Irish World Academy Lunchtime Concert Series

Wednesday October 05, 2011

Thursday 6th October, 1.15 pm Tower Theatre, Irish World Academy, UL Zsuzsa Berényi (violin), Pál Banda (cello)

Zsuzsa Berényi studied the piano at the Bartok Specialist Music School and received a first class degree at the Liszt Academy of Music in Hungary in 2006, studying with Laszlo Denes and professor Denes Zsigmondy. From the age of 15, Zsuzsa took masterclasses with renowned players Andras Schiff and Gyorgy Kurtag; she also studied with Denes Zsigmondy, with whom she toured and recorded the late Mozart Sonatas. She has toured the UK with various chamber music ensembles, regularly playing in London, Buckingham, Axminster and Cambridge among other places.

 

Pál Banda was born into a musical family in Budapest. He began learning cello at the age of 9 and went on to study at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with his father, Ede Banda as well as with György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados. A British council Scholarship took him to Prussia Cove where he pursued further studies with Ralph Kirshbaum. In 1982 Pál received a commendation on the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition and the following year won the 1st prize on the Popper Competition at the Liszt Academy, Budapest. In 1983 he became Principal Cello in the Camerata Academica, Salzburg and as a soloist he has performed in his native Hungary (for Radio and TV) as well as France, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria and UK and Singapore, and was one of the directors of the Paxos International Festival from 1999-2004. He is also regularly invited as an adjudicator. Last year he played on recitals in Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, London and Budapest. Future plans include concerts with the Marmara Trio in Istanbul, Bonn, Gent and Strasbourg as well as another chamber concert with pianist Gábor Csalog in Hungary. His cello is by T&L Carcassi, 1752