Johanna Martzy was a Hungarian violinist born on October 26, 1924, in Timișoara. She studied with Josef Brandeisz and Jenő Hubay at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. In 1947, she won the Concours de Genève and signed with Deutsche Grammophon, recording concertos by Bach, Mozart, and Dvořák. During the 1950s, her EMI recordings included the Brahms and Mendelssohn concertos with Paul Kletzki. Disputes with Walter Legge led her to leave EMI. Martzy performed chamber music in a trio with Étienne Hajdu and Paul Szabo and recorded works by Beethoven and Bartók with Leon Pommers. In 1959, the Czech Philharmonic refused to perform with her at the Edinburgh Festival based on political accusations. She married Daniel Tschudi in 1960. Martzy died of cancer on August 13, 1979, in Zurich. Posthumous releases included the 1996 recording Sonates & partitas pour violon seul.
