2009 has been a busy year for Várdai. In recent months, he performed at the Palace of Arts in Budapest as well as in the Deák Square Lutheran Church. He also toured China, Germany and Switzerland, and played at the Gergiev Festival in Saint Petersburg.
You have been touring around the world, yet you have not even graduated ...
Even while you are a student, it is necessary to play concerts because it requires a different kind of preparation and you cannot acquire that routine in any other way. I gave my first concert abroad in The Hague at age 13, playing to Hungarians living there. We were staying with families and I experienced their different attitude. I saw their openness and how culture was very important to them. This made a big impression on me.
You got accepted to the Music Academy's special talent class at age 12. Did you start playing music at a very early age?
No, at a completely normal age, when I was 8. My parents are also musicians, both my mother and my father are pianists.
You regularly play in your home town [of Pécs], maintaining close relations with the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra.
I have played several concerts with the orchestra and I like performing with them. The next time we will perform together will be at the European Capital of Culture opening concert on January 22, 2010, I will play Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Jenő Jandó and Barnabás Kelemen. I enjoy playing in my home town, and of course I would enjoy it even more if there was a proper concert hall....Going back to the beginnings I was attended a regular bilingual school in Pécs between the ages of 8 and 12, and on the side, I attended a music school. While the others rode their bikes, I would rehearse. But of course I also rode my bike, too. We picked the cello together with my parents because I always wanted a string instrument and I took a liking to the cello. It was a fortunate decision because had I picked the violin, my skinny build would cause me trouble today....
You travelled a long way in four years, considering that you were accepted to the Music Academy.
I recently came across my old recording and it was indeed surprising what I was like at 12. My father taught me the unavoidable and important basics, and this was combined with my own skills. The recordings reveal that I had a feel for the instrument. After that everything came automatically, including competitions and concerts.
I have heard you in concert and your entire being radiates with the joy of playing...
Yes, I believe in that and I try to develop it. The four or five hours that you spend practicing at home are not always so much fun. But you must do your best in order to be confident when you step up on stage. When I am playing a concert, I try to fully immerse myself in what I am doing. If it did not interest me and energise me, then what can I expect from the audience?
It must be difficult to divide your time considering that you are a member of the music academies in Budapest as well as in Vienna, plus you play concerts and learn new pieces...
My repertoire is only partly complete. I need a few more 20th century pieces, but these depend on commissions. I meet with my teacher at the academy in Vienna once a month. At home I study with László Mező. My graduation concert will be in October, but I will only graduate at a later date, because I must learn a few more things besides music for that.
Have you studied more at master courses or concerts?
Both. The courses are important because, even though it is difficult to get money for them, you can learn very important things in one or two hours if you ask the right questions. For instance I played Haydn's D-major cello concerto with Natalia Gutman and I discovered a great many things even though that piece was not necessarily her "specialist area".
Differences in taste, radiation, approach and the constitution of the player are all important factors. Truly great artists cannot always precisely define what they expect from me. They try to teach me their secrets in their own way. It is not easy to communicating the emotional processes included in musical compositions.
You also spend much time playing at competitions. You are the only musician to have won the Dávid Popper competition three times and you have also had many other victories.
This has all been well prepared. I first started at a national competition, I initially took only small steps and one competition led to another. Along the way, I learnt what I needed to perform well at competitions and how to manage my inhibitions. Regardless of all this, I do not like competitions. I do not feel the need for one artist to be measured up against another. But there is no other way anymore to become successful. And being a Hungarian I must put three times as much on the table as others. For instance a German cellist receives much more support from the age of 15-16 if he or she is really good. I primarily mean getting an instrument. And if someone performs at the Berlin Philharmonics, which is the equivalent of the Palace of Arts in Budapest, then there is a straight way to London and New York. Here in Hungary they do not even know what a cello is...
And they do not know that it also makes a difference what type of cello one plays. You have managed to win without owning a master instrument, which is also a serious achievement in itself...
What I am most interested in is what a cello sounds like, but there are places where cellists are selected on the basis of what instrument they own. Over the past year and a half, I have been contacting foundations asking for their support to get an expensive cello. I have applied for and received an instrument from the state but it needs some repair work. I have gotten used to playing on different types of cellos. In the year before the Tchaikovsky competition, I had to play music on 11 instruments.
Is it still possible to break into the international music scene if one wins competitions?
It is the minimum requirement for a Hungarian musician starting his or her career. The question really is whether they call him or her back. Whether the performance was interesting, motivating and energising enough. One also needs a certain psychological stamina to play many concerts.
You have been lucky finding Csilla Bíró for your impresario and she puts great trust in the young talents she works with at the Starlet office.
I was introduced to Csilla by the pianist Balázs Fülei when I was preparing for the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. She helped me travel to the competition and once I received third prize, we started working together. I have great need for some like her because my temperament is not suitable for self-management. I believe that good pieces need to be played to good audiences including kind and open-hearted people and they will profit from hearing the music. Intellectual nourishment is especially important in today's world. Amid the rush of information today, young people are less likely to notice serious music. And it is not only them who pay less attention to this area. But I am actually rather glad that the media today neglects our field...
Yet, I heard that during a press conference in Berlin, you were a favourite among the journalists.
I am not making an effort to make a good impression but I answer the questions they ask. I fight for something I believe in. When I play my instrument, it is also a way of communication. Other than that, I am locked into my world.
What is that world like?
There is a place for music, my private life and information gathering. These days, I spend much time learning about composers' lives. I discover interesting parallels between their psychological transformation and the problems that concern people today.
I see that sport is also important to you, considering that you came to this interview by bike.
Riding the bike is very helpful because it is an excellent way to switch off. Whenever I can, I also go to swim because I need to maintain stamina also for the stage. And getting from terminal A to terminal E at the airport, carrying my instrument and bag, can also be considered physical training...
Last year, you received the March Youth award. Does this mean that the music world in Hungary has also discovered you?
Yes, I have also noticed that. It is a great responsibility because there are still a great many things that I do not know yet. But it is necessary for my fellow musicians and my generation to realise that a good soloist will be able to progress even today and it is worth fighting for all this. But I do not know yet to what extent I will be able to benefit from international successes at home.
What are your plans for the upcoming period?
For the time being, I will try to fulfil the commissions I get. I will be at a different place every week from July to September, playing in Switzerland, France, Spain and Germany. After that I will take a rest and learn new pieces. It will go on like this.
We are lucky that you have also found time for us. The other day, you performed here in Hungary at the Budapest Bach festival.
I play Bach suites every day and I often play them as encores at concerts. Bach's music is like water to me: very clear and good to be immersed in it. It is like meditation, it helps you recover your balance.
Interviewer: Zsuzsanna Réfi / Photo: Dániel Kováts
