György Pauk, a renowned violinist, left an indelible mark on the world of classical music. Born in Budapest and trained in Hungary, he settled in the UK in 1961 at the suggestion of Yehudi Menuhin. The 1960s and 70s in London were a golden age for classical music, and Pauk was delighted to be among the leading international artists.

His Musical Achievements

As both a soloist and chamber musician, Pauk was highly respected for his refined tone and consummate musicianship. He played with three London orchestras - the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, and London Mozart Players. He also championed new works by composers like Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, and Peter Maxwell Davies. His recording of Michael Tippett's Triple Concerto with Nobuko Imai and Ralph Kirshbaum won a Gramophone award in 1983.Pauk was a distinguished interpreter of Béla Bartók, seeking out the music's intimate and classical sensibilities. His playing was notable for its poise, poetic sensibility, and lyrical serenity. Underpinning these qualities was an integrity and humanity that informed his musicianship.He won three international competitions - the Paganini, jointly with Gérard Poulet in 1956, the ARD (Munich Sonata) competition in 1957, and the Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud in 1959. This brought him to the attention of Menuhin, who recommended him to the Home Office.

Orchestral Performances

Pauk made his London orchestral debut in December 1961 with the LSO under Lorin Maazel and in the US with the Chicago Symphony at the invitation of Georg Solti. He subsequently performed with most of the major orchestras under leading conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and Christoph von Dohnányi. He regularly broadcast for the BBC and was a frequent visitor to the BBC Proms.

Chamber Music

As a chamber musician, he was a member of an acclaimed trio with the cellist Kirshbaum and the pianist Peter Frankl. They studied jointly under Leó Weiner and won the ARD competition together. Their first performance at the 1973 Edinburgh festival was broadcast live. The BBC engaged them to play frequently and commissioned Fourteen Little Pictures by James MacMillan to mark the 25th anniversary of the trio.

Personal Life and Legacy

Born into a Jewish family in Budapest, Pauk's father died in a labour camp during the Nazi occupation. His mother was murdered by Hungarian fascists. With his grandmother, aunt, and cousin, he managed to escape and survived in the Budapest ghetto until liberation.He began playing the violin at the age of five and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Leaving Hungary in 1956, he lived in Paris and the Netherlands before settling in the UK. He became a professor of violin at the Royal Academy of Music in 1987 and gave masterclasses in various places.He retired from the concert platform in 2007, giving his farewell concert in Budapest with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer. His wife Susanne and their son and daughter survive him.