Miklós Perényi
Cello
Miklós
Perényi is recognised as one of the great cellists of his generation, with a
distinctive, subtly nuanced sound matched by extraordinary musicality.
Born
in Hungary, he began cello lessons at the age of five with Miklós Zsámboki, a
student of David Popper. At the age of nine, he gave his first concert in
Budapest and went on to study between 1960 and 1964 with Enrico Mainardi in Rome
and, in Budapest, with Ede Banda. In 1963 he became a prizewinner at the
International Pablo Casals Cello Competition in Budapest. Casals invited him to
his master classes in Puerto Rico in 1965 and 1966, and he went on to become a
frequent visitor to the Marlboro Festival.
In
1974, Miklós Perényi joined the faculty at the Franz Liszt Academy in
Budapest, where he has held a professorship since 1980. He was honoured with the
Kossuth-Prize in 1980 and the Bartók-Pásztory-Prize
in 1987.
Perényi
has appeared in the world’s major musical centres, performing regularly around
Europe, in Japan and China and in North and South America. His festival
engagements have included Edinburgh, Lucerne, Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, Hohenems,
Warsaw, Berlin, Kronberg, and the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades in France.
With
a repertoire ranging from the 17th century to the present, he appears
as a soloist with orchestra, in solo and duo recitals and in chamber ensembles.
Beyond performing and teaching, he also devotes his energies to composition of
works for solo cello and for instrumental ensembles of various sizes.
Among
his closest colleagues is the pianist András Schiff, with whom he has appeared
at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg,
the Edinburgh Festival and the Ruhr Festival. Recently, the duo played at
Cologne’s Philharmonie, the Schwetzingen Festival, London’s Wigmore Hall and
the 92nd Street in New York.
Highlights
of the 2010/2011 season include recitals and chamber concerts at the Salzburg
Festival, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Théâtre de la Ville in
Paris, and in Amsterdam, Luxembourg, London, Tokyo and Budapest. Perényi will
also give the world premiere of Péter Eötvös’ cello concerto with the
Berlin Philharmonic and his other orchestral engagements include the Sapporo
Symphony Orchestra, Hague Residentie Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and the
Budapest Festival Orchestra at New York’s Lincoln Center.
Miklós
Perényi’s numerous recordings include releases for Hungaroton, EMI, Sony
Classical, Teldec, Decca, col legno and Erato. Among the prizes for his ECM
release of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, with András
Schiff, was the Cannes Classical Award 2005. In 2009 a live recording of a
recital with Dénes Várjon of works by Bach, Britten and Brahms was released on
Wigmore Hall’s own label.
SEASON 2010/2011