Miklós Perényi

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Miklós Perényi is recognized as one of the great cellists of his generation, with a distinctive, subtly nuanced sound matched by extraordinary musicality.

Born in Hungary, he began cello lessons at the age of five with Miklós Zsámboki, a student of David Popper. At the age of nine, he gave his first concert in Budapest and studied between 1960 and 1964 with Enrico Mainardi in Rome and with Ede Banda in Budapest. In 1963 he became a prizewinner at the International Pablo Casals Cello Competition in Budapest. Casals invited him to his master classes in Puerto Rico in 1965 and 1966. Since then Miklós Perényi became a frequent visitor to the Marlboro Festival.
In 1974, Miklós Perényi joined the faculty at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he holds a professorship until today. He was honored with the Kossuth-Prize in 1980, with the Bartók-Pásztory-Prize in 1987 and with the Hungarian “Artist of the Nation" Award in 2014.

„Miklós Perényi is like a natural phenomenon - like a tree or a flower. He has a very special charisma and you can only get in touch with him if you accept him exactly as he is” Péter Eötvös - Composer (Fidelio, 11.01.2018)

Perényi has appeared in the world’s major musical centers, performing with the best orchestras around Europe, Asia and North and South America – among them a tour with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle in 2013. His festival engagements have included Edinburgh, Lucerne, Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, Hohenems, Warsaw, Berlin, Kronberg, and the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades in France.
In the 2019/2020 season Miklós Perényi will perform a Beethoven cycle together with Dénes Várjon at Wigmore Hall London. He also gives concerts in Switzerland, is a guest at the Verbier Festival in France, plays in Spain and especially in his home country Hungary.

His repertoire ranges from the 17th century to the present. One of his closest chamber music partners is the pianist András Schiff. Beyond performing and teaching, he also devotes his energies to composition of works for solo cello and for instrumental ensembles of various sizes.

Miklós Perényi’s numerous recordings include releases for Hungaroton, EMI-Quint, Sony Classical, Decca, col legno, Teldec, Erato and Wigmore Hall’s own label. Perényi’s ECM release of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, with András Schiff, won the Cannes Classical Award 2005; his latest solo recording with ECM, of works by Britten, Bach and Ligeti, was released in early 2012 to critical acclaim. Miklós Perényi’s latest chamber music CD, featuring the Schubert Quintet with the Kuss Quartet, has been released in October 2013 under the Onyx Classics label.
Exactly forty years after his first complete recording of the six Bach Suites, Miklós Perényi will record them again for the label Hungaroton in 2020.

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.

Contact: Katja Szarka

2020/2021

Solo

Bach: Six Suites for Violoncello No. 1-6 BWV 1007-1012

Exactly forty years after his first complete recording of the Six Bach Suites, Miklós Perényi will now re-record them. A restropect at a great cellist career!

Duo
with Imre Rohmann (Piano)

Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 1 in G major, BWV 1027
or Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 2 in D major, BWV 1028
or Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029
Franck: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in A major, FWV 8
***
Prokofiev: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in C major, op. 119
or Poulenc: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano
Debussy: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in D minor
Bartók: Rhapsody for Violoncello and Piano No. 1 Sz 88

2019 / 2020

Solo I

Reger: Suite for Solo Cello in G major Op. 131
Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012
***
Ligeti: Sonata for Solo Cello
Kurtág: Signs, Games and Messages (excerpts)
Britten: Suite for Solo Cello No. 2 in D major, Op. 80

Solo II - Programme for two concerts

Concert I

Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
***
Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010

and/or Concert II
Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008
Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
***
Bach: Suite for Solo Cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012

Duo - Beethoven Cycle for two concerts
with Dénes Várjon (Piano)

Concert I
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 5/1
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 4 in C major, Op. 102/1
***
Beethoven: Variations for Cello and Piano in F major on Mozart’s “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen”, Op. 66
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 in A major, Op. 69

and/or Concert II
Beethoven: 12 Variations for Cello and Piano in G major on “See the Conqu’ring Hero Comes” from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, WoO 45
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano in g minor Op. 5 /2
Beethoven: 7 Variations for Cello and Piano in E-flat major on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” from
Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” WoO 46
***
Beethoven: Sonata for French Horn and Piano in F major Op. 17 (adaption)
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano in D major Op. 102/2

Season PDF download

20.10.2019
16:00 Uhr

Wettingen, CH /

Miklós Perényi, Dénes Várjon

Schubert: String Quintet, D 956

Franz Schubert
String Quintet in C major, D 956 (op. posth. 163)

Kuss Quartett

Onyx, 2013

Britten - Bach - Ligeti

Benjamin Britten
Third Suite, Op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite 5 in D major, BWV 1012

György Ligeti
Sonata (1948/53)

ECM Records, 2012

Wigmore Hall Live

Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite BWV 1009 for Cello Solo

Benjamin Britten
Cello Sonata, Op. 65

Johannes Brahms
Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 99

Frédéric Chopin
Largo from Cello Sonata, Op. 65

Dénes Várjon - Piano

Wigmore Hall, 2010

Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Solo

Johann Sebastian Bach
Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012

Hungaroton, 2006

Cello Encores

Works by
Niccolo Paganini
Franz Schubert
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
David Popper
Frédéric Chopin
Enrique Granados
Gabriel Fauré
Camille Saint-Saens
Claude Debussy
Zoltán Kodaly
Carl Davidov
Sergei Rachmaninov
Nikolai Rimksy-Korsakov

Zoltán Kocsis - Piano

Hungaroton, 2005

Beethoven: Complete Music for Piano and Violoncello

Ludwig van Beethoven
Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 5
Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 5
Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 69
Cello Sonata No. 4, Op. 102
Cello Sonata No. 5, Op. 102

Andras Schiff - Piano

ECM Records, 2004

Kodály: Works for Cello

Zoltán Kodály
Duo for Cello & Violin, Op. 7
Romance lyrique
"Sonatensatz"
Capriccio for Cello
Sonatine
Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op. 4
Rondo "Hungarian Folk Songs"
Epigrams
Sonata for Cello Solo, Op. 8
Bach / Kodaly: 3 choral prelude
Prelude & Fugue

Gabor Takacs-Nagy - Violin
Denes Varjon - Piano

Hungaroton, 2003