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My father played the piano in seedy bars in Budapest after World War II
and became better during the years by practicing a lot (I was playing under the piano).
June 17, 1957 - five years after my only brother, George, I was born.
Just a few years later by the age of three, I started to play the piano.
My mother (Irén, 74) remembers I read music way before I got to know the alphabet.
I attended music school when I was six and have had some great teachers.
I have to mention two names here: Ms.Etelka S.Láng and Mr.Lajos Kertész.
And of course the biggest influence, my father: György (George in English) Brunner
(died at a very young age in 1985, same year my first child, Brúnó was born).
I entered and won some great competitions. At age of eleven (11) I won the International
Chopin competition and at the age of twelve (12) I won the European Chamber Music
Festival in Vienna by playing the famous Piano Quintet in A, called 'The Trout'.
Classical music was always number-one for me but I had the fortune to listen,
play and grow up with all kinds of music. I heard Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles
and Oscar Peterson live in Budapest in the 60's and also my greatest idol, George Cziffra.
The first time I heard him playing the piano I could not sleep for nights...
I have all his albums and had the fortune to see him live twice in the 70's. For me he is
the greatest pianist of all time.
My brother became a professional drummer and he was the one who took me into the
genre of show business when I was 18 years old.
Since 1975 I have been playing for shows of all kinds. It became a life long passion of
mine to perform with entertainers as pianist and conducting a band.
At the age of 19 I became Musical Director and Bandleader at the No.1 show theater
in Eastern Europe at that time - the 'Maxim Varieté' in Budapest.
The year 1982 was a big turning point in my life. It was the first time I was able
to leave Hungary and worked in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.
Eight years with the famous Cunard Line, on the very exclusive, Sea Goddess
ships and also appeared on Vistafjord, Sagafjord and QE 2.
I tried some other cruise lines and finally in 1996 I found the company I was looking
for. Presently I am still Musical Director and Headliner for Royal Caribbean International.
I started on the first ship of this company the ‘Song of Norway’ and worked on the
‘Song of America’, the ‘Nordic Empress’ (Empress of the Seas today),
the ‘Grandeur of the Seas’ and since 2002 February:‘Legend of the Seas’.
I have been to North and South America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Australia and
New Zealand, the Middle East, the Far East and all, I mean ALL the European countries,
all together 169 nations on all five continents around the world.
Played some concerts in Japan, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and some other
great stages of different countries.
I was planning to retire from R.C.I. until two years ago when I completed a
new Guinness World Record which has totally changed my life. I went through
something I would never have imagined before. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
Believe it or not, during the 58 hours and 26 minutes I realized that I have some
special power inside of me being able to achieve an extremely difficult record as it is.
And just a year later starting on October 9, 2005.... another world record...
...and well, the lastest one in December, 2006, here in Trinidad and Tobago
at the Hilton hotel.... the one finally made it to the book!
Please go to my 'World Records' page and read the story!
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