The artist, one of the most relevant in European music, always oscillated between avant-garde and popular airs and between conducting and creation, throughout a long career.
Yesterday, March 23, marked a sorrowful day in the music world as we received news of the passing of two great musicians, Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini and Hungarian composer and conductor Péter Eötvos. Eötvos, who was less known to the general public, was a significant figure in European music and his death at 80 leaves a significant void. Eötvos was born in Transylvania on January 2, 1944, a region that became part of Romania after World War I despite its Hungarian majority. His musical language was influenced by the székely community, his pianist mother, and his multi-instrumentalist grandfather. After studying music in Budapest, Eötvos began conducting to avoid military service and soon left Hungary with a remarkable musical repertoire. In the mid-60s, he moved to Germany, marking the beginning of the second part of his life. Eötvos quickly gained recognition for his unique style of conducting and composition. He was appointed by Pierre Boulez as the inaugural conductor of the Pompidou Centre and the newly formed Ensemble Intercontemporain de Paris (EIC) in 1978. Although he continued to compose, conducting became his primary focus until he left the EIC IN 1991. After leaving the EIC, Eötvos began collaborating with the world’s most prestigious orchestras and his career as a composer flourished. In 1993, he composed six works, reaching a high point in 1997 with the presentation of his second opera, Three Sisters, based on Chekhov’s play. Eötvos was known for his versatility, oscillating between avant-garde and popular styles, conducting and composing, and dedicating himself to opera and pedagogy. He founded the International Eötvos Institute and Foundation in 1991 for young conductors and composers. He also taught at the Hochchule für Musik in Karlsruhe and Cologne. In recent decades, he guided music creation and conducting at the Queen Sofia School in Madrid. Eötvos was awarded numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Goethe Medal of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2018 and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2021.
