I have been playing clarinet in the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly 40 years. I have performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world alongside fantastic conductors, soloists and – most importantly – superb, brilliant colleagues, many of whom I still work with today. This has brought me amazing experiences, emotions and moving moments that could never be replaced, which is why I am eternally grateful to the fates that guided me towards this career.
József Németh began his musical studies in 1968 at the State Music School in Orosháza. From 1972 to 1976 he was a student at the Szeged Conservatory, then in 1976 he was admitted to the Budapest Academy of Music, where he graduated as a clarinettist and teacher in 1981. From 1979 to 1980 he was a member of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, while from 1980 to 1982 he was a member of the Budapest Operetta Theatre. In 1981, on the basis of a rehearsal, he was given a temporary contract with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra (the legal predecessor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra) under the direction of the principal music director János Ferencsik. In 1982, he received a permanent position in the orchestra. In 1984, he was a founding member of the Budapest Clarinet Ensemble. In 1987 he received the Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Prize.
From 1980 to 1994 he also worked as a teacher at music schools in the 6th and 12th district in Budapest, and from 1994 to 2007 he was a teacher at the Leo Weiner Secondary School of Music. Since 2008, he has been a clarinet and chamber music teacher at the Faculty of Music of the University of Szeged, and since 2017 he has been a clarinet teacher at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Every year since 1995, he has been a guest teacher at an international chamber music course in Switzerland.
