Xaver Varnus
Xaver Varnus , Hungarian Xavér Varnus (born April 29, 1964 in Kőbánya , Budapest ) is a Hungarian- Canadian organist who has received several awards, including the Great Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2010.
Life
Xaver Varnus was born in 1964 in Kőbánya to Theresa Tabori and Xaver Raymond Varnus. He received his music education at the Budapest Conservatory of Music from Gabor Lehotka, Melinda Kistetenyi, Jozsef Karpati and Istvan Baroti. He then took private organ and composition lessons with Pierre Cochereau in Paris and Lorenz Stolzenbach in Leipzig.
From 1977 to 1982 Varnus was organist at the churches of St. Ladislaus and St. Theresa in Budapest. In 1983 he moved to Toronto and was organist at the Coldstream Presbyterian Church from 1983 to 1985. In 1984 he received Canadian citizenship. Varnus had various positions as a church organist in Canada: 1986 to 1987 Saint-Patrick de Montréal , 1987 to 1989 St. Donat in Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm, Quebec . From 1986 to 1989 he was President of the Canadian Organ Society. In 1989 he ended his time as a permanent organist and began his first concert tours, mainly in Europe and East Germany. In addition to performing classical organ works, his specialties include free improvisations on given topics and working with musicians in churches. By 2017 there were almost 3,000 such concerts.
From 1992 to 2009 he hosted music programs on public radio and television in Hungary. From 2006 to 2009 he was the first organist at the Budapest Palace of Art .
By 2017, Xaver Varnus published more than 60 sound carriers, over 70 films, in which he can mostly be seen playing historical organs, as well as several non-fiction publications. His organ videos on Internet portals such as YouTube have been clicked over 5 million times (as of May 2020). He has two sons, Daniel Xaver (* 1985) and Nicholas (* 1987).
Awards
- 1986: One of the Three Best Improvisators , San Anselmo Organ Festival, California
- 2003: Honorary Citizen of Budapest-Kőbánya
- 2004: Officer of the Republic of Hungary
- 2008: First quadruple platinum in Sony BMG organ release history
- 2010: Great Cross of Merit (Commander) of the Republic of Hungary
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vita of Xaver Varnus on organimprovisation.com, accessed on March 15, 2017 (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Varnus, Xavier |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Varnus, Xavér (HuS) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Hungarian-Canadian organist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 29, 1964 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kőbánya , Budapest |