“I have been playing the violin for nearly sixty years, and I still love playing and engaging with the instrument.”
János Horváth was admitted to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow at the age of 16. He graduated from the department run by David Oistrakh there with a degree in violin and art pedagogy in 1979.
He has been a member of the Hungarian State Philharmonic (the predecessor to the Hungarian National Philharmonic) since 1979, eventually becoming principal first violinist.
In 1987, he received the Béla Bartók–Ditta Pásztory Award.
He is the founder and leader of the New Haydn String Quartet. The ensemble has given concerts in the big cities of Europe and in America. The Naxos record label also commissioned them to record string quartets.
The discs were reviewed in the European music press. Their recording of Tchaikovsky’s complete string quartets was awarded the maximum points by French critics and declared a benchmark interpretation.
In 2000, the string quartet received the Artisjus Award for presenting the works of Hungarian composers.
János Horváth has also given concerts in many European countries as a soloist.
