The world-renowned Hungarian jazz musician has gone

By: Gyarmathy Dóra, Hungary

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PEGE Aladár, the well-known Hungarian jazz musician and composer died in a hospital after a short, serious illness last week, 23 September. The bassist, who is dubbed „the Paganini of the contrabasses”, „had everything which makes the most exceptional artist” – said the Ministry of Education and Culture in its statement. He was awarded the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s highest honor for artists, in 2002, Prize for “Europe’s Best Soloist” in Montreux, he was the winner of Liszt Prize, Merited Artist of the Hungarian Republic, “Festival Virtuoso” in Prague. He played in Bombay and New York, played at Carnegie Hall with other well-known jazz artists made a great stir.

He was born in 1939 in Budapest, started to play the double bass at the age of 15. Pege studied at Liszt Ferenc Music Academy in Budapest. After finishing his studies in the faculty of double bass in 1969, he became assistant lecturer at the academy, then university teacher from 1978. From 1975 to 1978 he participated in master class with Professor R. Zapperitz in West-Berlin.

While he was a student and a teacher he gave concerts as well all around the world, he didn’t play only jazz but also classical music in his concerts. From 1963 he had concerts all around the world with his own musical ensemble and started composing in the same year. He gave numerous classical concerts in recent years and prepared several transcriptions for double bass. Since the beginning of the 1990’s, he published two albums every year: a jazz CD and a classical one. This year, in January he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his carrier in the Palace of Arts, Budapest.