Sandrine Erdely-Sayo, born October 11, 1968, in Perpignan, France, is a Jewish French-American pianist. She was a child prodigy who could play Bach and read music before knowing how to read a book.
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Sandrine Erdely-Sayo began studying piano at the age of four at the Perpignan Conservatory in France, with Michèle Puig (Pablo Casals' goddaughter). At ten, she was awarded first prize at the Bellan Competition in Paris. Three years later she won gold medals in piano and chamber music and the following year, the "prix d'excellence à l'unanimité". She continued her musical studies with Denyse Rivière and with Christian Manen (First Grand Prize of Rome) [1] at the Conservatoire de Paris where she received first prize for specialization in solfège. There, she pursued special studies in harmony, counterpoint and fugue.
She became the youngest recipient of the French minister of Culture Prize at the age of thirteen. Four years later, she won first prize at the Scène Française International Piano Competition, in Paris, was a prize winner at the IBLA International Competition in Italy, and was semi-finalist at the "Torneo Internazionale di Musica" in Rome, Italy.
At the age of 14, she wrote three pieces for chamber orchestra which were played at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. She came to the United States in 1990 for graduate studies with Susan Starr at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia where she received a Master's Degree in piano and composition, and won the Orchestra Competition and the Strine Award scholarship.
Sandrine Erdely-Sayo has played in many festivals such as Mozart, Bach Festival, Festival International des Arts, Festival de Prades, the Louvre, Jewish Film Festival with the American writer Cynthia Ozick, Festival of the "Hispanidad", and for radio and television in France, United States, Spain, Italy, and Argentina.
In 1999, Erdely-Sayo made her Chicago debut at Preston Bradley Hall for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert. As a chamber musician, she has performed the major repertoire by Poulenc, Messiaen, and Bartok.
Her performances combine technical virtuosity, creative interpretation and a magical lightness that makes classical music accessible to all. She communicates with the audience musically and verbally to share history, personal experience, and humor.
She has recorded the integral work of Primitivo Lazaro in two CDs featured at OnClassical. She has given the world premiere of pieces by Argentine composers and the modern world premiere of a discovered piece by Francis Poulenc at Towson University.
Erdely-Sayo is an honorary member of [2] Darius Milhaud international Competition and she is a member of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry.
She is currently teaching at Temple University Music Prep.[3] and at the well-known Lawrenceville School.
She has been listed in several editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women, and Who's Who of Emerging Leaders under the age of 40.
Sandrine Erdely-Sayo was granted permanent residency in April 1996 as an artist of exceptional ability and as a national interest for the United States. She became an American citizen on February 15, 2007.
Erdely-Sayo's favorite scientists, philosophers and writers: Albert Einstein, Évariste Galois, Vladimir Jankelevitch, Emmanuel Levinas, Irène Frain, Honoré de Balzac, Marcel Proust.
Integral works of Primitivo Lazaro.
