Varga Tibor
violin, conductor
Place of Birth
Győr
Date of Birth
1921
1921, July 4, Győr - 2003 September 4, Sion (Switzerland)
Tibor Varga was born in Győr in 1921, in the same region that had previously witnessed the birth of Joseph Joachim, Leopold Auer and Carl Flesch. At ten, he made his debut playing Mendelssohns Concerto Op. 64. Discovered by Jenő Hubay he was enrolled at the same year at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with Ferenc Gábriel and Leo Weiner. When Hubay died, Varga was chosen to perform at Hubays memorial concert under the baton of Dohnányi the 3rd Concerto Op. 99 by Hubay. Throughout the war years, Varga devoted himself to study philosophy and medical sciences at the Budapest University.
In 1934 he made his first recording and at fourteen he took on his first concert tours taking him all around Europe. Later he was making recordings for EMI, Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon and other distinguished labels. He developed his style under the baton of renowned conductors such as Ansermet, Bernstein, Böhm, Boulez, Fricsay, Furtwängler, Markevitch, Solti and others. In 1947, he settled down in England, than moved to Sion (Switzerland) in 1956. His interpretations of the Violin Concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky as well as Bartók, Berg and Schönberg became legendary references. At the European premiere of his Violin Concerto, Schönberg himself paid tribute to his enthusiasm and thanked him for the superb interpretation of his work. The composer wrote the following to him in a letter from Los Angeles dated 27 June 1951: Your performance resonates as if you had known the work for 25 years. Your whole interpretation is mature, expressive, and marvelous. I can assure you, that I have never heard a performance which so precisely reflected my intentions in every detail. I would like to be younger to write more music for you. As early as the 1950s, Tibor Vargas art had been lauded as one of the greatest violinist of any time (Musica, Rome). With Varga a new way of violin playing is born: the purity of melodic line, this absolute accuracy of pitch, the expressive perfection of a playing literally sheathed in flawless phrasing, where everything is at once reflective yet supremely natural (Le Monde de la Musique, Paris).
In 1949, the newly created academy of Music at Detmold (BRD) asked him to be its leading professor. Together with Andre Navarra and Bruno Giuranna he created a String Department, which was considered one of the most important institutions of Europe. In 1954 he founded at Detmold a chamber orchestra bearing his name and which has enriched several decades of German musical life.
In 1963 he created the Academy of Music at Sion. With annually more than 400 participants during two month, this institution has become one of the most important summer academies of Europe. Having experienced as a jury member and president of various international competitions, he agreed to the foundation of a Tibor Varga Violin Competition at Sion in 1967. Among its prizewinners we can find internationally renowned names such as J. J. Kantorow, Vadim Repin, Mirijam Contzen, József Lendvai, Ágoston András and others. In 1964 Mr.Varga created a festival in Sion which has become an important part of the music life of the region.
From the beginning of the 1960s, Varga has enjoyed a great success as conductor. The Tibor Varga CD Collection presenting him as violinist, conductor and interpreting chamber music, is distinctly both an artistic and an historic documentation, in tribute to a musician of word renown who has profoundly affected the history of musical interpretation of this century.
Tibor Varga is a freeman of different towns in France and in Switzerland. France, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland have awarded him high honours, among others the Légion dHonneur, the Budesverdienstkreuz and the National Prize for Culture.
Tibor Varga was born in Győr in 1921, in the same region that had previously witnessed the birth of Joseph Joachim, Leopold Auer and Carl Flesch. At ten, he made his debut playing Mendelssohns Concerto Op. 64. Discovered by Jenő Hubay he was enrolled at the same year at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with Ferenc Gábriel and Leo Weiner. When Hubay died, Varga was chosen to perform at Hubays memorial concert under the baton of Dohnányi the 3rd Concerto Op. 99 by Hubay. Throughout the war years, Varga devoted himself to study philosophy and medical sciences at the Budapest University.
In 1934 he made his first recording and at fourteen he took on his first concert tours taking him all around Europe. Later he was making recordings for EMI, Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon and other distinguished labels. He developed his style under the baton of renowned conductors such as Ansermet, Bernstein, Böhm, Boulez, Fricsay, Furtwängler, Markevitch, Solti and others. In 1947, he settled down in England, than moved to Sion (Switzerland) in 1956. His interpretations of the Violin Concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky as well as Bartók, Berg and Schönberg became legendary references. At the European premiere of his Violin Concerto, Schönberg himself paid tribute to his enthusiasm and thanked him for the superb interpretation of his work. The composer wrote the following to him in a letter from Los Angeles dated 27 June 1951: Your performance resonates as if you had known the work for 25 years. Your whole interpretation is mature, expressive, and marvelous. I can assure you, that I have never heard a performance which so precisely reflected my intentions in every detail. I would like to be younger to write more music for you. As early as the 1950s, Tibor Vargas art had been lauded as one of the greatest violinist of any time (Musica, Rome). With Varga a new way of violin playing is born: the purity of melodic line, this absolute accuracy of pitch, the expressive perfection of a playing literally sheathed in flawless phrasing, where everything is at once reflective yet supremely natural (Le Monde de la Musique, Paris).
In 1949, the newly created academy of Music at Detmold (BRD) asked him to be its leading professor. Together with Andre Navarra and Bruno Giuranna he created a String Department, which was considered one of the most important institutions of Europe. In 1954 he founded at Detmold a chamber orchestra bearing his name and which has enriched several decades of German musical life.
In 1963 he created the Academy of Music at Sion. With annually more than 400 participants during two month, this institution has become one of the most important summer academies of Europe. Having experienced as a jury member and president of various international competitions, he agreed to the foundation of a Tibor Varga Violin Competition at Sion in 1967. Among its prizewinners we can find internationally renowned names such as J. J. Kantorow, Vadim Repin, Mirijam Contzen, József Lendvai, Ágoston András and others. In 1964 Mr.Varga created a festival in Sion which has become an important part of the music life of the region.
From the beginning of the 1960s, Varga has enjoyed a great success as conductor. The Tibor Varga CD Collection presenting him as violinist, conductor and interpreting chamber music, is distinctly both an artistic and an historic documentation, in tribute to a musician of word renown who has profoundly affected the history of musical interpretation of this century.
Tibor Varga is a freeman of different towns in France and in Switzerland. France, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland have awarded him high honours, among others the Légion dHonneur, the Budesverdienstkreuz and the National Prize for Culture.
| Year | Title | Publisher | Code | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Weiner Leó album | BMC Records | BMC CD 018 |