Thomas Igloi

Thomas Igloi was a young cellist whose promising career was cut short by a sudden and early death. After leaving Hungary in 1957 he studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Douglas Cameron, and then privately with Pablo Casals in Puerto Rico and with Pierre Fournier. In 1963 he became a British citizen. He won the BBC cello competition in 1967 and was awarded a Gulbenkian Fellowship the following year. In 1969 he made his highly successful debut at the Wigmore Hall and then appeared with most of the major British orchestras. He also became a renowned recitalist, and gave all the Bach unaccompanied suites at the Kennedy Centre (1973), Vienna (1974) and in London (1975). He was appointed a professor at the RAM in 1974. His broad repertory included the most popular concertos, but also embraced pieces by Berkeley, Frank Bridge and Wilfred Josephs. In 1975 he gave the first performance of the cello concerto by Arnold Cooke with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Charles Groves. Not long before his death, he had recorded Walton's cello concerto with the BBCSO for broadcast. Apparently in excellent health, he died in his sleep at his home in Croydon on 17 April 1976. (b. Budapest, 17 January, 1947; d. London, 17 April, 1976)