Somlai, who lives in the Netherlands, was the first Hungarian ever to take the top prize at the competition, which is held every three years.
Petra Somlai was born in 1981 in Hungary. She started her musical studies at the age of 6, and continued her secondary musical studies at the Bartók Conservatory where she graduated in conducting and piano performance. In 2000 she was admitted to the Liszt Academy of Music. Three years later, she won a scholarship to study in the UK, where she sought out David Ward, after hearing a recording of him playing a piece by Bart van Oort.
?I felt I had to meet this master and if possible study with him. I contacted him by email and he was very helpful right from the start and has given me his full support ever since,? Somlai said
Throughout her years at the academy Somlai has studied at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where the focus of her interest gradually turned to the authentic interpretation of early music on period instruments.
The schools in the Netherlands give much more choice to students, Somlai said. Teachers try to support them in the areas where they are most talented, regardless of whether this fits into a thematic system or not, she explained.
Somlai helped establish an early music group called Ensemble Dolce e Furioso, but it broke up after its members moved to different parts of the world. Somlai, would not, however, rule out a reunion.
Somlai said she enjoyed living in Holland but would be happy to move back to Hungary if audiences showed more interest in early music.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
