Virtuoso Hungarian pianist and conductor Zoltán Kocsis, celebrated for his versatile technique, has died at the age of 64, his orchestra, the National Philharmonic, said. “The (orchestra) informs with deep sorrow that Zoltán Kocsis after a long illness borne with dignity died this afternoon,” it said in a statement on Sunday quoted by the MTI news agency. Kocsis had served as musical director of the National Philharmonic Orchestra since 1997 and became a household name among music fans from the United States to Japan as he took the ensemble on tour. Born in Budapest in 1952, Kocsis began playing the piano around the age of three. He also performed extensively with the Berlin Philharmonic, and played with leading orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

Source: The Guardian November 06, 2016 23:59 UTC