Peter Frankl began his study of the piano at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Ernö Szegedi and Lajos Hernadi. Later during his education his teachers included Leo Weiner, Zoltán Kodály, Szabolcsi and Antal Molnár. While still a student, at the age of fifteen, Frankl made his concert debut in Budapest. Seven years later he won first prize at the Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris and later in the same year won first prize at the Munich Sonata Competition with violinist György Pauk. It was his winning of the Rio de Janeiro Prize at in 1959 that launched Frankl’s international career.

At his London debut in May 1962 Frankl played a Handel suite, a Mozart sonata and Schumann’s Études Symphoniques whilst the second half of his recital consisted of Debussy and Bartók. The critic of The Times had nothing but praise, ending his review with a glowing summation: ‘All in all, it was an exceptional recital which makes it certain that we shall hear more of this highly gifted pianist.’ Frankl returned to the Wigmore Hall in October with a programme of Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Debussy. Another excellent review stated: ‘He would seem to be one of those natural masters of the keyboard who can encompass everything without any apparent effort…’ Frankl decided upon staying in London and has lived there since 1962.

Frankl’s New York debut was made in 1967 with the Cleveland Orchestra and George Szell. He has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus and many of the London and American orchestras. Conductors he has worked with include Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, Antal Dorati and Erich Leinsdorf. He also participates in many music festivals and at one Edinburgh Festival played Britten’s Piano Concerto under the baton of the composer.

As well as a solo career, Frankl has enjoyed playing chamber music. From his earliest years he played with György Pauk and in 1972 formed a trio with Pauk and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum. In 1996 Frankl was awarded the Order of Merit by the Hungarian Republic.

Frankl’s main recordings were made for Vox/Turnabout in the 1960s and, from 1990 onwards, for the British label ASV. For Vox he recorded the complete piano music of Schumann and Debussy, some Chopin and Schubert, as well as sonatas for violin and piano by Mozart and Schubert with Pauk. Some of the Debussy and Schubert recordings have been reissued on compact disc.

For EMI Frankl, Pauk and Kirshbaum recorded Brahms’s piano trios in 1976, and Frankl recorded the Brahms violin sonatas with Kyung-Wha Chung in 1995 about which The Gramophone magazine found‘a performance of rare poetry’in the first sonata, but was‘rather less convinced’by the other two.

For ASV, Frankl has recorded a solo disc of Bartók’s piano music which received mixed reviews, The Gramophone magazine ending its review with ‘…it is surprising to hear such a crude manhandling of the Allegro barbaro from an artist of Frankl’s reputation.’ With the Lindsay String Quartet he has recorded piano quintets by Brahms, Schumann, Dvořák and Martinů, and with fellow Hungarian Tamás Vásáry has made two discs of Mozart’s piano duets; the first of these was warmly received by The Gramophone magazine, but with the second volume the reviewer felt that Frankl and Vásáry were ‘…a good keyboard partnership that nevertheless fails to excite or charm’.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — Jonathan Summers (A–Z of Pianists, Naxos 8.558107–10).