Foregoers

b. 10/21/1912, Budapest, Hungary, d. 9/5/1997, Antibes, France Conductor Born György Stein, Solti studied piano and composition with Ernst von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. For almost twenty-five years, he concentrated entirely on conducting operas. In 1969 he took over as director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra […]

b. 11/05/1921, Budapest, d. 01/15/1994 in Morsang-sur-Orge, France Pianist Born Cziffra György, he became one of the most celebrated and individual piano virtuosos in the post-War decades in Europe, especially noted for his powers of improvisation and as a Liszt pianist. He grew up in a musician gypsy family, and by the age of five he was […]

b. 9/5/1892 Budapest, Hungary d. 2/19/1973 Lucerne, Switzerland. Violinist He began his studies at a local music school; while still a child, he was placed in the advanced class of Hubay at the Budapest Academy of Music; then made his debut in Berlin at age 13. He settled in Switzerland in 1913; was a professor at […]

b. 4/18/1907 Budapest, Hungary, d. 7/27/1995 Los Angeles, CA Composer Studying in the Leipzig Conservatory he started out composing classical music before quickly moving into the cinema world. He studied in London at Trinity College and some of his earliest film music work was in Britain acting as musical director and composer for Sir Alexander Korda […]

b. 6/20/1946, Nürnberg, Germany Pianist The first African-American concert pianist to achieve international superstardom. André Watts is the son of an American career soldier stationed in Germany and a Hungarian refugee. Watts began studying the violin at age four. By the time he was six he made it known that his preference was for the piano, […]

b. 1/29/1926, Budapest, Hungary  d. 9/10/1990, San Diego, CA Conductor He is a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he studied under Kodaly, Bartok, and Dohnanyi, among others. In 1954, he became permanent conductor of the Hungarian National Philharmonia Concert Organization.  In May 1956, he was awarded a prize at the International Conductor’s […]

Andy Grove (Gróf András) was born on 9/2/1936 in Budapest. The Jewish Grof family escaped the Nazi deportations, but Andras was later marked as a son of a capitalist. He immigrated to the US in 1956, when the Soviets entered Budapest. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1960 with a Bachelor […]

Calvin Klein, the American fashion king was born on 11/19/1942 in New York from a Hungarian father, Leo Klein. Calvin graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1962 at the age of twenty. In 1968, longtime friends Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz opened their first apparel company, designing and selling women´s coats – an […]

George (György) Soros was born on 8/12/1930 in Budapest. In 1947 he immigrated to the UK, where he got his degree from the London School of Economics in 1952. One of the wealthiest men in America and keen investor, Mr. Soros founded the multi-million dollar “Soros Fund,” and actively develops and supports philanthropic endeavors throughout the […]

Governor of New York, is a second-generation American. Governor Pataki was born from Hungarian parents on June 24, 1945, on his Peekskill, New York family farm, which he still runs with his family. He is a 1967 graduate of Yale University and a 1970 graduate of Columbia Law School. From 1985 he served 10 years […]