George Enescu
Festival & Conference
commemorating the 50th anniversary
of his death
Matei Varga, piano
Matei Varga is a fresh and exciting new presence in the piano world. Already established as one of the
leading young pianists of his native Romania, his prodigious talent is fast becoming recognized in the
United States and Europe. Mr. Varga’s career was effectively launched at age ten, when he won first prize
in both the solo and orchestral concerto categories of the “Citta Di Moncalieri" Competition in Turin. Since
then, he has received many awards and honors, most recently, the third prize at the 2004 Concurs Internacional
d’Execució Musical Maria Canals of Barcelona, and a special prize awarded by Elizaveta Leonskaja at the Vendome
Prize 2003 Piano Competition held in Vienna, London, and Lisbon. Other significant awards include the second
prize at both the 2002 Cidade do Porto International Competition (Portugal) and the 2001 George Enescu
International Piano Competition (Romania), as well as first prize at the 2001 Lory Wallfisch Piano Competition
(Romania). In addition to his appearances in Romania, Mr. Varga has performed in New York, Washington D.C.,
Montreal, Paris, Stockholm, Baden Baden, Grenoble, Venice, Tokyo, Kyoto, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, and also
participated in festivals, including Festival de Sintra (Portugal), Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto, Italy),
Mostly Tchaikovsky (Des Moines, USA), Octobre Musical de Carthage (Tunis), and the George Enescu International
Festival (Bucharest). Mr. Varga’s credits as a recording artist include two DVD releases: Mozart and Schumann
and Mixtures I: A Classical Surround Sampler on AIX Records. After graduating in 1999 from the "Dinu Lipatti"
High School of Music in Bucharest, Mr. Varga went on to receive his bachelors degree from the Romanian National
University of Music in 2004, where he studied with Ana Pitis, Ioana Minei, and Sandu Sandrin. He is currently a
Master of Music degree candidate at Mannes College of Music, where he studies with the Bulgarian pianist Pavlina
Dokovska. He participated in several master classes with the celebrated pianist Raoul Sosa. In February 2005 he
won the Mannes Concerto Competition and he will perform Chopin's second piano concerto on 3 March 2006 at Alice
Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
Matei Varga is a fresh and exciting new presence in the piano world. Already established as one of the
leading young pianists of his native Romania, his prodigious talent is fast becoming recognized in the
United States and Europe. Mr. Varga’s career was effectively launched at age ten, when he won first prize
in both the solo and orchestral concerto categories of the “Citta Di Moncalieri" Competition in Turin. Since
then, he has received many awards and honors, most recently, the third prize at the 2004 Concurs Internacional
d’Execució Musical Maria Canals of Barcelona, and a special prize awarded by Elizaveta Leonskaja at the Vendome
Prize 2003 Piano Competition held in Vienna, London, and Lisbon. Other significant awards include the second
prize at both the 2002 Cidade do Porto International Competition (Portugal) and the 2001 George Enescu
International Piano Competition (Romania), as well as first prize at the 2001 Lory Wallfisch Piano Competition
(Romania). In addition to his appearances in Romania, Mr. Varga has performed in New York, Washington D.C.,
Montreal, Paris, Stockholm, Baden Baden, Grenoble, Venice, Tokyo, Kyoto, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, and also
participated in festivals, including Festival de Sintra (Portugal), Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto, Italy),
Mostly Tchaikovsky (Des Moines, USA), Octobre Musical de Carthage (Tunis), and the George Enescu International
Festival (Bucharest). Mr. Varga’s credits as a recording artist include two DVD releases: Mozart and Schumann
and Mixtures I: A Classical Surround Sampler on AIX Records. After graduating in 1999 from the "Dinu Lipatti"
High School of Music in Bucharest, Mr. Varga went on to receive his bachelors degree from the Romanian National
University of Music in 2004, where he studied with Ana Pitis, Ioana Minei, and Sandu Sandrin. He is currently a
Master of Music degree candidate at Mannes College of Music, where he studies with the Bulgarian pianist Pavlina
Dokovska. He participated in several master classes with the celebrated pianist Raoul Sosa. In February 2005 he
won the Mannes Concerto Competition and he will perform Chopin's second piano concerto on 3 March 2006 at Alice
Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.