Renowned Cellist Laszlo Varga is Guest Artist at School of Music, February 26-28

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010, Greencastle, Ind. — Laszlo Varga, who has an international reputation as soloist, recording artist, and master teacher, will come to the the DePauw University School of Music as a guest artist this Friday through Sunday, February 26-28.  Varga will present a guest artist recital at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by a violoncello master class at noon on Sunday in Thompson Recital Hall of the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. Varga's presentation will include performance on the five-string violoncello piccolo.

Varga served as the principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic for eleven years under Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras across the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, South America, and the former Soviet Union. He has been the featured soloist, chamber musician, and master teacher at the Aspen, Chautauqua, and Shreveport festivals, among others, for over 40 years. He is highly praised for his numerous recordings on the Vox, RCA, Columbia, Decca, CRI, Period, and MusiCelli labels. Varga has premiered numerous pieces for solo cello and is eagerly sought after by composers to present their works.

As cellist with the Borodin Piano Trio and former professor at the University of Houston (retired July 2000), he was a member of the Lener and Canadian String Quartets, Trio Concertante, and Crown Chamber Players. Varga received the distinguished title of "Chevalier du Violoncelle" from Indiana University for prestigious cellists who have dedicated their careers and teaching to the improvement of the art of cello playing. He has taught at the University of Toronto, Stanford, San Francisco State, University of California at Santa Cruz, and the University of Houston. Many of his former students hold positions in symphony orchestras and universities throughout the world.

As a conductor, he led the Budapest Symphony, San Leandro Symphony, and the Aspen and Shreveport Festivals. He was the founder and conductor of the "Virtuosi of New York" and "Virtuosi of San Francisco." He formed the first cello quartet in America in the 1950's and spawned a worldwide movement of cello ensembles. He frequently gives master classes and recitals and guest conducts mass cello ensembles at cello congresses around the world.

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