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.