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Batta, a renowned music historian, has been the academy's rector since 2004. Under his leadership, the school has undergone many developments, and in the summer of 2007 the government decided to renovate the academy's building, which just turned 100. Batta has made the academy's further development the core of his application for the post of rector.
Batta was born in Budapest in 1953. He studied cello at the Bartók Béla Music School and graduated from the Liszt Music Academy's school of education and cello department. Upon graduation in 1977, he was immediately offered a job at the academy. In 2002, he was appointed head of the musicology department. Shortly afterward he was appointed deputy-rector, and in 2004 he was made rector.
As well as teaching and doing research work, Batta was very involved in music journalism between 1976 and 1996. He worked for Hungarian public television and radio as well as for Austrian broadcaster ORF Wien. Between 1996 and 2001, he worked as an editor for Germany's Könemann Publishing House. His nearly 1,000-page opera guide has been translated into eight languages.
Batta's main professional interests are Liszt, Leó Weiner and Richard Strauss, as well as Austro-Hungarian operettas.
Batta was presented the Ferenc Erkel Award in 1994 and has been a recipient of the Széchenyi Reader Scholarship since 2003. He is a founding member of the board of the Hungarian Society of Musicology and Music Critics.
