LA FOLLE JOURNEE DE VARSOVIE

“Dezsö Ránki is a highly restrained ascetic of the keyboard. His surprised, seemingly denying smile during audience applause reminds us of his legendary shyness due to which he has kept away from any promotional campaigns”. Le Monde

Dezsö Ránki is considered to be one of the best Hungarian pianists. Having completed his education at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest in the class of Pal Kadosa, he went on to win first prize at the Robert Schumann Competition. This opened the door to his dazzling international career. He has performed concerts with renowned orchestras, including the Berlin and London Philharmonic Orchestras, the English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and the NHK Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of such renowned conductors as Z. Mehta, K. Sanderling, J. Tate, F. Brüggen, I. Fischer, L. Maazel and A. Wit. As soloist he has performed in all the capitals of Europe, as well as in San Francisco, Toronto and in numerous tours of Japan. He feels equally at home in the Classical (Mozart, Beethoven) and the Romantic (Schubert, Schumann) repertoire. He is also an unequalled interpreter of the music of Bartók and Kurtág. Invited to play at festivals in Lucerne and Lockenhaus, at the Prague Spring Festival, La Grange de Meslay, in Montpellier and in La Roque d’Anthéron. Ránki has been performing together with Hungarian pianist Edit Klukon for several years, playing works for piano four hands, as well as for two pianos. His discography entails recordings of the music of Liszt, Bartók (the Mikrokosmos cycle) and Chopin – his interpretation of Etudes, op. 10 received the Grand Prix of the Academie Charles Cros. Together with Klukon, Ránki also recorded a CD of works by Satie and John Cage for Budapest Music Center Records.