Oskar Varga

Oskar Varga was born in Novi Sad, Serbia and began playing the violin at the age of four. In 1999, due to the war in ex-Yugoslavia, he and his family moved to Budapest, Hungary, where he continued his violin lessons. After graduation he was accepted to the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest.

Meanwhile, he regularly attended violin Courses in Bergamo, Italy; Kaposvar, Hungary and Karellis, France studying with renowned artists such as Dejan Bogdanovich, Barnabás Kelemen, Alexander and Albert Markov.

He also had lessons with Maxim Rysanov, Boris Brovtsyn and Ivry Gitlis. By Mr. Markov’s invitation, at the beginning of 2009 he spent three months in New York working with him. While being there, he won a full scholarship to the Long Island Conservatory of Music. As a soloist, he made his orchestral debut playing Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Zugló Philharmonic Orchestra in Budapest, 2009 In 2014-2015 he was a member of the Kelemen Quartet with whom he toured through Europe's most prestitigous chamber music halls, such as Leiszhalle, Hamburg;Wigmore Hall, London; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Palais de Bozar, Bruxelles; Musikverein,Vienna; Sala Verdi, Milano; Teatro La Fenice, Venice. In the last six years, with great success, he regularly appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at the Karellis Music Festival in France; Arnhem, Netherlands; Jerusalem,Israel; Lockenhaus Chambermusic Festival, Austria; Kaposfest Chambermusic Festival, Hungary. As a dedicated contemporary musician, he played such pieces as Witold Lutoslawski string quartet, Steve Reich Music for 18 musicians with the composer present and various works by György Kurtág, Péter Eötvos and László Tihanyi with great critical acclaim.

He has collaborated with such artists as Miklós Perényi, Nicolas Altstaedt, Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas, Albert Markov, Alexander Markov, Alina Ibragimova, Alina Pogotskina, James Boyd, Jonathan Cohen, Maxim Rysanov, László Fenyő, Boris Brovtsyn, Ditta Rohmann, Zoltán Fejérvári, János Palojtay and Emőke Baráth. As part of his graduation concert he performed Béla Bartók’s violin concerto no 2 with the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra in the Grand Hall of the Budapest Franz Liszt Academy.

Highlights of the 2016-17 season included the Brahms Double Concerto with cellist and father István Varga, maestro Tamás Gál conductor and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy and in Miskolc, concerts in Barcelona and across Hungary.

Oskar Varga is currently a post-graduate doctoral student and teacher at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest.