Márton Illés was born in Budapest in 1975 and studied piano and composition in Zurich, Basel and Karlsruhe. He had already won several piano competitions and his studies included composition with Detlev Müller-Siemens, when he began a four-year composition course with Wolfgang Rihm in Karlsruhe in 2001. Rihm gave him valuable inspiration and support. In his work, Márton Illés is clearly committed to the avant-garde and he has become one of the major composers of his generation, with numerous performances and works commissioned by renowned institutions.
A reflection of the physicality of music is of great significance for his compositional oeuvre. He has stated that “reflexes, gestures, pain and other subtle human impulses as well as textures, growths and diverse processes in organic nature” find creative resonance in his works. Another important topic of his work is dealing with the space in which the music resounds. To address this, Illés frequently draws on the advanced means of live electronics.
Written from the perspective of the virtuoso pianist that Márton Illés indisputably is, his compositions often present immense challenges to their performers.
As of April 2023