János Sebestyén

János Sebestyén (born March 2, 1931 in Budapest) is a Hungarian organist, harpsichordist and pianist.

Biography

János Sebestyén attended the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music where his professors included organists János Hammerschlag and Ferenc Gergely, pianist István Antal, and composers Ervin Major and Ferenc Szabó. He graduated in 1955 with diplomas in organ, piano and composition and later attended the harpsichord class of Zuzana Růžičková in Prague. His concert tours have taken him to Russia, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, the United States and nearly every country in Europe. In 1970 he established the first harpsichord class at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. His many students have included Miklós Spányi, Anikó Horváth, Szilvia Elek, Péter Ella, Judit Péteri, and Ágnes Várallyay. He has been invited to serve on juries for organ and harpsichord competitions in France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and Switzerland. In Hungary he served as President of the Jury for the International Liszt Organ Competition in 1983, 1988 and 1993, and for the First International Harpsichord Competition, Budapest, in 2000. He has also worked at the Hungarian Radio in various capacities since 1950. Between 1969 and 1994 he was senior music producer and from 1962 until 2007 he hosted a regular series of broadcasts documenting Hungarian musical life and history. He currently contributes a monthly program to the Hungarian Catholic Radio.

Awards

* Erkel Prize,1967 (Hungary)

* Liszt Prize, 1974 (Hungary)

* Artist of Merit, 1982 (Hungary)

* Grand Prix du Disque for the Hungaroton publication "Bartók Record Archives", 1982 (France)

* Cavalier of the Italian Republic, 1984 (Italy)

* Grande Comendador of the Henrique Infante State Order, 1996 (Portugal)

* Officer of the Isabella la Católica Order, 1999 (Spain)

* Cavalier of the Order of the Southern Cross, 2000 (Brazil)

* Officer of the Royal Order of the Nordic Star, 2000 (Sweden)

* Officer's Cross, 2000 (Hungary)

* Ufficiale of the Italian Republic, 2003 (Italy)

Publications

* "Rózsa Miklós: Életem történeteiből" (Miklós Rózsa: Stories From My Life), Budapest, 1980; ISBN 9633303540

* "És azok a rádiós évek" (Those Radio Years), Budapest, 1995; ISBN 963831415X

Recordings

János Sebestyén's discography spans most of the keyboard repertoire, from works by renaissance composer Valentin Bakfark through those by contemporary composers such as Frank Martin. More than 80 LP and CD recordings have been published by various labels including Angelicum, Ariston, Balkanton, BAM, Il Canale, CBS Italiana, Fonit Cetra, Hungaroton, Naxos, Portugalsom, Supraphon, and Vox.

Highlights include:

* Paul Hindemith: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1 and 3 - Angelicum LPA 5963
* J. S. Bach: Concertos after Alessandro Marcello, Georg Philipp Telemann, etc. - Angelicum STA 9015
* "Melodie di Natale" (Domenico Zipoli, Girolamo Frescobaldi, etc.) - Angelicum STA 9018
* Joseph Haydn: Six Esterházy Sonatas - BAM LD 6000
* Andrea Lucchesi: Twelve Organ Sonatas - IL Canale FC U09-10
* J. S. Bach: Harpsichord Toccatas - CBS Italiana/Odissea S 54079
* Bernardo Pasquini: Organ Works - Fonit Cetra/Italia ITL 70062
* "Harpsichord Recital" (J. S. Bach, Sergei Prokofiev, Frank Martin, Emil Petrovics) - Hungaroton LPX 1181
* Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pieces de Clavecin en Concerts - with flutist Lóránt Kovács and cellist László Mező - Hungaroton SLPX 11453
* Joseph Haydn: Five Divertimenti - with members of the Tátrai Quartet - Hungaroton SLPX 11458
* Arcangelo Corelli: Violin Sonatas - with violinist Dénes Kovács - Hungaroton SLPX 11514-15
* "Harpsichord Concertos" (Domenico Cimarosa, Carlos Seixas, etc.) - led by János Rolla - Hungaroton SLPX 12392
* George Frideric Handel: Violin Sonatas - with violinist György Pauk - Hungaroton SLPD 12657-58
* Johann Adolph Hasse: Six Organ Concertos - Hungaroton HCD 31738
* "Music for Two Organs" (Daniel Steibelt, Muzio Clementi, etc.) - with organist Miklós Spányi - Hungaroton HCD 32167
* W. A. Mozart: Organ Works - Naxos 8.550514
* J. S. Bach: Inventions and Sinfonias - Naxos 8.550679
* João de Sousa Carvalho: Harpsichord Works - Portugalsom 860006
* J. S. Bach: Concertos for Two, Three, and Four Harpsichords - with harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková, etc. - Supraphon 1110 4391-92
* "Polish Renaissance Music for Harpsichord and Organ" (Jakob Polak, Wojciech Długoraj etc.) - Vox/Candide CE 31019
* "Hungarian Dances for Harpsichord" (Valentin Bakfark, Johann Babnik, etc.) - Vox/Candide CE 31032
* J. S. Bach: Six Concertos after Antonio Vivaldi - Vox/Turnabout TV-S 34287
* "Harpsichord Concertos" (Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, etc.) - led by Vilmos Tátrai - Vox/Turnabout TV-S 34325
* Franz Liszt: Complete Organ Works - Vox Box SVBX 5328-29

He has also contributed to many recordings for the Hungarian Radio.

Highlights include:

* J. S. Bach: Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord - with violinist György Pauk
* János Decsényi: Divertimento for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra - conducted by György Lehel
* Ferenc Farkas: Concertino for Harpsichord and Strings - conducted by György Lehel
* Frank Martin: Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra - conducted by György Lehel
* W. A. Mozart: Three Concertos after Johann Christian Bach - with members of the Tátrai Quartet
* Francis Poulenc: Concert champêtre - conducted by Tamás Bolberitz

ources

* International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory (16th edition), ed. by David M. Cummings, Melrose Press Ltd, Cambridge, England, 1998.

External links

* [http://www.jsebestyen.org Official site]