Starker János
cello
Place of Birth
Budapest
Date of Birth
1924
5 July 1924 Budapest - 28 April 2013 Bloomington
Hungarian-born American cellist - one of the bests of the 20th century. The greatest performer of classical masterpieces and also of Hungarian compositions of the 20th century, distinguished music teacher and master of numerous international artists.
He started to play the cello before he turned six, at the age of seven he already performed in front of an audience. At the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest he was pupil of András Schiffer and also visited the classes of Imre Waldbauer, Antal Molnár and János Hammerschlag. The chamber music classes of Leó Weiner remained an incomparable experience for the young artist. As professional performer he debuted in 1938, when he presented the Cello concerto by Dvořák. He graduated in 1939.
In the post-war era, from 1945 to 1946 he worked as solo cellist for the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hungarian State Opera House. In 1946 he left Hungary. First he gave a successful concert in Vienna and then attended the Cello Contest of Genf. Subsequently he spent two years in Paris, where he only paid attention to the improvement of his technique. He also wrote about these experiences (An Organized Method of String Playing).
In Paris he recorded the Solo sonata Op. 8. by Zoltán Kodály, which brought him international success and he also won the Record Grand Prize of the Charles Cros Academy. In 1948 he moved to the United States, where Antal Doráti offered him to be the principal cellist of the Dallas Symphonic Orchestra. Later he moved to New York and accepted Fritz Reiner’s invitation to become the principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1949-53). He recorded J. S. Bach’s Cello suites here. When Reiner became music director of the Chicago Symphony, Starker followed him and worked from 1953 to 1959 as principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony. In 1954 he became U.S.-citizen.
His career as soloist has launched in 1956, and ever since he has performed on hundreds of concerts and festivals all over the world, always with the most distinguished orchestras. A number of his performances have been broadcasted by radio stations and television channels. Composers like David Baker, Chou Wen-Chung, Antal Doráti, Bernhard Heiden, Jean Martinon, Miklós Rózsa, Juan Orrego-Salas and Robert Starer dedicated some of their pieces particularly to him.
Throughout his career he co-operated on ca. 130 records, he made more than 75 solo albums and many of them were honored with prestigious prizes: in 1997 he won the Grammy Award for the Cello suites by J. S. Bach (Best instrumental soloist), in 1990 he was nominated for his album including works by Dávid Popper. To improve the sound of the cello, he developed a bridge that differed from the traditional one, mainly for its cone-shaped slots. It is called the „Starker-bridge”.
For János Starker, teaching is of high importance. Since 1958 he’s been cello teacher at Indiana University, Bloomington, which became one of the renowned centers of cello teaching. For seventeen years he had been teaching in Banff Centre, Alberta and for five years at the Music Academy of Essen, too.
He received a number of prestigious awards like the George Washington Prize (1972), the Sanford Fellow Prize of the Yale University (1974), the Herzl Prize (1978), the Educational Press Prize and the Kodály Plaque (1983), the Tracy Sonnenborn Prize of the Indiana University and the Arturo Toscanini Prize (1986), the Pro Cultura Hungarica Award (1992), the Governor Prize from Indiana State and the Medal of Paris (1995), the Chevalier De L’Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres of Paris (1997), the Indiana University’s President’s Medal for Excellence and the Presidental Golden Medal of the Hungarian Republic (1999), the Isaac Stern International Award (2005) and lately the Golden Ring of the Ferenc Liszt Adademy of Music (2007).
János Starker is doctor honoris of the Chicago Conservatory (1961), the Cornell College (1978), the East-West University (1982), the Williams College (1983), the Lawrence University (1990), the New England Conservatory (2006), and the McGill University (2008), besides, since 1986 he’s been Freeman of Texas.
He played a Matteo Gofriller cello that was made 1705 in Venice.
Hungarian-born American cellist - one of the bests of the 20th century. The greatest performer of classical masterpieces and also of Hungarian compositions of the 20th century, distinguished music teacher and master of numerous international artists.
