István Várdai

Photo: Marco Borggreve

István Várdai

cello master-class, July 17 – 20, 4 x 45 minutes

István Várdai, Cello

As a passionate chamber musician, he has performed István Várdai has played with Víkingur Ólafsson, András Schiff, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Mischa Maisky, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Liza Ferschtman at some of the world’s leading venues. In June 2023, he will play with Hugo Ticciati, Christoffer Sundqvist, Alasdair Beatson in variety of chamber music and orchestral programmes as part of O/Modernt’s Summer Festival in Stockholm.

Over the years, István Várdai’s has recorded Janáček, Prokofiev and Elgar’s cello concertos on Ysaÿe Records, pieces by Mendelssohn, Martinů, Paganini, Beethoven and Popper on Hännsler label, Tchaïkovsky’s Rococo Variations in both versions and Bach’s solo cello suites on Brilliant Classics, Singing Cello and Dancing Cello on Hungaroton label that features famous encores and a compilation of popular cello pieces of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Following success on the competitions circuit, including first prizes at the 2014 ARD International Music Competition and at the 2008 Geneva International Music Competition, István Várdai served on the jury of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019. He has been teaching at University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna where he succeeded the late Heinrich Schiff in the role, and where he himself studied in 2005. István Várdai plays on ​‘Ex du Pré-Harrell’ Stradivari made in 1673, previously played by Jacqueline du Pré.

In his third season as artistic director of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, he continues to present inspiring and creative programs. In addition, István hosts world-renowned musicians at the Kapostfest Chamber Music Festival in Hungary, which he co-organizes with violinist Kristóf Baráti, and continues his soloist career with leading orchestras performing repertoire from Bach to Péter Eötvös.

Highlights of recent seasons include engagements with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France under Case Scaglione, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mark Wigglesworth, the Hallé Orchestra under Jamie Phillips, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Susanna Mälkki.


Accompaniment

Henri Bonamy

Henri Bonamy, piano

an extraordinary musicality, and highly poetic sensibility
(Ouest France)

The pianist and conductor Henri Bonamy studied at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris and continued his pianistic training with Dmitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with the pianist Elisso Wirssaladze and in conducting with Bruno Weil. His musical career was guided by the impulses of Stephen Kovacevic, Radu Lupu and Yakov Kreizberg.

Performances have taken him as a pianist to the Herkulessaal, the Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich, the National Auditorium in Madrid, the Auditorium du Louvre, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Enescu Festival in Bucharest. He has performed under the direction of Jesus Lopez-Cobos and Andrey Boreyko, among others. He also regularly devotes himself to chamber music projects, and his partners include such greats as Julia Fischer and Wen-Sinn Yang.

Henri Bonamy received the EON Culture Prize of Bavaria and prizes at international piano competitions Geneva and Alessandro Casagrande.

He is artistic director of the Philharmonic Orchestra Isartal and has conducted the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the Meininger Hofkapelle, the Ensemble Oktopus, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt and the State Opera Brasov, among others.

© 1981 – Carl Flesch Academy