This is just as true for Edward Elgar's glorious Triumphal March from the cantata Caractacus and the Cello Concerto by the - less well known in Hungary - 20th century British composer William Walton as it is for Rimsky-Korsakov's enchanting Scheherazade. There is a saying that no-one can be a prophet in his own country, and since we're accustomed to only infrequent visits home from the very finest Hungarian artists, this seems to hold partially true for them as well. István Várdai is an international star in the true sense of the word - with concert halls vying for his presence, he spends more time airborne than he does in his own homeland as he advances the reputation of Hungarian musicians around the world. As of last December, he has been playing on a true rarity: the 1673 Stradivarius cello previously played by Jacqueline du Pré and Lynn Harrell. Only 65 Stradivarius cellos exist in the world, and the last Hungarian musician to use one was János Starker.
"Tonight... there came a moment when I became so absorbed in the music, I completely lost my sense of time and space (Isn't this what psychologists refer to as 'flow'?)” (a listener commenting on a concert by István Várdai; forum.index.hu)

Presented by: Pannon Philharmonic