He started to play the cello before he turned six, at the age of seven he already performed in front of an audience. At the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest he was pupil of András Schiffer and also visited the classes of Imre Waldbauer, Antal Molnár and János Hammerschlag. The chamber music classes of Leó Weiner remained an incomparable experience for the young artist. As professional performer he debuted in 1938, when he presented the Cello concerto by Dvořák. He graduated in 1939.
In the post-war era, from 1945 to 1946 he worked as solo cellist for the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hungarian State Opera House. In 1946 he left Hungary. First he gave a successful concert in Vienna and then attended the Cello Contest of Genf. Subsequently he spent two years in Paris, where he only paid attention to the improvement of his technique. He also wrote about these experiences (An Organized Method of String Playing).
In Paris he recorded the Solo sonata Op. 8. by Zoltán Kodály, which brought him international success and he also won the Record Grand Prize of the Charles Cros Academy. In 1948 he moved to the United States, where Antal Doráti offered him to be the principal cellist of the Dallas Symphonic Orchestra. Later he moved to New York and accepted Fritz Reiner’s invitation to become the principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1949-53). He recorded J. S. Bach’s Cello suites here. When Reiner became music director of the Chicago Symphony, Starker followed him and worked from 1953 to 1959 as principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony. In 1954 he became U.S.-citizen.
His career as soloist has launched in 1956, and ever since he has performed on hundreds of concerts and festivals all over the world, always with the most distinguished orchestras. A number of his performances have been broadcasted by radio stations and television channels. Composers like David Baker, Chou Wen-Chung, Antal Doráti, Bernhard Heiden, Jean Martinon, Miklós Rózsa, Juan Orrego-Salas and Robert Starer dedicated some of their pieces particularly to him.
Throughout his career he co-operated on ca. 130 records, he made more than 75 solo albums and many of them were honored with prestigious prizes: in 1997 he won the Grammy Award for the Cello suites by J. S. Bach (Best instrumental soloist), in 1990 he was nominated for his album including works by Dávid Popper. To improve the sound of the cello, he developed a bridge that differed from the traditional one, mainly for its cone-shaped slots. It is called the „Starker-bridge”.
For János Starker, teaching is of high importance. Since 1958 he’s been cello teacher at Indiana University, Bloomington, which became one of the renowned centers of cello teaching. For seventeen years he had been teaching in Banff Centre, Alberta and for five years at the Music Academy of Essen, too.
He received a number of prestigious awards like the George Washington Prize (1972), the Sanford Fellow Prize of the Yale University (1974), the Herzl Prize (1978), the Educational Press Prize and the Kodály Plaque (1983), the Tracy Sonnenborn Prize of the Indiana University and the Arturo Toscanini Prize (1986), the Pro Cultura Hungarica Award (1992), the Governor Prize from Indiana State and the Medal of Paris (1995), the Chevalier De L’Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres of Paris (1997), the Indiana University’s President’s Medal for Excellence and the Presidental Golden Medal of the Hungarian Republic (1999), the Isaac Stern International Award (2005) and lately the Golden Ring of the Ferenc Liszt Adademy of Music (2007).
János Starker is doctor honoris of the Chicago Conservatory (1961), the Cornell College (1978), the East-West University (1982), the Williams College (1983), the Lawrence University (1990), the New England Conservatory (2006), and the McGill University (2008), besides, since 1986 he’s been Freeman of Texas.
He played a Matteo Gofriller cello that was made 1705 in Venice.
| Year | Title | Publisher | Code | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Prokofjev, Szergej: Violin Concerto No.2 - Bartók Béla: Viola Concerto - Vivaldi, Antonio: Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor | Delos | DE1018 | |
| 1991 | Engineer's Choice | Delos | DE3506 | |
| 1996 | Mystery Classics - Curl up with the Classics | Delos | DE1601 | |
| 1999 | Weiner Leó album | BMC Records | BMC CD 018 | |
| 2014 | A to Z of String Players | Naxos | 8.558081-84 | 4 CDs |