamás Cseh, Pál Szécsi, and legendary bands like Hungária, Bikini, Edda Művek, Illés Ensemble, Omega, Locomotive GT, Newton Family, Benkó Dixieland Band.
Hungaroton also published albums of popular stand-up comedy/cabaret artist Géza Hofi, children's favorites Judit Halász and 100 Folk Celsius, and outstanding folk artists such as Márta Sebestyén and the Muzsikás/Kaláka ensembles. Albums of Hungarian traditional and gypsy music artists, including the Lakatos, Sánta, and Kállai Kiss dynasty, the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra, Oszkár Ökrös, Margit Bangó, Károly Solti, and Ferenc Bessenyei, were also released by Hungaroton. Some of the prominent figures in our literary records/audiobooks include the talent of Róbert Alföldi, András Kern, Zoltán Latinovits, Pál Mácsai, Piroska Molnár, Imre Sinkovits, Éva Ruttkay, Klári Tolnay, and Imre Csuja.
Our classical albums have won numerous prizes in international competitions. For example, we have received three MIDEM Classical Music Prizes for the Dohnányi Violin Concertos (1999), the complete Bartók Series (2002), and the first SACD release of the Bartók New Series (Kossuth Symphony, The Wooden Prince). Additionally, we have been awarded the Classical Internet Awards (2004) for the Bartók SACD conducted by Zoltán Kocsis. The 14th part of the Bartók New Series containing violin sonatas performed by Barnabás Kelemen and Zoltán Kocsis won the 'Record of the Year' in the chamber music category at the 2013 Gramophone Awards.
Zoltán Kocsis
Dénes Várjon, András Keller
In 2016, the release of all the Beethoven piano concertos performed by Dénes Várjon with Concerto Budapest conducted by András Keller won the Hungarian Classical Music Record of the Year award from Gramophone magazine. Similarly, the album 'Bartók the Pianist,' released to mark the 135th anniversary of Bartók's birth, was voted 'Best Archive Recording of the Year' in the same competition. Furthermore, in 2017, 'Bartók the Pianist' was recognized as one of the top three recordings in the 'Archive' category, as was Gergely Ittzés's seven CD series 'The Big Book of Flute Sonatas' in the 'Best Recording' category in 2019.