kammerorchesterbasel

Discography
János Tamás was born in 1936 in Budapest but lived in Switzerland from 1956 on. He studied composition with Sándor Veress in Bern. His oeuvre contains 120 works from nearly all musical genres. Tamás died in 1995 in Aarau. The Association for the Promotion of János Tamás has dedicated itself to preserving the composer’s works.
Tamás’ piano concerto from 1965 is written in the tradition of Béla Bartók. The highly virtuosic piano part is contrasted by a full orchestra playing in tightly woven counterpoint. The work was never performed during Tamás’ life; the concerto was not heard until February; a live recording of its premiere is found on this CD. The concerto is complemented by some of the composer’s early compositions for solo piano. The A Hungarian composer in Switzerland: piano works by János Tamás pieces from the Eisblumen cycle (Frost flowers) are often played today, not in the least because they are required pieces by the Swiss Youth Music Competition.