Edith Farnadi (25 September 1921 – 12 or 14 December 1973) was a Hungarian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. She was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and began her studies at the age of 7 at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

. She studied with Professor Arnold Székely (also a teacher of

Louis Kentner Louis Philip Kentner (19 July 190523 September 1987) was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. Life and career He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian S ...

). At the age of 9, she made her musical debut as a child prodigy. At the age of 12, she played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, directing the orchestra from the piano. She received her diploma from the Musical Academy in Budapest when she was 17 years old. During her studies at the Music Academy she won the Franz Liszt Prize twice. She became a professor at the Budapest Franz Liszt Academy where she remained until 1942. She then concertized widely throughout Europe in the 1950s and made recordings with the

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

Label. In ensemble she performed with the

Barylli Quartet The Barylli Quartet was a celebrated Austrian string quartet classical musical ensemble. It was first brought together in Vienna during the War by Walter Barylli, Konzertmeister of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1939, but was re-founded ...

. It was while still a student in Budapest that she became a steady musical partner with the great Hungarian violinist

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay, Jenő Hubay von Szalatna, hu, szalatnai Hubay Jenő (; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a Ger ...

. At the International Musical afternoons at the Budapest Palais, she performed many times with

Bronisław Huberman Bronisław Huberman (19 December 1882 – 16 June 1947) was a Polish violinist. He was known for his individualistic interpretations and was praised for his tone color, expressiveness, and flexibility. The '' Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivarius'' ...

.Sleevenote from Westminster LP #WAL 213, Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies Vol I (1-8), Edith Farnadi, pianist recorded in Konzerthaus, Vienna (issued USA 1953).

Partial discography

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2 - Westminster LP WL 5309, 1954 * Liszt Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2 - Westminster LP WL 5158 * Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies Vol. 1 (1-8) - Westminster LP WAL 213 * Dvorak Piano Quintet with the Barylli Quartet - Westminster W 9025 *Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Opus 18 - Westminster LP XWN 18275 (Probably mid-1950s)

References

1921 births 1973 deaths Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Franz Liszt Academy of Music faculty Hungarian classical pianists Hungarian women pianists Women classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century composers Jewish classical pianists 20th-century women composers 20th-century women pianists {{classical-pianist-stub