Péter Frankl 85
Program:
Chopin: Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49
Beethoven: Trio in E-flat minor, Op. 70, No. 2
Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
Featuring:
piano - Péter Frankl
violin - Kristóf Baráti
cello - Miklós Perényi, István Várdai
Budapest Strings (concertmaster: János Rolla)
Over the course of more than 65 years on the stage, pianist Péter Frankl has become for several ensuing generations of Hungarian musicians the living symbol of musical freshness, grace and wit, as well as the model of the kind of natural virtuosity that can establish a direct connection with the audience. His playing has never grown old or tired with routine. Even after so many decades, he still views music as an adventure, a source of joy and an opportunity for communication and dialogue. For him, it is the magic of community: a community that he shares with both the composer and the audience.
Frankl studied under several legendary masters. Leó Weiner, the greatest teacher ever of the Hungarian style of performing chamber music, instilled in him his love and sensitivity for playing music with others, the very essence of performing in a group. Before that, he was taught at the keyboard by Ernő Szegedi and, later on, by Lajos Hernádi. He then went on to win international competitions in Paris and Munich and 1957, followed by another one in Rio de Janeiro in 1959. He left Hungary in 1958, first living in Paris and then in London. He made his American début in 1968. He has performed together with a veritable pantheon of great artists, including Benjamin Britten, György Széll, Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Antal Doráti, István Kertész, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti and Kurt Sanderling. He resumed performing concerts back home in Hungary in the early '70s, first as a soloist, and later on as a member of the Pauk/Frankl/Kirshbaum trio. At first not eager to engage in teaching, he eventually accepted a position at the Yale School of Music in 1987, where he spent the next twenty years helping the next generation make music in a spontaneous spirit. At this concert celebrating his birthday, he will cap off a demonstration of his solo, duo and trio abilities by performing as the soloist in one of Mozart's piano concertos.
