Péter Szabó
cello
Born into a musical family in Transylvania in 1963, Péter Szabó studied at the Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, and later at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest where his teachers included László Mező, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág.
He has won prizes at several competitions including the Romanian National, the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition and the Cântarea României Festival, and has been decorated by the International Musicology Society in Geneva. He has been given both the Hungarian Classical Award and the prize for Best Hungarian Classical Performer of the Year by Gramofon Magazine.
As a member of the World Orchestra for Peace, he received the prestigious title of ‘UNESCO Artist for Peace’. In recognition of his activities as a musician and performing artist, he was awarded the Liszt Prize, the highest musical award of the Hungarian state. He won the Lajtha Award for his outstanding interpretation of László Lajtha’s compositions.
As a soloist and member of chamber ensembles, he has toured Europe, the USA, East Asia and the Americas. Among others, he has worked alongside Zoltán Kocsis, Till Fellner and Yuri Bashmet. He has produced numerous recordings for Hungaroton, Naxos, and EMI.
He is the solo cellist of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
