Edward
Kilenyi was born in Philadelphia, PA. on May 7, 1910. By the age of four,
Kilenyi was already displaying notable pianistic talents and soon travelled to
Europe for more intensive instruction. He enrolled at the Franz Liszt Royal
Hungarian Conservatory of Music at Budapest around 1922 and graduated in 1930.
His principal teacher there was Ernst von Dohnanyi. Kilenyi's professional
career began with a performance in Amsterdam with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in
1929. He made his debut in England in 1935 and then in the United States in
1940. Kilenyi proceeded to perform on several continents and made more than one
hundred recordings (for Pathe, Columbia, and Remington) during his lifetime.
Kilenyi went on to be a Professor of Music at Florida State University. He died
on January 6, 2000.
IPAM's Kilenyi Collection consists mainly of live performance tapes of Kilenyi's recitals at Florida State University and elsewhere. A detailed inventory of these tapes is in preparation.
