Paul de Marky

de Marky, Paul

Paul (Alexander) de Marky. Pianist, teacher, composer, b Gyula, Hungary, 25 May 1897, naturalized Canadian 1931, d Montreal 16 May 1982. He studied in Budapest with Stephan Thomán (pupil of Liszt), making his debut there in 1921. He moved to Canada in 1924. He first performed 9 Oct 1926 at the TCM Concert Hall, Toronto, but took up residence in Montreal. He played Franck's Symphonic Variations under Douglas Clarke at the inaugural concert 12 Oct 1930 of the Montreal Orchestra. While continuing to perform in Europe, Canada, and the USA, he taught 1929-37 at the McGill Cons and broadcast frequently on the CBC until 1948, at times on Oswald Michaud's Sonobel piano. He retired from performance in 1950 and taught piano privately in Pointe-Claire (a suburb of Montreal) until 1972, specializing in teaching youth. Robert Cram, Samuel Levitan, Oscar Peterson, and Doug Riley have been among his pupils. His compositions include works for piano and orchestra and several songs. He premiered his Ballad for piano and orchestra under Jean-Marie Beaudet on a CBC broadcast 31 Aug 1944 and performed his Concerto in B for piano under Jacques Singer at the 1950 First Symposium of Canadian Contemporary Music in Vancouver. A collection of his papers is held at the National Library of Canada.