discover joy BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA n m u t a uncerts co
An Opera A CUT ABOVE the Rest! Mozart relied on the story of the infamous Spanish adventurer and womaniser Don Juan to write his two-act masterpiece, which has been a continuous success since its premiere in 1787. According to Kierkegaard, “among all classic works, Don Giovanni stands tallest”, while Flaubert called Mozart’s opera, along with Hamlet and the sea, “the three finest things God ever made.” The success of Don Giovanni confirms the notion that blunt and controversial figures have always tickled people’s fancies more than heroes who were “just good.” The libretto of the piece was written by a real “expert,” Lorenzo Da Ponte, whose own life was peppered with scandals and lovers. Filled with real flesh and blood characters, Don Giovanni is a comic drama of tragedy and comedy, deep psychology, impishness, and the perfect encounter of timelessness and the pleasure of the moment. It was in 2011 that Iván Fischer and the Festival Orchestra first staged the opera, which was acclaimed by The New York Times as “more involving, imaginative and theatrically daring” than most other performances. The staged opera can now be heard with a new cast: Christopher Maltman will be performing Don Giovanni.
SEPTEMBER
21 1900 23 1530 24 1900
MOZART Don Giovanni CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN (Don Giovanni) / JOSÉ FARDILHA (Leporello) LAURA AIKIN (Donna Anna) / LUCY CROWE (Donna Elvira) conductor and director IVÁN FISCHER
MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
JONATHAN COHEN
From MADNESS to happiness The BFO’s early music ensemble will be led by the exceptionally talented British conductor Jonathan Cohen at our Baroque evening. The concert kicks off with ‘La Pazzia’ (Madness) by Durante while Geminiani’s ‘La Follia’ continues in the same vein. Originally, the folia was an insanely excited, passionate fertility dance. The Telemann suite speaks with burlesque humour of Don Quixote, Spanish culture’s most popular figure. The evening continues with a short, solemn symphony by D. Scarlatti, an exceptionally skilled harpsichordist who composed for the Spanish court. It is followed by a rarely heard work of Domenico Sarro, a recorder concerto in A minor, which is both magical and heart-wrenching. Spain was the chosen home of another Italian, Boccherini. Although he wrote string quartets, the BFO will be performing one of his light and optimistic symphonic works to colour the warmth of the day.
SEPTEMBER
28 1945
FRANCESCO DURANTE Concerto in A majo ‘La Pazzia’ FRANCESCO GEMINIANI Concerto grosso in D minor ‘La Follia’ GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN Don Quixote-Suite, TWV 55: G10 DOMENICO SCARLATTI Sinfonia in A major, No. 1 DOMENICO SARRO Recorder Concerto in A minor, No. 11 LUIGI BOCCHERINI Symphony, Op. 12 /6, G. 508 artistic director JONATHAN COHEN
MÜPA BUDAPEST Festival Theater
Science and FICTION Contemporary Spaniards interpreted by a contemporary Frenchman. It was the influence of works considered to be radical in their times (e.g. The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky) that inspired conductor Pascal Rophé to pick up the baton. Passionate and innovative, he is just as much at home with the symphonies of the 18th and 19th centuries as he is with contemporary works. Lazkano, Posadas and Parra are scientific musicians. Their works require mindful listening – they are heavyweights that carry a profound impact, filled with the desire to explore, the natural powers that make the world go around, and science as well. The piece by Lazkano, with its tempo changes pushed to an extreme, is at first dense and full of movement, only to make space for us to tumble into silence. Posadas’s work speaks of the tectonic plates crashing into one another in the dark depths, with the help of physics and mathematics. Parra’s piece reflects on time, space and existence, building biological and physical metaphors into his music. It promises to be scientific and fantastical.
SEPTEMBER
29 1945
RAMON LAZKANO Eriden ALBERTO POSADAS Oscuro abismo de llanto y de ternura HÈCTOR PARRA Caressant l’horizon conductor PASCAL ROPHÉ
MÜPA BUDAPEST Festival Theater
PASCAL ROPHÉ
In the hands of a WOMAN On this evening, for the first time since its foundation, the BFO will be conducted by a woman – the American Marin Alsop. The concert will begin with the only concerto of Sibelius: his masterful Violin Concerto in D minor, whose third movement is one of the greatest of concerto works for violin. For some, it conjures up images of a polar bear dancing a polonaise, while others hear in it the frightening sounds of the battlefield. On this occasion, it will be brought to life by Russian/German violinist Alina Pogostkina, who won the 2005 International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition with this piece. In his Symphony No. 7, Shostakovich was inspired by the mercilessness of war, as the work was composed during the siege of Leningrad. Everything is in this profoundly serious work: the horrors of the invasion, the atrocities committed by the dictators, all the tears and pain, along with the false nostalgia and the taste of victory. At its Leningrad premiere in 1942, it was played by half-starved musicians who were just skin and bone, while the percussionist had been hauled back from the city morgue, where he had been brought by mistake. The concert was broadcast live on radio and at full volume throughout the city for all to hear: Leningrad was alive.
