Please welcome the world reknowned cellist, János Starker, playing Sonata for Cello Solo by Hungarian composer, Zoltán Kodály. Fascinating bio at wikipedia:
János Starker (born July 5, 1924) is a Hungarian-born cellist and one of the most famous cellists of the twentieth century. He taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music from 1958 until 2009, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor.
Child prodigyStarker’s two older brothers were violinists, and the young János (named for the hospital in which he was born) was given a cello before his sixth birthday. A child prodigy, Starker made his first public performances at ages six and seven. He entered the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest to study with Adolf Schiffer and made his debut there at age 11. Starker began teaching other children at age eight, and by the time he was 12 he had five pupils. Starker counts among his strongest influences Leo Weiner, a composer who taught chamber music. Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartók and Ernő Dohnányi were also members of the Liszt Academy faculty.
Starker made his professional debut at age 14 playing the Dvořák concerto with three hours’ notice when the originally scheduled soloist was unable to play. He left the Liszt Academy in 1939 and spent most of the war in Budapest. Because of his youth, Starker escaped the tragic fate of his older brothers, who were pressed into forced labor and eventually murdered by the Nazis. Starker nevertheless spent three months in a Nazi internment camp.
Source: Wikipedia