Tamás Vásáry

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Tamás Vásáry (born August 11, 1933) is a Swiss pianist and conductor of Hungarian birth.

Vásáry was born in Debrecen and gave his first public performances at the age of eight. He studied with Ernő Dohnányi and Józef Gát at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, and was later assistant there to Zoltán Kodály, who made him a gift of a Steinway grand piano.

Vásáry won the Franz Liszt Competition in Budapest in 1948. Having left Hungary in 1956 and settled in Switzerland, he made his débuts in the major cities of the West in 1960 and 1961. He has subsequently lived in Finchley, London, England. He has made many recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, particularly of the Romantic repertoire, especially Chopin. He has also been Music Director of the Northern Sinfonia and Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and has guest conducted many of the principal British orchestras as well as appearing regularly in the United States and elsewhere as pianist and conductor.