In 1957, with other graduates of the Academy, he established the Komlós String Quartet, in which he played first violin; the other members were Sándor Devich [hu], Géza Németh [hu] and László Mező [hu]. In 1960 Károly Botvay [hu] replaced Mező (and there were further replacements in later years). The quartet was renamed the Bartók String Quartet in 1963.[1][3]
In 1964 the quartet won first prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Liège, Belgium, and subsequently the quartet had an international career. There was a wide repertoire, with an emphasis on Béla Bartók's string quartets. A number of Hungarian composers dedicated their works to the quartet.[2][3]
Komlós was concertmaster of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra from 1960 to 1969. From 1982 he was an associate professor at the Franz Liszt Academy.[1][4]
He received the Liszt Prize in 1964, and the Bartók-Pásztory Prize in 1986. In 1970 he received the Kossuth Prize; in 1997 he and the other members of the Bartók String Quartet received a further Kossuth Prize.[1][2]
