The Katona Twins are a Hungarian

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

duo, composed of identical twins Péter and Zoltán Katona. They have performed at prestigious venues and at major music festivals around the world. Their performances and recordings have been widely reviewed by the music press. and they have been described as "the classical world's best-known guitar duo". The Katonas' repertoire includes Classical music,

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

and Spanish guitar. They have also adapted and arranged classical works for guitar duo. Their album releases have included works by Handel, Scarlatti,

Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era who also had a significant influence on his conte ...

and

Ástor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

. They also perform works by de Falla and

Castelnuovo-Tedesco Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 April 1895 – 16 March 1968) was an Italian composer, pianist and writer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In ...

, as well modern composers such as

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...

, and concerti for two guitars and orchestra by

Rodrigo Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name '' Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vi ...

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

Biography

The identical twins Péter and Zoltán Katona were 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 ...

, Hungary in 1968. From the age of ten they studied, both individually and as a guitar duo, at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music in Budapest with Ede Roth, the Academy of Music in Kassel with Wolfgang Lendle, and the ''Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Tanz'' (Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts), in Frankfurt-am-Main with Michael Teuchert, Germany. They also studied under Michael Lewin at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Celebrated artists in their own right today, the twins in turn give masterclasses to younger musicians. They made their Carnegie Hall debut in 1998. The Katona Twins have toured widely, playing in Ireland; they have played at the Royal Festival Hall and

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

in London, and at the Cheltenham International Music Festival in 2004, with the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

Michael Berkeley Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Knighton, (born 29 May 1948) is an English composer, broadcaster on music and member of the House of Lords. Early life Berkeley is the eldest of the three sons of Elizabeth Freda (née Bernstein ...

composed a double concerto for performance by the twins there. Their concert schedule for 2007 included venues in Japan, France, Germany, and the United States.

Awards

*First Prize, "''Concours International de Guitarre en Duo''",

Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...

, France (1993) *First Prize, "''International Music Competition for Guitar Duos''",

Bubenreuth Bubenreuth is a municipality in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. Location Bubenreuth is located near the river Regnitz and ca. 4 kilometers north of Erlangen with which it's structurally connected. Neighboring towns are ...

, Germany (1993) *Cultural Prize of the City of Kassel, Germany (1993) *S. T. Johnson Foundation prize (1995) *The

Laura Ashley Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s ...

prize (1996) * Young Concert Artist Trust auditions in London (1997) *Concert Artists Guild Competition, New York (1998) *Borletti-Buitoni prize (2004), the trust's first ever award to guitarists.

Other

The Katona twins served as jury members for the 2nd International Guitar Festival Heinsberg 2007

Discography

*''Isaac Albéniz, España, Iberia, Mallorca'', (1997), Channel Classics CCS 10397 1 *''Joaquín Rodrigo, Concierto Madrigal''; ''Tonadillas'', (1998), Channel Classics CCS 16698 1 ''Reviews'': Musicweb, Editor's Choice, ''Gramophone'', Feb 2002 *''Sonatas – Scarlatti & Handel'', (1998), Channel Classics CCS 14298 ''Reviews'': The Flying Inkpot *''Ástor Piazzolla, Le Grand Tango'', (2004), Channel Classics CCS 19804 ''Reviews'': Classics Today, Audiophile Audition, Oakland Tribune Klassik.com *''Piazzolla, Mozart, Granados, de Falla'' *''J.S. Bach'', (2013) Channel Classics CCS SA 34713

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katona Twins 1968 births Living people Hungarian classical guitarists Twin musical duos Identical twin males Male musical duos