Birth

:

1922 in Szeged, Hungary

Death

:

November 14, 1999 in Bloomington, IN

Genre

:

Chamber

 

György Sebök was a Hungarian classical pianist and pedagogue who was born on March 11, 1922, in Sepsiszentgyörgy, Transylvania, which is now part of Romania. He was the youngest of three children born to a Hungarian-speaking family. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a pianist who gave him his first piano lessons. Sebök began his formal music education at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartók, and Ernst von Dohnányi. He graduated with honors in 1942 and went on to win several international piano competitions, including the Geneva International Music Competition in 1949 and the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in 1952. Sebök's career as a concert pianist took him all over the world, and he performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert. In addition to his career as a performer, Sebök was also a highly respected pedagogue. He taught at the Indiana University School of Music from 1962 to 1991, where he was the chair of the piano department and the director of the chamber music program. He also taught at the Paris Conservatory, the Salzburg Mozarteum, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Sebök was known for his innovative teaching methods, which emphasized the importance of understanding the historical and cultural context of the music. He believed that a deep understanding of the music's context was essential to a truly meaningful interpretation. He also emphasized the importance of improvisation and encouraged his students to develop their own musical voices. Sebök was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his career. In 1973, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Hungarian People's Republic, and in 1986, he was awarded the Hungarian Kossuth Prize. He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Sebök died on January 14, 1999, in Bloomington, Indiana, at the age of 76. He left behind a legacy as both a performer and a pedagogue, and his influence can still be felt in the world of classical music today.

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