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George Banhalmi (1926-1985) (Bánhalmi György) was born in Budapest and educated at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from an early age. By the age of 16 he had composed numerous large scale works for orchestra, solo piano, as well as art songs and chamber music. He earned degrees at the Academy in five major areas of study: piano performance, composition, percussion, chamber music, and orchestral conducting. His teachers at the Franz Liszt Academy included many notable professors of that time, such as Zóltan Kódaly, Leó Weiner, János Ferencsik, János Viski, Jeannette Hajdu, Béla Ambróczy, Pál Jardányi, Rezsö Kókai, and György Lehel.

Bánhalmi became one of the rising stars of Hungarian musical life in the 1950s and won prizes in several major international piano competitions. A high point was his attaining the finals of the 1956 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition and earning the designation, “Laureate”, of that prestigious competition. He also received recognition in the Chopin Competition of Warsaw (1955), and at the Geneva International Piano competition in the late 1940s, and was awarded the Liszt Prize by the Hungarian government. He gave the world premiere in Budapest in the 1950s of the Concerto for Piano by the Hungarian composer, and his music composition teacher, János Viski, in Budapest in the 1950s. Banhalmi left Hungary during the October uprising of 1956.

Bánhalmi was invited to Chicago by the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, in 1957. He served as pianist with the CSO for two years before accepting a position on the piano faculty of the Music Center of the North Shore (Winnetka, Illinois) in the late 1950s. During much of his time there he served as chairman of the piano faculty there. (The Music Center of the North Shore is now named The Music Institute of Chicago). At the Music Center he appeared often in solo recitals, and as collaborating pianist with many other faculty member performers. He appeared as a soloist with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra (of Chicago) in the 1970s.

Bánhalmi received endorsements from two major conductors, Eugene Ormandy (of the Philadelplhia Orchestra) and Fritz Reiner (Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Ormandy described him as “... an especially gifted pianist”, and Reiner described him in 1958 as a young pianist of “splendid attainments. His musical conception is sound and in the best of good taste. His technical equipment is of virtuoso caliber”. Banhalmi made two long-playing recordings for the Vox company in the USA in the late 1950s: “Cameos”, a collection of works by Chopin, and a recording of the complete Bagatelles of Beethoven. He also recorded sonatas by Leo Weiner with the violinist, Wanda Wilkomirska, in the 1950s in Hungary.

Bánhalmi's compositions:

For Solo Piano Rhapsody for Symphony Orchestra (1948), Opus 1 (arr. by the composer for solo piano) Toccata (1950), Opus 7 Menuet and Musette (1953), Opus 9 Two Etudes (1953), Opus 10 Transcription of Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro (1957), Opus 15 24 Preludes for Piano (1957-1976), Opus 16 Sonatina (1981-1982), Opus 18 Nocturne (1983-1984), Opus 23 Arrangement of Capriccio for Piano, by Béla Ambróczy (1942) For Voice Four Chinese Songs for Voice with Orchestra (1947), Opus 1 Four Chinese Songs for Voice with Orchestra (1947), Opus 1, trans. for piano and voice Six Songs for High Voice (1949-1951), Opus 3 Two Folk Songs for Medium Voice (1950), Opus 5 Two Duetti for Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano (1952), Opus 6 Three Tercetti for 3 Female Voices (1952), Opus 8 Two Songs for Medium Voice (1953-1954), Opus 11 Three Songs for Soprano (1953-1956), Opus 13 Two Songs for Baritone (1955-1956) Opus 14 Two Songs for High Voice (1978), Opus 17 Telephones for Mixed Choir and Soloists (1984), Opus 22 Chamber MusicBold text String Quartet (1953, rev. 1971), Opus 12 Orchestral Music Rhapsody for Symphony Orchestra (“Hungarian Sketches) (1948), Opus 2 Hungarian Dances (1951), Opus 4 Instrumental Cadenzas Concertos by Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart

Banhalmi was married to the late Kornélia Sternberg-Bánhalmi, also a native of Budapest. Their daughter, Susan Bánhalmi-Katz is married to Brian Katz. They are parents of two sons, Michael and David.