Géza Anda ['ge:zɒ 'ɒndɒ] (November 19, 1921–June 14, 1976) was a Hungarian … Read Full Bio ↴Géza Anda ['ge:zɒ 'ɒndɒ] (November 19, 1921–June 14, 1976) was a Hungarian pianist. He is considered by some to be one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also a tremendous interpreter of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Bartók. In his heyday he was regarded as an amazing artist, possessed of a beautiful, natural and flawless technique that gave his concerts a unique quality. But since his death in 1976 at the age of fifty-four his high reputation has faded somewhat from view. Most of his recordings were done on the Deutsche Grammophone label.

Anda was born in 1921 in Budapest. He studied with some of the renowned teachers of the 20th century like Imre Stefaniai and Imre Keeri-Szanto, and became a pupil of master Ernst von Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In 1940 he won the Liszt Prize, and in the next year, he made an international name for himself with his performance of the Brahms B-flat Piano Concerto. In 1941, he also made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler, who dubbed him "troubadour of the piano." In 1943, he settled in Switzerland.

In the mid 1950s, Anda gave masterclasses at the Salzbuerg Mozarteum, and in [1960]] he took the position of director of the Lucerne masterclasses, succeeding Edwin Fischer. He was particularly noted for his interpretation of Schumann's piano music. The New Grove Dictionary cites his "charismatic readings of Bartók and Schumann." Indeed, he was regarded as the principle Bartók interpreter of his generation. Although he played very little Mozart in his early career, he matured into a well respected exponent of Mozart, and in fact, became the first pianist to record the full cycle of Mozart's piano concerti; he recorded them between 1967 and 1972, conducting himself from the keyboard. "From the outset of his career, he was what one might call a philosopher-virtuoso. In his lifelong quest for the perfect balance of head and heart, between intellect and instinct, he explored many facets of music-making." He was honored in 1965 by being named a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and he also become an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in 1970.