Laszlo Varga
Encyclopedia
Laszlo Varga is a Hungarian-American cellist who has a worldwide status as a soloist, recording artist, and authoritative cello teacher.
under the baton of the orchestra's music directors Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein
, and many guest conductors including Fritz Reiner
and Guido Cantelli
. He performed as soloist with orchestras in countries such as Australia, Japan, USA, the former Soviet Union, and throughout Europe. In music festivals such as Aspen, Chautauqua, and Shreveport, he has been spotlighted during the last 40 years for his duties as a soloist, chamber musician and teaching mentor. During this time recorded a multitude of disks for numerous labels including Columbia, CRI, Decca, EMI, Musicelli, Period, Philips, RCA, Serenus, and Vox. Many composers throughout the world have requested that Mr. Varga give the first performance of their works.
As a chamber musician he was a member of groups such as the Borodin Piano Trio, the Canadian String Quartet, the Léner String Quartet, the Trio Concertante, and the Crown Chamber Players. Indiana University awarded Varga with the title of Chevalier du Violoncelle for having dedicated his career as a teacher and soloist for the improvement of cello playing. He taught the cello at San Francisco State University (where he also taught conducting and oversaw the chamber music program), University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Toronto and the University of Houston, from which he retired in 2000.
He has the great pleasure of having many of his students landing jobs in orchestras and in universities throughout the globe. He routinely holds master classes and performs in recitals as well as conducts large groups of cello ensembles on all sides of the globe. Many of these take place during the various international Cello Congresses. He has been the conductor of orchestras in Budapest, Hungary and San Leandro, California, as well as Festivals in Aspen, Colorado and Shreveport, Louisiana. He not only conducted the Virtuosi of New York and the Virtuosi of San Francisco but he was founder of both of them. He has arranged many works of music which are published by MusiCelli Publications. Groups such as the Yale Cellos, the Saito Cello Ensemble, CELLO for Sony/Philips, MusiCelli, the Los Angeles I Cellisti, as well as his own New York Philharmonic Cello Quartet have recorded his arrangements.
BRAHMS, Johannes
BARTOK, Bela
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
SCHUBERT, Franz
SCHUMANN, Robert
BARTOK, Bela
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
BOCCHERINI, Luigi
CHOPIN, Frederic
DEBUSSY, Claude
HAYDN, Franz Joseph
MOOR, Emanuel
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Nicolai
ROSSINI, Gioacchino
VIVALDI, Antonio
BRAHMS, Johannes
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
RESPIGHI, Ottorino
STRAUSS, Richard
TCHAIKOVSKY, Peter Ilych
Biography
For 11 years Varga held the position as principal cellist of the New York PhilharmonicNew York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under the baton of the orchestra's music directors Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, and many guest conductors including Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
and Guido Cantelli
Guido Cantelli
Guido Cantelli was an Italian orchestral conductor.-Biography:Born in Novara, Italy, Cantelli was named Musical Director of La Scala, Milan on 16 November 1956 but his promising career was cut short only one week later by his death at the age of 36 in an aircraft crash in Paris, France.Cantelli...
. He performed as soloist with orchestras in countries such as Australia, Japan, USA, the former Soviet Union, and throughout Europe. In music festivals such as Aspen, Chautauqua, and Shreveport, he has been spotlighted during the last 40 years for his duties as a soloist, chamber musician and teaching mentor. During this time recorded a multitude of disks for numerous labels including Columbia, CRI, Decca, EMI, Musicelli, Period, Philips, RCA, Serenus, and Vox. Many composers throughout the world have requested that Mr. Varga give the first performance of their works.
As a chamber musician he was a member of groups such as the Borodin Piano Trio, the Canadian String Quartet, the Léner String Quartet, the Trio Concertante, and the Crown Chamber Players. Indiana University awarded Varga with the title of Chevalier du Violoncelle for having dedicated his career as a teacher and soloist for the improvement of cello playing. He taught the cello at San Francisco State University (where he also taught conducting and oversaw the chamber music program), University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Toronto and the University of Houston, from which he retired in 2000.
