Prof. Ernő Sebestyén, born in 1940 in Budapest, was already studying the violin at the Franz Liszt Music Conservatory in Budapest at the age of 9. His teachers included Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. At the age of 23 he became first concertmaster with the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera. From 1965 to 1970 he taught as a professor at the Franz Liszt Music Conservatory, becoming first concertmaster with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1970. From 1971 to 1981 he was the first concertmaster at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and also taught at the Hochschule der Künste there. As a chamber musician, Sebestyén has achieved world renown on account of his successes at the most important European competitions (such as in Geneva in 1966, Budapest 1968, Munich [ARD] 1969, Colmar 1972 und the Grandprix 1973) as well as his international performances with the string quartet and string trio that bear his name.

Aside from his career as a soloist, he has also directed the chamber orchestra “Deutsche Streichersolisten Berlin” and since 1983 has been the artistic director of the “Philharmonische Virtuosen Berlin”. In addition he plays first violin in the “Katsaris Piano Quintet” and in the “Camerata Slovenica”. From 1980–1991 he was first concertmaster with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich and taught the violin at the Leopold-Mozart-Konservatorium in Augsburg. From 1990 to 2005 Ernő Sebestyén was a tenured violin professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. He has continued to follow his instrumental career both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, founding the Esterházy Piano Trio in 2006.