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Endre Hegedűs is a well-known soloist of international and Hungarian concert life. He graduated from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest as a pianist in 1980. His professors were István Antal, Zoltán Kocsis, Ferenc Rados, András Schiff and Anna Hajdú. After graduation he attended Bruno Leonardo Gelber’s and Tamás Vásáry’s master classes several times.
He won prizes at ten international piano competitions, among them first prize at the Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition in Monza, Italy and at the International Piano Competition Sergei Rachmaninov in Morcone, Italy. He was awarded second prize at the International Piano Competition in Sydney, Australia and at the Dino Ciani International Competition at the Scala in Milan.
The number of his appearances to date exceeds 3100. He has given guest performances to great acclaim in several countries in Europe, in Australia, Japan, the one-time Soviet Union, South Korea, Canada and the United States.
In the course of the past years the Hungarian public service televisions recorded and transmitted 17 of Endre Hegedus’ concerts live; in 1997 the State Television of Japan ( NHK ) broadcast excerpts from his Tokyo concert in an hour duration. The complete duration of his concert films exceeds 20 hours.
He speaks several languages teaching in English, German, Italian and Japanese in Hungary and abroad.
He is married, a happy father of 3. With his wife Katalin Hegedus they often perform works for piano duet and two pianos in Hungary and abroad alike.
Chronology
In 1986, the year of Liszt’s bicentenary, Endre Hegedus was awarded the Liszt Commemorative Plaque by the Ferenc Liszt Society and the Ministry of Culture.
In October 1997 the Ferenc Liszt Society conferred on him for his achievements as a performer the GYÖRGY CZIFFRA-PRIZE distributed each third year.
In March 1999 he was given the title STEINWAY ARTIST by the Steinway Centre in New York. The same year he was ranked among the best 300 active pianists of the world in England.
On 15th March 2000 the minister of Culture awarded him in the framework of the Hungarian millennial celebrations the LISZT-PRIZE.
On 15th October 2000 Endre Hegedus played both of Brahms’s piano concertos in the great hall of the Academy of Music. The Symphonic Orchestra of the Hungarian Radio was conducted by Tamas Vasary. The chief patron of the event was Dr. Ferenc Madl, President of the Hungarian Republic, the patron Zoltan Rockenbauer, Minister of Culture who honoured the event of unusual dimensions with their presence. The concert was broadcast live by the Rádió Bartók; the Hungarian Television shot a film of the whole event, which was transmitted twice by the TV station “m1”. The Studió Liszt Produkció released a double CD album of the performance.
In December 2001 the local authority of his native town Hodmezovasarhely conferred on the artist the PRO URBE PRIZE in recognition of the more than 110 concerts given there.
In March 2002 Endre and Katalin Hegedus were awarded the KULTÚRA 22 prize by the local authority of Budafok-Tétény for their cultural achievements.
In April 2000, then in May 2002 the artist appeared to great acclaim at the International Chamber Music Festival of Canberra, Australia. Another important event of the same concert tour was Endre Hegedus’ recital with Liszt’s works at the Sydney Opera House and his two presentation concerts in Seoul, South Korea.
In October 2004 the Publishing House “Harmat” published a long interview with the artist conducted by Andrea Ferenczy. It was printed in a separate volume with the title “HEGEDUS A ZONGORANAL” [Violinist at the Piano, a pun with the pianist’s family name]. It sold in more than 1,500 copies in 3 months.
In December 2004 he received the ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY for his international concerting and for creating harmony between the music and its audience.
In January 2005 Endre Hegedus undertook a concert tour of the states Utah, Washington and California and cities like Salt Lake City, Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Diego giving 15 concerts to great acclaim.
On 22nd February 2005 he was soloist of two concertos played at the National Concert Hall of the Palace of Arts, Budapest to a 1,500-man strong audience. He performed piano concertos by Grieg and Tchaikovski with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gyor under the baton of Adam Medveczky. In the same place he played two additional concerts to a house filled to capacity. At his recital given on 21st October with the title “Under the Spell of Steinway” he presented three new Steinway pianos to the audience.
On 22nd February 2006 he played at his concert “Chopin Forever Young” with sweeping success the piano concertos F minor and E minor as well as the works Andante spianato and Great Polonaise with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Hungarian Railways conducted by Gergely Ménesi.
His recital (“A Life at the Piano”), which took place is this by now deservedly world-famous hall on 12th October 2006, was similarly an important event of the Budapest concert life.
His concert in the great hall of the Academy of Music on 20th November 2008 was received with a warm welcome by the audience. There he played two piano concertos again (Brahms no. 1 and Tchaikovsky no. 1) to a room filled to capacity.
On 15th April 2009 he bid farewell to the great hall of the Academy of Music to be closed for a while for reconstruction purposes, with a solo concert and on October 4th with an equally successful piano concerto with orchestra.
In January 2010 he went to the United States on a one-month-concert tour. On 22nd January of that year he was awarded the FERENC BESSENYEI ARTISTIC PRIZE by his native town Hodmezovasarhely. On 13th November Endre Hegedus played on the occasion of Chopin’s Bicentenary the master’s Piano Concertos in F minor and E minor at the National Concert Hall in one night.
In September 2010 Nippon Columbia Records, the greatest Japanese CD publishing company released a double CD in Japan on which in addition to the recordings of Beethoven’s concertos and overtures by renowned Japanese soloists the rendering of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in C minor is also included as played by Endre Hegedus in a concert in 1991, which was recorded live. The Sapporo Symphonic Orchestra was conducted by Kazuo Yamada. ( Columbia TWCO1006/7 )
On 13th April 2011 Endre Hegedus appeared in the National Concert Hall again: on the occasion of the Liszt bicentenary he gave a highly successful Liszt solo recital to a room filled to capacity. On 15th March the artist was awarded honorary citizenship by the district where he lives.
On 20th August he was decorated with the KNIGHT’S CROSS ORDER OF MERIT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY for his performing art, which is deservedly popular beyond Hungary’s frontiers as well, particularly for his fascinating interpretation of Chopin’s and Liszt’s works.