Rudolf Balázs is a Hungarian violinist born in Budapest of a musical family. At the age of six he began his music education playing the piano. Later he changed to the violin and finished his studies at the Szabolcsi Bence Music School with distinction, and started playing with the young early music scene in Budapest. He continued his studies at the Szent István Conservatoire and later at the Weiner Leo Conservatoire in Budapest.

Wanting to explore baroque violin technics he moved to Rome and started his private studies. After spending more than a year in Italy he moved back to Budapest and had intense lessons with violinist Monika Tóth.

In 2010 he began his studies at the Early Music department at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig with Professor Susanne Scholz. In November 2018 Rudolf has been awarded with an MMus Music (Performance, Musicology, Pedagogy) under the guidance of Elizabeth Kenny and his violin teacher Caroline Balding at the University of Southampton.

He appears regularly with fine English and continental ensembles including The Hanover Band, The Sarabande Consort, Orchestra Barocca Lorenzo da Ponte, The Welsh Baroque Orchestra, Barock Orchester, Harmonia dell’Arcadia Bamberg, Ensemble OrQuesta, Musica Poetica and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. He has been appointed concert master of Musica Florens since 2013 in Budapest. He has been a soloist with Salisbury Baroque.

Rudolf works with Talenti Vulcanici, under the support of Il Centro di Musica Antica Pietà de' Turchini, which discovers and revives forgotten music from the and 18th century Naples. He recently recorded a CD with Talenti Vulcanici for the label Outhere and appeared with the ensemble in December 2018 in Stockholm.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) composed Andromeda liberata, a pasticcio-serenata written in 1726, based on the myth of Perseus rescuing Andromeda. The work was a collective tribute to the visiting Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, created by several composers in Venice, including Vivaldi. It features the last documented solo performance by Vivaldi as a violinist, performing the virtuosic violin part in his own aria "Sovente il sole," which I am performing in this recording, played on period instruments. This performance was part of my final recital for my master’s degree at the University of Southampton, UK.

In this recording, I perform on a period violin in its original condition, accompanied by lute and viola da gamba, using an early Baroque bow—a replica made by Eduardo Gorr (Cremona, Italy), inspired by Caravaggio’s paintings. This performance was part of the Miszla Early Music Academy’s final concert. I am a regular participant in this academy under the tuition of Baroque violinist Mònika Tóth, with whom I studied at the Conservatorio di Cagliari. This piece is a set of diminutions on John Dowland’s Pavane Lachrymae, composed by Schop, a German violinist and composer renowned for his technical proficiency. Diminutions, which involve embellishing a melody with shorter, faster notes—either through improvisation or written notation—were used to showcase technical skill and expressiveness. Diminution is one of my key interests.

This live concert recording, made in January 2025, was part of the final performance of the Miszla Baroque Early Music Academy. I am playing first violin in this early Baroque trio sonata by Buonamente, featuring embellishments and diminutions typical of Italian repertoire from this period. Mònika Tóth and I are using shorter early Baroque bows, which help shape the articulation and phrasing of this music.

In this recording with Talenti Vulcanici and Roberta Mameli, I perform a traditional Neapolitan tarantella as part of the ensemble. This lively and rhythmic folk dance is deeply rooted in southern Italy, characterized by its spirited 6/8- or 12/8-time signature. The tarantella is known for its whirling energy and was historically believed to cure the bite of the tarantula through frenzied movement. The video beautifully interweaves scenes of everyday life in Naples with moments from our recording session. The string ensemble performs on period instruments strung with gut strings, preserving historical authenticity.

Rognoni’s florid set of diminutions on Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s motet Vestiva i Colli was recorded at my final master’s exam concert. This intricate piece was published as part of Selva de Varii Passaggi (1620), a very important treatise on diminution and performance practice. I perform on a period violin with a Baroque bow, accompanied by Elizabeth Kenny on the theorbo. One of Europe’s leading lute players, Kenny has been praised for her playing as “incandescent” (Music & Vision Magazine), “radical” (The Independent on Sunday), and “indecently beautiful” (Toronto Post).

In this live concert recording of Manfredini's Pastorale for the Holiest Christmas, written as a concerto grosso, a musical form that had developed in the 17th century, I am playing the baroque violin with the ensemble Talenti Vulcanici, conducted by Stefano De Micheli. The first movement, a Siciliano, is a slow, triple-time dance featuring dotted rhythms and is commonly associated with pastoral scenes.

La Festa di Bacco is a composition by Leonardo Vinci, a prominent representative of the Neapolitan School of the 18th century. I am playing Baroque violin with Talenti Vulcanici in this live concert recording at Villa Pignatelli, Naples, Italy. This interplay of musical motifs depicts amorous narratives set against the backdrop of the Neapolitan countryside during the propitiatory rituals for the grape harvest.