Zoltán Székely Prize

Zoltán Székely at home in Lloyd Hall, 1991. Photo by Doreen Lindsay, courtesy of Lindsay Collection

2001 — Dædalus Quartet
2004 — Jupiter String Quartet
2007 — Ariel String Quartet

In 2001 The Banff International String Quartet Competition created the Székely Prize, in honour of violinist Zoltán Székely who was the violinist-in-residence at The Banff Centre from 1973 until his death in 2001.

A life-long musical associate of Béla Bartók, Zoltán Székely toured Europe as a sonata partner of Bartók, and it was for Mr. Székely that Bartók wrote the Second Rhapsody and the Second Violin Concerto. Mr. Székely gave the first performance of both the violin/piano version of the Second Rhapsody (1928) and the violin/orchestra version (Concertgebouw Orchestra/Monteux, 1932). He premiered the Second Violin Concerto in 1939 in Amsterdam with Mengelberg conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and in 1979 he returned to Budapest to perform the concerto for Hungarian TV on the 40th anniversary of its premiere.

In 1937, Mr. Székely formed the Hungarian String Quartet which he led during the entire 35 years of its existence. The quartet toured internationally and made many recordings including prize-winning versions of the Bartók and Beethoven quartets. After the quartet was disbanded, Szekély became artist-in-residence at The Banff Centre.

At the 2001 and 2004 competitions the Székely Prize, valued at $3,000 (CDN), was awarded for the best performance of a Beethoven string quartet during the first two rounds of the competition. In 2007 the Székely Prize will be awarded for the best performance of a Bartók quartet during the Recital Round.