Performance Biography

In a recent performance of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, violinist Philip Ficsor's playing was described by critic C.J. Gianakaris as "splendid… Ficsor marvelously rendered the ultimate design of Messiaen's work…Ficsor effectively created the sense of aurally lifting toward the heavens, step by step." Mr. Ficsor's performance experience draws on a rich variety of concert exposure. Currently he is the violinist-in-residence at the Mt. Washington Hotel and Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. In June, 2003, Philip played with distinguished pianist David Worth as part of the Music For Summer Nights series in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In addition to being featured in the Kalamazoo Gazette, the performance was broadcast on WMUK, the Southwestern Michigan NPR affiliate. Mr. Ficsor has been featured as soloist with orchestra in Vieuxtemps' Violin Concerto No. 5, Bach's Violin Concerto in A-minor and Mozart's Adagio in E. He has also recorded Chausson's "Poème" with Judit Szenthelyi for Bartók Radio, a national radio station based in Budapest, Hungary. Philip has attended numerous festivals across Europe and the U.S., studying at the Meadowmount School of Music with Stephen Shipps, the Holland Music Festival (Netherlands) with Erick Friedman and Eduard Schmieder, and the Semmering Festival, with Václav Snitíl.

Together with pianist Constanine Finehouse, Mr. Ficsor is a member of the exciting performance ensemble The American Double, a piano-violin duo dedicated to enriching the concert experience of audiences though repertoire choices and innovative performance venues. The ensemble completed a very successful concert tour of Hungary in March, 2004. Their performances of William Bolcom's Duo Fantasy, Graceful Ghost and Fourth Sonata were Hungarian premieres. Currently, as part of the ensemble, Mr. Ficsor is involved in a project to record all of William Bolcom's compositions for violin and piano. The ensemble has now embarked upon a project to record all of William Bolcom's compositions for violin and piano. Mr. Ficsor and Mr. Finehouse have had the privilege of working with the composer on these works and performed the complete sonatas, with the composer present, in the Keller Room at the New England Conservatory in June, 2003.

In addition to his outstanding performance distinctions, Mr. Ficsor is also academically accomplished. He has been awarded scholarships from every school he has attended. Special distinctions include the Dean's Scholarship from Boston University's College of Fine Arts, an award that recognizes "the most outstanding talent in the College of Fine Arts" and The George Wellington Miles Scholarship from Yale University's School of Music, which recognizes "outstanding majors in performance."

Currently, Mr. Ficsor is writing his dissertation on the complete works for violin and piano by William Bolcom under the auspices of Boston University. While enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts program, Philip studied with Lynn Chang. He received an MM from Yale University in Violin Performance, where he studied with Erick Friedman. He earned his BM and an MM degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Stephen Shipps. Notably, he accomplished three years of pre-college violin studies at the Hans Richter Conservatory of Music in Győr, Hungary, where his teacher was Teréz Tripolszki.