Lost Genius

The author explores the bizarre, untold life of a brilliant and eccentric musician. The composer Arnold Schoenberg called him an utterly extraordinary pianist of incredible originality and conviction, yet today he is all but forgotten. Born in Budapest in 1903, Ervin Nyiregyhzi (nyeer-edge-hah-zee) was a remarkable prodigy. At eight he performed at Buckingham Palace, and when he was thirteen, a psychologist published a book about him. In his teens, his idiosyncratic, intensely Romantic playing electrified audiences and astounded critics in Europe and America. But his adult career quickly…