Foldes (actually, Földes), Andor

Foldes (actually, Földes), Andor, admired Hungarian-born American pianist; b. Budapest, Dec. 21, 1913; d. Herrliberg, Switzerland, Feb. 9, 1992. He began piano lessons at an early age with his mother, and was only 8 when he appeared as soloist in Mozart’s 15th Piano Concerto, K.450, with the Budapest Phil. In 1922 he entered the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest and studied with Dohnanyi (piano), Weiner (composition), and Ernst Unger (conducting). Upon graduating and winning the Liszt Prize in 1933, he made his first tour of Europe. In 1939 he went to N.Y., where he made his U.S. debut as an orch. soloist in a radio concert in 1940. In 1941 he made his U.S. recital debut at N.Y/s Town Hall. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1948, but pursued a global concert career. From 1957 to 1965 he also gave master classes at the Saarbriicken Hochschule fur Musik. In 1961 he settled in Switzer-land. While he continued to devote himself mainly to his career as a piano virtuoso, he occasionally appeared as a conductor and was active as a composer, primarily of piano pieces. Foldes was esteemed for his performances of the Classical and early Romantic masters, but he also displayed a special affinity for the music of Bartok. With his wife Lili Foldes, he publ. Two on a Continent (N.Y., 1947). He also publ. Keys to the Keyboard (N.Y., 1948) and Gibt es einen zeitgenossischen BeethovenStil? und andere Aufsatze (Wiesbaden, 1963). His Erinnerungen appeared posthumously (Frankfurt am Main, 1993).

Bibliography

W.-E. von Lewinski, A. F. (Berlin, 1970).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire