Hungarian Cultural Centre - Programme Brochure Apr-Aug 2012

Events

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Hungarian Typography at the London Book Fair, 16-18 April 2012

8 If you wish to receive more information about our upcoming events or sign up for our newsletter, please send us an e-mail to bookings@hungary.org.uk.

Alternatively, find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/hcclondon and Twitter @HCCLondon. Thank you for your interest.

The HCC team: Dr Beata Pászthy PhD | Cultural and Scientific Counsellor – Director Csilla Szentesi | Head of Programming and Communications Dávid Kerényi | Finance Manager Natália Gleason | Programme and Communications Manager Gyöngyi Végh | Programme and Communications Manager Andrea Kós | Office Manager Balázs Szaszák | IT Consultant This season our work has been greately helped by Judit Kôrös | Senior Consultant, Film Dr Gábor Egri | Senior Consultant, Music Péter Pallai | Senior Consultant, Jazz Beatrix Bojtor | Intern Krisztina Ignáth | Intern Dalma Tárnok | Intern If you are interested in joining the Friends of the Hungarian Cultural Centre please contact Ruth and Robert Wing on 020 7351 7653 or email r.wing@imperial.ac.uk The information in this brochure is believed to be correct at the time of going to press, but as this may be three months or more before the events take place, we strongly advise you to confirm dates, times and availability on our website and Facebook page before setting out for any particular event.

The HCC reserves the right to alter artists or programme details as necessary.

Balassi Institute Hungarian Cultural Centre London 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA Tel: 020 7240 8448 • Fax: 020 7240 4847 • Message: 020 7240 6162 E-mail: andrea.kos@hungary.org.uk and bookings@hungary.org.uk

www.hungary.org.uk

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hungarian cultural centre • london

Dear Friends of the HCC, I would like to welcome you as the new director of the Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Centre London, Cultural and Scientific Counsellor. I am a psychiatrist by profession with a deep passion for the arts and a dedication to work for the benefit of Hungary.

It will be my mission therefore during my four-year term in office that the Hungarian Cultural Centre continues to present the most talented, creative and innovative Hungarian artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, the cutting-edge thinkers, academics and scientists in the UK. The Hungarian Cultural Centre will continue to work with prestigious cultural and academic institutions in London and further afield.

I also intend to carry on taking part in collaborative projects with EUNIC London (European Union National Institutes for Culture), and the European Council Representation in the UK. It is also my intention to strengthen our collaboration with organisations within the Hungarian community.

Let me take this opportunity to also inform you about what is now happening at 10 Maiden Lane. The first two months of 2012 have already witnessed some remarkably successful events and there are plenty more to come! Just to list two of these, let me mention EUNIC London’s sports documentary film festival Ready Steady Doc! where the Hungarian participation draw a most remarkable and enthusiastic audience and received high-profile press coverage – BBC Radio 5, CNN and the Metro. The scientific symposium Visions, links and opportunities in Hungarian and British neuroscience marks the beginning of the series of professional dialogues and collaborations the Hungarian Cultural Centre will be keen to encourage and promote between Hungarian and British scientists in the future.

As you will see from this brochure we present you some bright young Hungarian talents in music, literature and the visual arts, as well as our key events which include Hungary’s participation in the London Book Fair 2012, our Family Day with Kaláka Ensemble and our contribution to the Barbican’s Moholy-Nagy event.

You will soon experience some changes in our communication with you. Starting with autumn 2012 we will produce our programme brochure in electronic format only.

With the advance of technology, the widespread internet access and our dedication to being environmentally friendly, we hope this will be a welcome change for all.

The programme details and the electronic programme brochure will be available on our website and Facebook page. We will also continue to send out regular monthly electronic newsletters, to which you can subscribe to by emailing us at bookings@hungary.org.uk.

Thank you for your continued interest. I hope to welcome you at a Hungarian cultural event soon!

Dr Beata Pászthy Cultural and Scientific Counsellor, Director Balassi Institute • Hungarian Cultural Centre London

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Monday | 2 April | 7 pm

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e CONCERT

≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre

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10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

Easter Concert with Tamás Érdi (piano) 33-year old Tamás Érdi began playing the piano at age 5. He was 8 when he first appeared on a concert podium, and since then has given concerts and played at festivals in 26 countries with renowned conductors and orchestras. Tamás lost his eyesight in early childhood as a result of an oxygen overdose in a defective incubator. Erika Becht and Zsuzsa Kollár, Tamás’s instructors, used a unique method called ‘the structural method’ to teach Tamás to play the piano, whereby he virtually ‘recomposes’ the music he is introduced to.

His recordings include two CDs featuring works by Mozart under the baton of Tamás Vásáry, three solo piano CDs (Schubert, Chopin and Bartók-Liszt) and a DVD entitled Tamás and friends from three continents.

programme Frédéric Chopin: • Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 • Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor, Op. posth.

Claude Debussy: • L’isle joyeuse (The happy island) • Suite Bergamasque 1. Prélude 2. Menuet 3. Clair de lune 4. Passepied interval Ferenc Liszt: • Sposalizio • Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este • Consolation, S. 172 No. 3 in D-flat major • Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D-flat major

Tamás Érdi has given successful concerts in many cities of Europe, the US (Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center) and Canada, and also in Kuwait, Lebanon and Siberia. He last performed in London at the Barbican.

He has played with orchestras such as the Hungarian Radio Orchestra, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Enescu Philharmonic and the Hungarian National Orchestra just to name but a few. In 2008 Tamás gave a concert at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to honour the International Day of People with Disabilities.

Tamás Érdi received both the Prima Primissima Junior Prize (2008) and the Prima Primissima Prize (2010), two of one of the highest recognitions in Hungary. Δ Further information: www.erditamas.hu

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≥ Earls Court Exhibition Centre

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Warwick Road, London, SW5 9TA

London Book Fair – I Shot the Serif...

At the 2012 London Book Fair the Balassi Institute, with the support of the Hungarian National Arts Fund (NKA), proudly presents the rich and varied tradition of typography and the art of bookmaking in Hungary both past and present. On seeing the growing number of typefaces that emerging around us we may feel justified in asking why letters are constantly being changed and adapted. Why is it that – despite the existence of thousands of character sets – we still think it's worth designing new ones? janson typeface by miklós tótfalusi kis The “glyph” or letter is most commonly viewed as something that is institutionalized and impersonal; only rarely is it seen as an intellectual product or something that has tótfalusi sans serif by ádám katyi required creative input from a designer.

Hungary

Hungary has always been rich with creative and innovative ideas, and Hungarians such as Miklós Tótfalusi Kis (1650–1702) can be found amongst the world's leading type ádám katyi used tótflusi’s antique font as a starting point for creating his own designers from the earliest times onwards. modern, easy-to-read typeface.

One exquisite old-style serif typeface that was designed by Tótfalusi Kis was long thought to be the work of Anton Janson, and the typeface still bears the Dutch punchcutter’s name. Today, the erroneously named “Janson” typeface has become one of the most widely used character sets, second only to Garamond. Δ We warmly welcome all visitors to booth V300 from the 16th to the 18th of April.

Tuesday | 17 April | 7 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉

10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

e TALK the british hungarian fellowship presents

Zoltán Bécsi: ‘The British-French rivalry as a reason to the failure of the Danubian Confederation (1918–1921)’ Zoltán Bécsi has a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International Studies of Geneva and a M.Stud. in Historical Research from the University of Oxford. He is a visiting professor of the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations and an

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16 –18 April

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external fellow of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs. Zoltán Bécsi is also a former visiting professor of the Faculty of Law of the Univerity of Pécs, Hungary.

