Miklós Perényi Solo Recital

With his coherently crafted and unclassifiable style and his uncompromising and profound sophistication having earned him a spot as one of the greatest living (and all-time greatest) representatives of Hungarian culture decades ago, cellist Miklós Perényi invariably strives to penetrate to the very essence of the works he plays in order to captivate the audience at their innermost cores. His October recital will feature one of his own compositions alongside two cornerstones of the cello literature. Also there to chat with the artist will be programme host and House of Music managing director András Batta.

Perényi gave his first concert at the age of nine and was soon being hailed in the newpapers as the next Pablo Casals. Before long, Casals himself took note and invited him to attend his master classes as a student for years. He has recorded all of Bach’s cello suites – which Casals had rediscovered and presented to the world – twice for the Hungaroton label, four decades apart, and his live performances of them count among the most memorable concerts of his career. In addition to providing enjoyable listening, the pieces also thoroughly test the technical skills and musicality of the artists who take them on. Furthermore, the performer also has to cope with the difficulties arising from the way the instrument has evolved over time: the D major suite, for example, was originally written for a five-stringed cello, as opposed to the four-stringed design of modern cellos. Perényi started composing music as well in 1978, stating in a recently published interview that “music as a unified world, an original source, is present in my life through composing, which then nourishes my teaching work and, in a more distant sense, the art of performing it.”