Vaszonyi, Balint, 1936-2003

Summary : Balint Vazsonyi was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 7, 1936. Vaszonyi toured the U.S. and Europe, performed all 32 Beethoven sonatas, and wrote extensively on political science for The Washington Times . He died in January 2003.

Full History : Balint Vazsonyi was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 7, 1936. He began his piano studies early at the Liszt Music Academy and the Vienna Academy of Music. Later, he immigrated to the U.S. and continued his studies under Ernst von Dohnanyi at Florida State University. Vazsonyi toured the U.S. and Europe, as well as making numerous television and radio appearances. He also performed several cycles of all 32 Beethovens sonatas. His recordings were issued on the Vox, Pye, and Genesis labels. Vazsonyi was also deeply interested in political science and wrote extensively on that subject for The Washington Times and elsewhere. He died in January 2003.

A separate, highly significant portion of the Vazsonyi Collection consists of materials that he gathered relating to the life and career of his teacher, Dohnanyi. Many of these unique documents, the majority in Hungarian, were used by Vazsonyi while preparing his biography of Dohnanyi. At the request of donor Barbara Vazsonyi, a portion of the Dohnanyi materials in Hungarian were transferred to the library of the Liszt academy in Budapest in 2004. This book was published by Zenemukiado in 1971.