For Zoltan Kocsis, conducting this has become a major part of his performing career and he is well known for his exciting and interesting programs, often using his own transcriptions. As a composer himself, Zoltán Kocsis' affinity with contemporary music is well known. György Kurtág has dedicated several compositions to Kocsis, which Kocsis has performed across Europe ... read full bio

Zoltan Kocsis is one of the great personalities of the music world: enigmatic, brilliant and hugely versatile.  He is a pianist, conductor, chamber musician, composer and arranger: a true all-round musician.

Born in Budapest, Mr Kocsis began to play the piano at the age of 5. After attending music school and the Conservatory, he studied at the Ferenc Liszt Academy Budapest where his professors included Pál Kadosa and Ferenc Rados.

Zoltan Kocsis’ international career began at the age of 18 when he won the Hungarian Radio competition. He was invited to perform all over Europe, including an appearance with the Berlin Philharmonic. Since then he has toured extensively in Europe, America, Japan, the Far East and Australia, performing with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago and San Francisco Symphonies, Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia. He has played under the batons of Claudio Abbado, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnányi, Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Lovro von Matacic, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Georg Solti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Edo de Waart.

Zoltan Kocsis has participated in many prestigious festivals including in Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne, and was invited by Sviatoslav Richter to perform music for four hands with him at the Hohenems and Tours Festivals.

Zoltan Kocsis now divides his time between playing and conducting. He has appeared in recent seasons with both the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and has given performances at the Verbier and Ferrara festivals, at La Roque D’Antheron (a performance which was recorded for DVD release) and twice in recital at Wigmore Hall in London. Touring the US, he has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, Atlanta Symphony and Minnesota Orchestra and gave an electrifying recital in New York.

Zoltan Kocsis has been an exclusive artist with Philips Classics since the late 1970s. He has also recorded for Denon, Hungarotron, Nippon Columbia and Quintana. His recordings have earned him considerable acclaim and he has been the recipient of several prizes, including the Edison prize and prizes from Gramophone. In 2005 he finished recording the complete series of Bartók’s piano music (both solo and with orchestra). His Rachmaninov, Mozart and Debussy recordings have also been highly praised by the critics.

Last updated November 2009. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.