Márton Illés was Born 12.12.1975 in Budapest, he received his initial musical training between 1981and 1994 in piano, composition and percussion at various Kodály schools in Gyõr, Hungary.
In 1993, Illés undertook an exchange semester at the Zürich University of the Arts with the pianist Hadassa Schwimmer. Illés completed his piano studies with László Gyimesi at the Basel Music Academy in 1998, receiving a soloist’s diploma.
Illés studied composition between 1997 and 2000 with the composer Detlev Müller-Siemens in Basel, and from 2001 to 2005 with Wolfgang Rihm at the University of Music in Karlsruhe, where he also studied music theory under Michael Reudenbach and electronic music under Thomas A. Troge.
In addition to his formal studies, Illés has received further pianistic and compositional coaching from Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, György Sándor, Lazar Berman, Sándor Falvai, Ferenc Kerek, György Ligeti, György Kurtág and Helmut Lachenmann.
During the 1990’s Illés was the recipient of numerous prizes in various national and international piano competitions, e.g. the Rencontres Musicales de la Venoge in Lausanne, Switzerland (1st prize), the Premi Ciudad de Berga, in Spain (2nd prize), and the Concours Piano 80, in Switzerland (1st prize), and was also active as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral pianist.
Illés has received scholarships from the Géza Anda Foundation in Zürich, the Robert and Lina Thyll-Dürr and Hans J. Rapp foundations in Basel, the Gyõr cultural foundation and twice from the Heinrich Strobel Foundation of the Southwest German Broadcasting Corporation (SWR).
Prizes and Commissions:
1991
- Prize for young composers in the
Hungarian Television
1993
- Commission from the Gyõr Percussion-Ensemble.
2001
- Commission from the Musikkreditkommission
Basel for the European Music Month festival (Ballettmusik,
premiered in 2001 by Ensemble Phoenix, conductor: Jürg Henneberger).
2003
- Featured
in an SWR (Southwest German Broadcasting Corporation) portrait film.
2004
- Featured in an SWR2 portrait radio broadcast.
- Invitation to the first International Composition Seminar, held by the Ensemble Modern, in which Illés’s work Scene Polidimensionali IX „Szintek b“ was performed in Frankfurt and broadcast on Radio Hessen.
- His
chamber oratorio Li kulli Schäi´n, based on
an Andalusian – Arabic elegy, was performed both at the Cairo Opera and in the
Liederhalle Stuttgart.
- llés was presented by the composer Wolfgang
Rihm as part of a joint composers' evening at the Freie Akademie der Künste in
Hamburg.
- Commission from the Klangspuren festival in Austria (Scene Polidimensionali
IX.„Vonalmezök“ ,
for string quartet, premiered by the Minguet Quartet).
- Commission
from the Rundfunk-Orchester und -Chöre GmbH Berlin (Scene Polidimensionali VII. „Szintek“,
premiered in 2004 at the Berliner Philharmonie by the Chamber Ensemble of the
German Symphony Orchester Berlin and the Radio Symphony Orchester Berlin,
conductor: Johannes Kalitzke).
2005
- Commission from the Heidelberger Frühling
festival (Scene Polidimensionali X.“Vonalterek“, premiered
by Jörg Widmann, Clarinet; Hanna
Weinmeister, Viola, and Márton Illés, Piano).
- Commissioned for a chamber ensemble work for the Kasseler
Musiktage festival 2005,
2006
- Commission for a piano work from the Kasseler
Musiktage festival (Torso II. , premiered by Markus Bellheim)
- Commission for an orchestral work from the
Thuringian Symphony Orchestra (Scene Polidimensionali XIII. „Gesztikus
Vonalak“ (gestured lines), premiered by the Thuringian
Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Mathias Husmann),
- The Componensemble Budapest premieres
“Scene Polidimensionali XIV.” „Tördelt Vonalak“ (broken lines),
for wind ensemble, as part of the Hommage à Bartók
festival in Budapest.conducted by
Zsolt Serei.
- Commission from the Schloss Neuhardenberg Foundation
for the Kurtág-Festival in Neuhardenberg (Torso polidimensionale
for string quartet and piano, premiered in 2006 in Neuhardenberg (Berlin) with
the Athena Quartet and Márton Illés, Piano),
2007
- “Emily Dickinsons Uhr” Music-theatre after
Jürgen Muck’s “Unabgelenkte Aufmerksamkeit” at the Eclat Festival Stuttgart for
4 Clarinets, Soprano and Electronics.
- Commission from the West German Broadcasting
Corporation (WDR) as part of the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik
(Wittener Days for new chamber music) (Torso III. For Ensemble, premiered by
the Ensemble Modern, conductor: Lucas Vis)
- Commission for a string quartet from the Kasseler
Musiktage festival (Torso V. , premiered by the Keller
Quartett)
- Commission from the City of Munich for the Münchener Biennale (International Festival for New Music Theatre) for a piano Quartet ( “Torso IV.” premiered in the Gasteig Munich by the Ensemble Triolog)
2008
- Commission from the City of Munich for the Münchener Biennale (International Festival for New Music Theatre) for a chamber orchestral work ( “Post Torso” premiered in the Gasteig Munich by the Münchener Kammerorchester, conductor: Alexander Liebreich)
- Ernst von Siemens Composers Prize (connected with a commission: “Scene Polidimensionali XV. “Mániákus Vonalak” (maniacal lines) for 6 clarinets and piano, premiered by Rybakov, Burkot, Gorbachev, Heusser, Reding, Skhlyaver – clarinets, Márton Illés – piano in the Kammerspiele - Munich)
- Paul Hindemith-Prize
- Schneider-Schott-Prize
2009
- Rome Prize of the German Academy Villa Massimo in Rome
Future projects:
- Commission from the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt 2009 – Austria for a piano trio.
- Invited to participate the into… project of the
Ensemble Modern and the Siemens Arts Program wich is connected with a one month
long artists stay in Dubai and with a Commission for a large work for the
Ensemble Modern.
- Music Theatre (Scene Polidimensionali XVI. after the dramatic poem "Die weiße Fürstin" of Rainer Maria Rilke) for The Münchener Biennale (International Festival for New Music Theatre) 2010.
Illés’s works are regularly performed in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Italy, England, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, Brazil and Greenland as part of renowned festivals and concert series, his works can also be found regularly in concerts alongside works from the classical repertoire and are performed by both known soloists and chamber music ensembles. Illés himself is also an active interpreter of his own music.
In 2006 Illés
founded his own chamber music ensemble, entitled
