He was born in Hungary, where he was a student in Budapest of Leo Weiner and Ernest von Dohnányi at the Franz Liszt Music Academy.
He moved to Switzerland in 1945, where he studied with Dinu Lipatti and won the 1948 Geneva Competition.
His international solo career led him to perform on all five continents with distinguished conductors and orchestras.
He was also a teacher and often asked to be on the jury of international musical competitions such as Leeds, Geneva, and Bolzano.
His students included Kathryn Selby, Anton Nel and David Bollard.