Géza Anda (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈɡeːzɒˈɒndɒ]; 19 November 1921 – 13 June 1976) was a Swiss-Hungarianpianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also considered to be 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. Most of his recordings were made on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
In the mid-1950s, Anda gave masterclasses at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and in 1960 he took the position of director of the Lucerne masterclasses, succeeding Edwin Fischer. His students included Per Enflo, who later became renowned for his work in mathematical analysis.
As a performer, Anda was particularly noted for his interpretation of Schumann's and Brahms's piano music. The New Grove Dictionary cites his "charismatic readings of Bartók and Schumann".[3] He was regarded as the principal Bartók interpreter of his generation,[4] even if other pianists since his death have made more obviously exciting recordings of that composer's concertos. Although he played very little Mozart in his early career, he became the first pianist to record the full cycle of Mozart's piano concerti; he recorded them between 1961 and 1969, conducting the orchestra from the keyboard.[5]
His performance of the Andante from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C on the soundtrack of the 1967 film Elvira Madigan[6] led to the epithet "Elvira Madigan" often being applied to the concerto. For his recording of Mozart's Piano Concertos No. 17 & No. 21 with the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, he received the Grand Prix du Disque in 1963.
"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."[2] He was honored in 1965 by being named a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and he also became an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in 1970.[7]
Initially, Anda married Swiss-born Helene Winterstein-Bosshard (1906-?), who was his manager. In 1964, he married Hortense Bührle, who was the youngest child of German-born industrialist and majority owner of Oerlikon-BührleEmil Bührle.[9] They have one son;
Gratian Dietrich Bela Anda known as Gratian Anda (born 1969)
He died on 13 June 1976 in Zurich, Switzerland. His cause of death was esophageal cancer.[10]
Wolfgang Rathert: Géza Anda. Pianist. Ein Panorama zum 100. Geburtstag / A Panorama on his 100th Birthday, herausgegeben von der / published by Géza Anda Foundation [German-Englisch]. Hofheim, Wolke 2021 (ISBN 978-3-95593-104-9).
