János Sebestyén

János Sebestyén (2 March 1931 – 4 February 2012) was a Hungarian organist, harpsichordist, pianist and journalist.[1]

The native form of this personal name is Sebestyén János. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

János Sebestyén at the Austrian ambassador's residence in Budapest, November 2004.

Biography

János Sebestyén was born in Budapest, where both of his parents were prominent musicians and educators. His father, Sándor Sebestyén (1891-1962),[2] studied cello with Adolf Schiffer and Arnold Földesy and was the author of several pedagogical works. His mother, Rózsi Mannaberg (1895-1986),[3] studied piano with Arnold Székely and Wilhelm Backhaus.

His formal musical education began in 1946 at the State Music Secondary School as a student of pianist István Antal, organist János Hammerschlag and composer Ervin Major[4][5]. He continued his studies with organist Ferenc Gergely and composer Ferenc Szabó at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and graduated there with an organ diploma in 1955. He later attended the harpsichord class of Zuzana Růžičková in Prague. His concert tours as organ and harpsichord soloist took 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 Franz Liszt Academy of Music. He was 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 at the 1st International Harpsichord Competition, Budapest, in 2000. From 1950 on, he worked for Hungarian Radio in various capacities, serving as senior music producer between 1969 and 1994, and from 1962 until 2007 he contributed a regular series of programs documenting culture, politics and history. During his last years he contributed a monthly program to 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), Zeneműkiadó, Budapest, 1980; ISBN 963-330-354-0[6]
  • Azok a rádiós évtizedek... / ...és azok a rádiós évek (Those Radio Decades... / ...Those Radio Years), co-authored with Jenő Randé, Ajtósi Dürer Kiadó, Budapest, 1995; ISBN 963-8314-15-X[7]

Recordings

János Sebestyén's discography spans most of the keyboard repertoire, from works by renaissance composer Valentin Bakfark through those by contemporary composers including Frank Martin and Paul Hindemith. 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, Supraphon, and Vox.[8]

Highlights:

János Sebestyén participated in many recordings for Hungarian Radio.

Highlights:

References
  1. "Meghalt Sebestyén János orgona- és csembalóművész". prae.hu. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  2. "Sebestyén Sándor". arcanum.hu. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. "Mannaberg Rózsi". arcanum.hu. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  4. "Sebestyén János két mikrofonja". muzsikalendarium.hu. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. "Bartók Béla Zeneművészeti és Hangszerészképző Gyakorló Szakgimnázium". hu.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. "Életem történeteiből · Rózsa Miklós – Sebestyén János". moly.hu. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  7. "Randé Jenő, Sebestyén János: Azok a rádiós évtizedek... és azok a rádiós évek". antikva.hu. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. "János Sebestyén · Discography · Discogs". discogs.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
See also: Sebestyén
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