OCT0BER
04 1945 05 1945
JEAN SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D minor DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7 in C major ‘Leningrad’ ALINA POGOSTKINA (violin) / conductor MARIN ALSOP
MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
MARIN ALSOP
EMANUEL AX
A DIFFERENCE to be heard “The orchestra of the future resembles a production company; it can stage symphonic, early music and contemporary concerts, not to mention operas. And it can even function as a choir”, said Iván Fischer of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, bringing together Baroque music-making and a symphonic concert on three occasions this season The autumn concert will begin with Bach’s orchestral suite No. 3, the third movement (‘Air’) of which is one of the most popular Baroque tunes. You may have heard it in elevators, on telephone hold music, at weddings and in romantic films. Seven-time Grammy Award winner Emanuel Ax will also be performing a classic: Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, which is at least as popular as it is profound and serious. The concert will conclude with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, which was the composer’s personal favourite. When it was first premiered, many labelled it as unrefined and half-baked, but it has grown to occupy a place of honour among symphonic works. Although its theme is the struggle against fate – ever alert and watching – it still ends with a promise of happiness. It is the perfect “take-home” treat from the concert.
OCT0BER
19 1945 20 1945 21 1530
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor K. 466 PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F minor EMANUEL AX (piano) / conductor IVÁN FISCHER
MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI
FRIENDS with benefits Speaking of the friendship between Haydn and Mozart, who was a good twenty years younger, conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy said, “Their humour, their humanity, their naturalness, their originality, their depth and their honesty make them almost father and son in my eyes.” This will be an evening devoted to them. Mozart’s Symphony in F major is a delightful treat: written when he was nine years old, it was only found in 1980 and performed afterward. Of Haydn’s piano concerti, the D major is one of the most popular, as it gives a lot of room for virtuosity and the temperamental Gypsy motifs as well. Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski, a restless traveller, brings his intense and unique style, which perfectly suits this piece. This is followed by the entrancing, lyrical, joyful strains of Mozart’s Divertimento in F major. It brings the warmth of Italian comic operas to life, and is filled with intimate playfulness and wit. Haydn’s legendary Symphony No. 96 (’Miracle’) tops off the programme for the evening. Its original premiere was the scene of a minor miracle: a chandelier which fell into the audience did not injure anyone because everyone had gathered near the stage to watch Haydn playing. Although we will not be able to see him, we can still experience the miracle.
OCT0BER
28 1945 29 1530
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony in F major, K. Anh. 223 /19a JOSEPH HAYDN Piano Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Divertimento in F major, K. 138 JOSEPH HAYDN Symphony No. 96 (in D major, ‘Miracle’), Hob. I:96 PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI (piano) / conductor GÁBOR TAKÁCS-NAGY
LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall
RUSSIAN blood and passion Dmitri Kitayenko is one of the most highly skilled interpreters of Russian music. He is coming to Budapest to conduct the BFO in works by Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. Shostakovich first tried his hand at writing symphonies when he was a teenager, and certainly not in vain. He wrote his First Symphony (1924-25) as his graduation work, and it immediately brought the world to its knees. Rachmaninoff’s final work, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) composed for piano and orchestra, will be performed in collaboration with world-famous Russian pianist Lilya Zilberstein. This powerful work, sparkling with virtuosity, conjures up themes of the “devil’s fiddler” and death lurking behind him. In the autumn of 1876, over the course of three weeks, Tchaikovsky wrote his Symphonic Fantasy after Dante’s Divine Comedy, focused on the fifth song of Hell. Francesca falls in love with her husband’s younger brother, but they are caught. Her husband kills the lovers, who are doomed to hell for their adulterous passions, and to never find peace. The passion and tension will be almost palpable in the concert hall.
NOVEMBER
09 1945 10 1945
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1 in F minor SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini – Symphonyc Fantasy after Dante LILYA ZILBERSTEIN (piano) / conductor DMITRI KITAYENKO
LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall
DMITRIJ KITAJENKO
Concert calendar SEPTEMBER 21 1900 23 1530 24 1900 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
MOZART
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni Christopher Maltman (Don Giovanni) José Fardilha (Leporello) Laura Aikin (Donna Anna) Lucy Crowe (Donna Elvira) conductor and director: Iván Fischer HUF 14.300
28 1945 MÜPA BUDAPEST Festival Theater
8.800
6.200
4.800
2.700
BAROQUE EVENING
Francesco Durante: Concerto in A major ‘La Pazzia’ Francesco Geminiani: Concerto Grosso in D minor ‘La Follia’ Georg Philipp Telemann: Don Quixote Suite, TWV 55: G10 Domenico Scarlatti: Sinfonia No. 1 in A major Domenico Sarro: Recorder Concerto in A minor, No. 11 Luigi Boccherini: Symphony in A major, Op. 12 /6, G. 508 artistic director: Jonathan Cohen HUF 4.400
29 1945 MÜPA BUDAPEST Festival Theater
CONTEMPORARY EVENING
Ramon Lazkano: Eriden Alberto Posadas: Oscuro abismo de llanto y de ternura Hèctor Parra: Caressant l’horizon conductor: Pascal Rophé HUF 3.000
OCTOBER 04 1945 05 1945 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
SIBELIUS, SHOSTAKOVICH
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Dmitri Shostakovich: Syimphony No. 7 in C major ‘Leningrád’ Alina Pogostkina (violin) / condutor: Marin Alsop HUF 14.300 8.800 6.200 4.800 2.700
19 1945 20 1945 21 1530 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
BACH, MOZART, TCHAIKOVSKY
Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Smphony No. 4 in F minor Emanuel Ax (piano) / conductor: Iván Fischer HUF 14.300 8.800 6.200 4.800 2.700
28 1945 29 1530 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall
MOZART, HAYDN
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony in F major, K. Anh. 223/19a Joseph Haydn: Piano Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:111 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138 Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 96 (in D major, ‘Miracle’), Hob. I:96 Piotr Anderszewski (piano) conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy HUF 11.000 6.600 4.600 3.700 2.700
NOVEMBER 09 1945 10 1945 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall
SHOSTAKOVICH, RACHMANINOFF, TCHAIKOVSKY
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini – Symphonyc Fantasy after Dante Lilya Zilberstein (piano) / conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko HUF 14.300 8.800 6.200 4.800 2.700
Useful information HOW TO GET THERE
MÜPA BUDAPEST 1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1 Tram: 1 – Közvágóhíd / 2, 24 – Millenniumi Kulturális Központ Bus: 54 – Közvágóhíd / 15 – Boráros tér Subway: H7 – Közvágóhíd LISZT ACADEMY 1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 8 Tram: 4, 6 – Király utca Trolleybus: 70, 78 – Király utca Metro: M1 – Oktogon
PARKING
MÜPA BUDAPEST Parking is free in the outdoor parking lot and underground garage for the ticket holders. LISZT ACADEMY Guests of the concerts can park for a discount at the parking house in Akácfa street 60. The one-hour free pass is available at the ticket office of Liszt Academy and is valid together with the parking and concert tickets.
BFO FRIENDS
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CONTACT US
Office: 1033 Budapest, Polgรกr utca 8-10. B tel: +36 1 489 4330 e-mail: info@bfz.hu Tickets: rendeles@bfz.hu Published by the Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation Responsible publisher is the managing director of BFO, Stefan Englert
Tickets www.bfz.hu AT TICKET OFFICES BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA District III., Polgár utca 8–10. B tel: +36 1 489 4330, e-mail: rendeles@bfz.hu MÜPA BUDAPEST District IX., Komor Marcell utca 1, tel: +36 1 555 3300 District VI., Andrássy utca 28, tel: +36 1 555 3310 LISZT ACADEMY District VI., Liszt Ferenc tér 8, tel: +36 1 321 0690 DALSZÍNHÁZ TICKET OFFICE District VI., Dalszínház utca 10, tel: +36 1 952 0901 RÓZSAVÖLGYI SALON District V., Szervita tér 5, tel: +36 1 266 8337 Rózsavölgyi Salon is BFO’s priority ticketing point.
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