Katona Twins
Encyclopedia
The Katona Twins are a celebrated Hungarian guitar
duo, comprising Peter and Zoltán Katona, identical twins. They have performed at prestigious venues and at major music festivals around the world. Their performances and recordings have been widely reviewed by the music press
and they have been described as "the classical world's best-known guitar duo".
The Katonas' repertoire includes Classical
music, Tango
and Spanish guitar. They have also adapted and arranged classical works for guitar duo. Their five album releases to date have included works by Handel
, Scarlatti
, Isaac Albéniz
and Ástor Piazzolla
. They also perform works by de Falla
and Castelnuovo-Tedesco
, as well contemporary composers such as Paco de Lucía
, and concerti for two guitars and orchestra by Rodrigo
, Vivaldi
and Bach
.
, Hungary in 1968.
From the age of ten they studied, both individually and as a guitar duo, at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music in Budapest, the Academy of Music in Kassel
, and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Tanz (Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts), in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. They also studied under Michael Lewin at the Royal Academy of Music
in London. Celebrated artists in their own right today, the twins in turn give masterclasses to younger musicians.
They made their Carnegie Hall
debut in 1998. The Katona Twins have toured widely, playing in Ireland
; they have played at the Royal Festival Hall
and Wigmore Hall
in London, and at the Cheltenham International Music Festival
in 2004, with the London Sinfonietta
. Michael Berkeley
composed a double concerto for performance by the twins there. Their concert schedule for 2007 included venues in Japan, France, Germany, and the United States.
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
duo, comprising Peter and Zoltán Katona, identical twins. They have performed at prestigious venues and at major music festivals around the world. Their performances and recordings have been widely reviewed by the music press
and they have been described as "the classical world's best-known guitar duo".
The Katonas' repertoire includes Classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
music, Tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
and Spanish guitar. They have also adapted and arranged classical works for guitar duo. Their five album releases to date have included works by Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
, Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish Catalan pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms .-Life:Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz...
and Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
. They also perform works by de Falla
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
and Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was an Italian composer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In 1939 he migrated to the United States and became a film composer for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next...
, as well contemporary composers such as Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre...
, and concerti for two guitars and orchestra by Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...
, Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
and Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
.
Biography
The identical twins Peter and Zoltán Katona were born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary in 1968.
From the age of ten they studied, both individually and as a guitar duo, at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music in Budapest, the Academy of Music in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Tanz (Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts), in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. They also studied under Michael Lewin at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London. Celebrated artists in their own right today, the twins in turn give masterclasses to younger musicians.
They made their Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut in 1998. The Katona Twins have toured widely, playing in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
; they have played at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
and Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
in London, and at the Cheltenham International Music Festival
Cheltenham Music Festival
The Cheltenham Music Festival is one of the oldest music festivals in Britain, held annually in Cheltenham in June/July since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 2004....
in 2004, with the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
. Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley is a British composer and broadcaster on music.-Early life:His father was the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley...
composed a double concerto for performance by the twins there. Their concert schedule for 2007 included venues in Japan, France, Germany, and the United States.
Awards
- First Prize, "Concours International de Guitarre en Duo", MontélimarMontélimarMontélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...
, France (1993) - First Prize, "International Music Competition for Guitar Duos", BubenreuthBubenreuthBubenreuth is a municipality in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany....
, Germany (1993) - Cultural Prize of the City of Kassel, Germany (1993)
- S. T. Johnson Foundation prize (1995)
- The Laura AshleyLaura AshleyLaura Ashley was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She became a household name on the strength of her work as a designer and manufacturer of a range of colourful fabrics for clothes and home furnishings....
prize (1996) - Young Concert Artist Trust auditions in London (1997)
- Concert Artists Guild Competition, New York (1998)
- Borletti-Buitoni prize (2004), the trust's first ever award to guitarists.
Other
The Katona twins served as jury members for the 2nd International Guitar Festival Heinsberg 2007Discography
- Isaac Albéniz, España, Iberia, Mallorca, (1997), Channel Classics CCS 10397 1
- Joaquín Rodrigo, Concierto Madrigal; Tonadillas, (1998), Channel Classics CCS 16698 1 Reviews: Musicweb, Editor's Choice, Gramophone, Feb 2002
- Sonatas - Scarlatti & Handel, (1998), Channel Classics CCS 14298 Reviews: The Flying Inkpot
- Ástor Piazzolla, Le Grand Tango, (2004), Channel Classics CCS 19804 Reviews: Classics Today, Audiophile Audition, Oakland Tribune Klassik.com
- Piazzolla, Mozart, Granados, de Falla