Hungarian violinist-composer Zoltán Székely died on 5 October 2001 in Banff, Canada. He was ninety-seven years old.

Born 8 December 1903 in Kocs, Hungary, he studied violin with Jenö Hubay and composition with Zoltán Kodály at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In the spring of 1921, eighteen-year-old Székely began appearing in public recitals with Béla Bartók. His rise to fame as a concert violinist in Europe reached its zenith in 1939 when in Amsterdam he performed the world premiere of Bartok’s Violin Concerto, a work dedicated to him by the composer who was his life-long friend.

Mr. Székely will be best remembered as the first violinist of the Hungarian String Quartet, the celebrated ensemble he led for 35 years from 1937 to 1972. Trapped for five years in Holland during the Second World War, the quartet occupied themselves by perfecting the Beethoven Cycle. Later, the quartet brought performances and recordings of the classical canon to music lovers the world over, twice recording the Beethoven Quartet Cycle in Paris.

After the quartet was disbanded, Székely became artist-in-residence at The Banff Centre in 1973, where he lived until his death. In the years that followed his arrival at the Centre, Székely became strongly identified with The Banff Centre’s Festival of the Arts, and brought to that celebration performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert – and the contemporary masters – that represented the culmination of his career as a recitalist. In 1975, following the example of The Banff Centre, the Province of Alberta granted Székely special status as Alberta’s violinist-in-residence and sent him throughout the province to serve as a world model for the developing musicians of the area.

Tom Rolston, summer artistic director, first proposed the idea of having Székely and Mien (his wife) move permanently to Banff, since Székelys main circle of friends was now located in Alberta and his principal teaching responsibilities were those at The Banff Centre. David Leighton, then president of the Centre, was very interested in the idea. Not only would Székely’s presence provide a musical focal point, it would also fit well into the Centre’s plans for expanding the school of fine arts into a year-round program for advanced students and young professionals.

During The Banff Centre’s 1981 Béla Bartók Centenary Celebration, it was announced that The Franz Liszt Academy had bestowed its highest honour on Székely. It named him Honorary Professor, as it had previously honoured Casals, Strauss, Sibelius, and Toscanini. Other honours followed: in 1982, the Bartók Award, in 1983 the Kodály Award, and in 1987 the Bartók-Pasztory Prize (for composition) and finally the Order of the Flag of Honor bestowed by Gyula Budal, Hungary’s Ambassador to Canada to mark Székely’s eightieth birthday. In 2001, an award in his honour was established at the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

In recent years there has been a rebirth of intersest in Székely’s monumental compositions from the 1920s. Violinist Kolja Lessing has become the champion of the Sonata for Violin Alone, Op. 1, a work he has recorded brilliantly on the Capriccio label. The New Zealand String Quartet has given the premiere of the String Quartet (1937) and is performing it on tour this season.

Zoltán Székely is survived by his son Frank Székely Everts, daughter-in-law Ann, and two grandsons Eric and Alec.

A musical tribute to Zoltán Székely will take place at The Banff Centre during the Music & Sound Friday night concert with the New Zealand String Quartet on October 26 at 7:30 pm.