Tamas Vasary, Pianist of Power and Sensitivity, Dies at 92

Tamas Vasary, a Hungarian pianist celebrated for technical brilliance, stylistic authority and bejeweled lyricism in Romantic-era music, died on Feb. 5 in Budapest at 92. The Hungarian Academy of Arts announced his death. He was especially known for interpretations of Chopin and Liszt and for many recordings, most on Deutsche Grammophon; his set of Chopin nocturnes and insistently rhythmic takes on dance pieces drew praise while maintaining their inner poetry.

Born on Aug. 11, 1933, in Debrecen, he was the son of Jozsef Vasary, a politician, and Erzsebet (Baltazar) Vasary, the daughter of a bishop. Musically precocious, he was accepted into the Debrecen Conservatory after performing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, and at 10 began studying with Ernst von Dohnanyi, who urged him to keep a childhood as well as rigorous practice.

Hungary, Budapest

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