Izabella Simon

Hungarian pianist Izabella Simon trained at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest where her teachers included György Kurtág. She has performed at the most prestigious international festivals such as the Ittingen Festival led by András Schiff and Heinz Holliger; the Prussia Cove Festival founded by Sándor Végh; the Maribor Festival, and more recently at the Cheltenham, the Heidelberg the Hitzacker Festivals. Simon has collaborated with Heinz Holliger, Steven Isserlis, Miklós Perényi, Christoph Richter, and Radovan Vlatkovic. She is a great promoter of vocal repertoire and has Sylvia Sass, Andrea Rost, Ruth Ziesak, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann. As a soloist, Simon has performed with international ensembles including Kremerata Baltica, Camerata Bern, and Camerata Zürich, and numerous Hungarian orchestras. She frequently plays piano four hands and piano duets, both in Hungary and abroad, with her husband, Dénes Várjon.

Together they have recorded an album featuring four-hands repertoire by Schumann, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven (The Great Fugue). Simon has also recorded Liszt and Schubert lieders with Sylvia Sass (Cant Art) and Kodály and Ligeti lieder with Andrea Rost (Warner). In addition to concerts in Hungary this season will see Izabella Simon perform at the Beethovenfest (Bonn), the Marlboro Festival (USA), the Pfingstfestival (Brunegg), and the Mahler Festival alongside the Budapest Festival Orchestra (Brugge).

In 2015, Simon launched a highly popular classical music concert series for children with a fresh approach that embraces other genres.

Simon held a guest professorship at Bard College following her highly successful concert at 92 Y in New York. In order to promote chamber music she has programmed the successful ‘Night of Chamber Music’ featuring performers such as Steven Isserlis and Ferenc Rados.

Her website