He has the great pleasure of having many of his students landing jobs in orchestras and in universities throughout the globe. He routinely holds master classes and performs in recitals as well as conducts large groups of cello ensembles on all sides of the globe. Many of these take place during the various international Cello Congresses. He has been the conductor of orchestras in Budapest, Hungary and San Leandro, California, as well as Festivals in Aspen, Colorado and Shreveport, Louisiana. He not only conducted the Virtuosi of New York and the Virtuosi of San Francisco but he was founder of both of them. He has arranged many works of music which are published by MusiCelli Publications. Groups such as the Yale Cellos, the Saito Cello Ensemble, CELLO for Sony/Philips, MusiCelli, the Los Angeles I Cellisti, as well as his own New York Philharmonic Cello Quartet have recorded his arrangements.
for Solo Cello
BACH, Johann Sebastian- Partita in D minor for solo cello, BWV 1004 (which includes the famous Chaconne)
- Partita in E for solo cello, BWV 1006
- Solo Cello Suite No. 4, BWV 1010 (Transposed to G Major)
BRAHMS, Johannes
- Three Violin Sonatas (Cello part only)
- Sonata in G, Op. 78
- Sonata in A, Op. 100
- Sonata in d, Op. 108
for Cello and Piano
BACH, Johann Sebastian- Toccata, Adagio, and Fuga (Originally for organ.)
BARTOK, Bela
- Sonatine (1915) (Originally for piano.)
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
- Sonata, Op. 64
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
- Adagio, K. 261 (Originally for violin.)
- Andante, K. 467 (Originally for piano.)
SCHUBERT, Franz
- Two Songs: “Litanei” and “Aufenthalt”
SCHUMANN, Robert
- Two Songs
for Two Cellos
BACH, Johann Sebastian- Fifteen Little Pieces
- Suite in C Major
- Suite No. 5, BWV 1011 in G minor for cello duo
- Aria from Goldberg Variations
Cello Quartets and bigger Ensembles
BACH, Johann Sebastian- Chaconne in d, BWV 1004
- Prelude and Fugue VIII from Book One of the “WTC”
- Sarabande and Bourree, BWV 1002
- Suite V for solo cello, BWV 1011
- Allemande, Sarabande, Gavotte, and Gigue from Suite VI
BARTOK, Bela
- Hungarian Peasant Songs
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
- Quartet, Op. 14, No. 1 (Originally for piano.)
- Adagio, Op. 31, No. 2 (Originally for piano.)
BOCCHERINI, Luigi
- Adagio and Allegro (from the Cello Sonata in A)
CHOPIN, Frederic
- Etude, Op. 25, No. 7 (Originally for piano.)
- Prelude in e, Op. 28, No. 4 (Originally for piano.)
DEBUSSY, Claude
- Sarabande (from “pour le piano”)
- Prelude, “La fille aux cheveux de lin” (Originally for piano.)
- Prelude, “Minstrels” (Originally for piano.)
HAYDN, Franz Joseph
- Quartet, Op. 76, No. 5 (Originally for string quartet.)
MOOR, Emanuel
- Suite, Op 95
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
- Sonata in F, K. 358 (Originally for piano.)
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Nicolai
- Flight of the Bumble Bee
ROSSINI, Gioacchino
- Variations “Un Larme” (Originally for cello and piano.)
VIVALDI, Antonio
- Concerto Grosso, Op. 3, No. 11
Cello Ensemble with Voice
SCHUBERT, Franz- Two Songs for Soprano and Cello Quartet, Der Müller und der Bach and HeidenrösleinHeidenröslein"Heidenröslein" or "Heideröslein" is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1799. It was written in 1771 during Goethe's stay in Strasbourg when he was in love with Friederike Brion, to whom the poem is addressed...
BRAHMS, Johannes
- “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” from Ein deutsches RequiemEin deutsches RequiemA German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest...
for mezzo soprano or solo cello and eight-part cello ensemble (with optional six-part cello choir.)
Solo Cello and Four Cellos or other Instruments
HANDEL, George Frederic- Concerto in g for five celli or solo oboe and four celli
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
- Quintet, K. 407 for oboe and four celli. (Originally for horn and strings.)
RESPIGHI, Ottorino
- Adagio con Variazioni for solo cello and cello octet
STRAUSS, Richard
- Don Quixote, Op. 32 for solo cello and viola, violin, clar./bass clar., French horn, and piano
- Sonata, Op. 6 for solo cello and 12-piece ensemble (pairs or flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, 1 cello, and 1 bass)
TCHAIKOVSKY, Peter Ilych
- Andante Cantabile from the String Quartet, Op. 11 for solo cello and five-part cello ensemble