Hungarian Violinist Tibor Varga Was Born in 1921

A student of Carl Flesch and Jeno Hubay, Varga is remembered as one of the most renowned violinists of the 20th century

Hungarian violinist and conductor Tibor Varga was born on this day in 1921.

Varga was born in Győr, Hungary.

Varga took his first violin lessons at the age of two and a half with his father Lajos Varga. 

Coming to the attention of Jenő Hubay, Varga was enrolled at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest when only ten years old. There, he studied with, among others, Zoltán Kodály and Leó Weiner. After Hubay's death (1937), Varga was chosen to be the soloist in the memorial concert, playing the 3rd Violin Concerto op. 99 by Hubay under the direction of Ernő Dohnányi, who in 1934 had become Hubay's successor as the Rector of the Liszt Academy. On completion of his musical studies at the Liszt Music Academy, Varga devoted himself throughout the war years to studying philosophy at the Budapest University.

He is especially known for his interpretations of concerti by Béla Bartók, Alban Berg, and Arnold Schoenberg — works that were new to the repertoire at the time.

Later on in his career, Varga also began to see success as a conductor. He is credited with having co-founded the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and the Festival Orchestra Tibor Varga in Sion.

TIBOR VARGA | MOZART | RONDO | TIBOR VARGA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA | 1958