Istvan Szekely

Istvan Szekely 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 Béla Bartók 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.