Istvan Szekely Biography

Istvan Szekely, born at Dunaujv ros in 1960, is an outstanding representative of the newly emerging younger generation of Hungarian pianists. After early study of the piano from the age of five, he entered the Bela Bartok Music School in Budapest, and, after winning first prize in the First Liszt International Youth Piano Competition in 1977, embarked on a course of study at the Ferenc Liszt Academy. There his teachers included Dezso Ranki and Zoltan Kocsis. Relatively early in his career Istvan Szekely won a number of prizes, including an award in the 1981 Liszt-Bartok Competition in Budapest and first prize in the 1983 Salamanca International Piano Competition. He performs frequently in Hungary and has given concerts in Eastern and Western Europe, as well as in Japan.