ISTVÁN VÁRDAI, CELLO (HUNGARY)
"István Várdai is a special kind of genius... his performance is breathtaking with perfect intonation, adequate interpretation, impeccable tempo, in short, he is an incredible virtuoso" (Parlando)
When István the young cellist goes on stage, many in Europe know by now what to expect: magic.
Mr. Várdai has been honored with several international prizes, including the 2008 Geneva International Music Competition (First Prize, Audience Prize, the "Pierre Fournier Prize" and the "Coup de Coeur Breguet" Prize); Third Prize at the 2007 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; a Special Prize from the International Tchaikovsky Charity Fund; First Prize at the David Popper International Music Competition; the extra prize at the 2006 Emanuel Feuermann Cello Competition at the Kronberg Academy, Berlin; and First Prize at the 13th International Brahms Competition in Austria.
Since his 1998 début concert in The Hague, The Netherlands, Mr. Várdai has performed in London, Florence, Kobe, Frankfurt, Moscow and Munich with great success. Past collaborations have included Jeno Jandó and Barnabás Kelemen with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Pécs, Hungary, conducted by Zsolt Hamar. In the summer of 2006, Mr. Várdai was honored to perform with Radovan Vlatkovics (horn) at the International Music Festival in Santander, Spain.
Mr. Várdai studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest under László Mezo and at the Music Academy of Vienna under Reinhard Latzko; he also participated in master classes with Natalia Gutman, Natalia Shakhovskaja and János Starker.
