István Várdai
Cellist
István Várdai balances performing wide-ranging concerto repertoire with a deep love of chamber music, collaborating with partners including András Schiff, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Mischa Maisky and Víkingur Olafsson.
His broad range of concerto repertoire includes many 20th-century masterpieces which he performs with leading orchestras worldwide including Helsinki Philharmonic with Susanna Mälkki, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra with Hannu Lintu, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with Douglas Boyd, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with Jun Maerkl, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse with Klaus Mäkelä and many others. His performances receive wide acclaim.
In chamber music and recitals, he has performed in some of the world’s leading venues. He has performed at London’s Wigmore Hall several times, most recently with the legendary pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja and violinist Liza Ferschtman, on their European tour of Schubert Trios, which also visited Vienna’s Musikverein. Together with pianist Víkingur Olafsson, Várdai has formed a duo and will be touring Europe and the US in the coming seasons performing works by Debussy, Beethoven, Brahms and Janáček and pieces from their recent recordings.