Artist database

A number of lucky coincidences helped to fom that its members - Monika Egri and Attila Pertis - were both born in the city of Budapest. The Egri & Pertis Duo, starting with the fact Later - again by chance - they found themselves in the same class in the Bartók Conservatory of Music. Here their attraction to each other extended to the common wavelength of making music together. After their studies in Budapest were over, it was no longer by chance that they refined their skills with the same teacher at the Vienna Music Academy, Professor Heinz Medjimorec, pianist of the Vienna Haydn Trio. In 1994/95, they attained their second diploma and the title of Magister artium at the Piano Faculty's Concert Section.

In addition to their solo studies and first competition successes (Marsala, Paris, Dublin, etc.), their duo career soon began to flourish. This was first displayed at the Hungarian Days organized by the London Barbican Centre in 1989. Their first joint competition victory gave further impetus to their career at the International Two-Piano Competition held in Finale Ligure, Italy, in 1990. The jury gave them a special award for the best performance of a contemporary piece. Since then, they have performed regular concerts in Hungary and abroad, in the concert halls of Austria, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the United States among others.

The Egri & Pertis Duo (married since 1991) returned again as winners from Italy in 1995, having achieved success at the 11th International Two-Piano Contest in Caltanissetta. In the same year, they produced their first CD entitled Journey Around the World, which was given an enthusiastic reception by audiences and critics alike. It was also in 1995 that the Duo decided to devote their activity as performers solely to pieces written for two pianos or piano duets. This made it possible for them to continually and substantially expand their repertoire, which was supplemented with passionate research. The results of this exploration and research gave birth to exclusive concerts presenting several premier performances, and the "first recordings" published by Hungaroton Classic. A double CD containing all of Franz Liszt's two-piano and piano duet opera fantasias was their first album of this category, receiving an International Liszt Record Grand Prix in 1998. A further six CDs have been published since then, and they are now working on the preparation of their 11th CD.

In 1996 the Egri & Pertis Duo had acquired a true rarity, namely a musical instrument of which only a few exist in the whole world: a Pleyel Double Grand Piano made in 1904. They recorded its special sound in the CD series Pleyel Double Grand Series, attracting the recognition of international critics (American Record Guide, Répertoire, Classics Today, Piano & Keyboard, etc.) In September 2000, the German Klassik Heute magazine's jury chose the CD Pleyel and His Contemporaries as recommendation of the month. The duo has performed as guests at several European festivals (Budapest Spring Festival, Carinthian Summer, MIDEM Classique Cannes, Bishopsgate Series London, etc.), responding to repeat invitations on a number of occasions. Among these, their début at the Vienna Festival Weeks in May 2000 in the renowned Vienna Musikverein was an outstanding event. In the festival's piano cycle, the duo was able to play alongside such celebrities as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Maurizio Pollini and Alfred Brendel. Among their overseas trips, their North American tour 2001 is to be mentioned when they performed in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Washington (Kennedy Center).

In 2002, in recognition of their artistic work, the Egri & Pertis Duo was given the Franz Liszt Award by the Hungarian Republic.

Year	Title	Publisher	Code	Remark
2004	Szőnyi Erzsébet: Orgonaverseny, Hat középkori himnusz, Hárfás kvintett, etc. (Erzsébet Szőnyi: Concerto per organo e orchestra, Six medieval hymns, Quintet for Harp and String Quartet, etc.)	Hungaroton	HCD 32246