Tibor Varga (1921 – 2003)
⚠ This page is a work in progress.
He was my grandfather. This page is dedicated to him.
Born in Győr, Hungary, Tibor Varga was one of the great violinists and conductors of the 20th century.
He began violin at age 2½, entered the Franz-Liszt Academy in Budapest at 10, and gave his first
public concerto performance — Mendelssohn — with orchestra at that same age.
A passionate champion of contemporary music, he gave the European premiere of Schönberg's Violin
Concerto in 1949. He led his own chamber orchestra for over thirty years, founded the Tibor Varga
Music Academy in Sion, Switzerland in 1963, and created the Tibor Varga International Violin
Competition in 1967 — both of which continue to this day.
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, recipient of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and honorary
professor of the Franz-Liszt Academy — a distinction shared with Elgar, Gilels, Strauss, and Toscanini.
This page is my way of honouring his work and sharing a selection of recordings from his discography.
Read his biography on Wikipedia →