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1918 was the year of the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in its 1867-dualist form of Austria-Hungary. In 1920 the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated a project to reunite the successor states of the double monarchy into an economic union or ‘Danubian Confederation’ centred in Budapest. French-Hungarian negotiations were started early 1920 to achieve this new union. As we know, this project backfired by autumn 1920 following the signature of the Treaty of Trianon by Hungary. The Paris-Budapest negotiations triggered Prague to create the Little Entente (with Romania and Yugoslavia) to hinder this French attempt and it replaced the project of Central European unity polarising the region. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they can no longer attend the event at least the day before.

Thursday | 19 April | 7 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉ 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA e FILM CLUB Puskás Hungary (dir. Tamás Almási, 2009) Followed by a Q & A with the director “For me he is always going to be the greatest among the best, among other things for the way he was able to pick himself up after losing the world championship final, the way he survived the trauma of leaving his homeland to start a new life from zero somewhere else, and to become known as ‘Speedy Major’ worldwide.” (Dr Pierre Huth) Tamás Almási’s documentary film about Ferenc Puskás tells the story of the great Hungarian legend of the 20th century. The film follows his upbringing from the humble beginnings in a suburb of Budapest to international football stardom spanning five continents, all along giving a captivating account of the historical context. A cinematic portrait of a man who – irrespective of politics, war and society’s conventions – does what he does best: plays football.

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Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk.

We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they can no longer attend the event at least the day before.

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Tamás Almási, who will be in attendance, was born in 1948 in Székesfehérvár, is a highly acclaimed documentary film director, script writer and cameraman, who has made more than 30 feature-length documentaries, which were shown in more than 40 countries around the globe. Tamás Almási has also been Associate Professor at the University of Film and Drama in Budapest since 2007.

Some of his outstanding documentaries include: Puskás Hungary (2009), Márió, a varázsló (2008), Sejtjeink (2001), Szívügyem (1996), Miénk a gyár (1993), Circus maximus (1980), Ballagás (1980). Tamás Almási has also won numerous awards which include the Merited Artist of the Hungarian Republic in 2005, the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic Knight's Cross in 2002, the Pulitzer Prize in Hungary in 1999, the Award for Hungarian Culture in 1998 and the Balázs Béla Award in 1995.

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The documentary Puskás Hungary at its international festival debut won Best Documentary in the ‘Time of History’ section at the 54th Valladolid International Film Festival in October 2009. First Prize in the ‘Time of History’ section: ‘For its outline of history not only of Hungary but also of Europe using a popular legend, the footballer Puskás, and for the remarkable cinematographic values in the film’s use of archival material and testimonies.’ It also won the Audience Choice Award at the Los Angeles Hungarian Film Festival and won the Hungarian Film Critics Award in 2009. In 2010 it won the Best Documentary Award at the 41st Hungarian Film Week.

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Thursday | 26 April | 7 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉ 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

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e BOOK LAUNCH & TALK the british hungarian fellowship presents

Zoltán Szabó, Nyugati Vártán (Emigré Life in the West) Please note this event is in Hungarian.

This year marks the centenary of the birth of Zoltán Szabó, the leading figure of the Hungarian emigrant community in the UK. To celebrate this remarkable occasion a two-volume publication called Nyugati Vártán has come out with Zoltán Szabó’s essays, studies, speeches given at western conferences and reports broadcast on Free Europe Radio. The collection was edited by Sándor András, poet, writer, university professor and a close friend of Zoltán Szabó. Sándor András and other invited speakers will discuss the recently published collection, the life of emigrees, the restrictions and the intellectual freedom that life entails. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit

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www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they can no longer attend the event at least the day before.

Wednesday | 2 May | 7 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉ 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA e BOOK LAUNCH Thomas Kabdebo, No Matter Where I Am I See the Danube (Phaeton Publishing, 2011) ’He was rendered cosmopolitan by Hungarian history,’ Árpád Göncz, former President of Hungary writes of the author. ’His homeland was twice trodden by occupying armies, and as a consequence, hundreds of thousands of its people were forced to flee their country, making their living elsewhere.’

A gripping personal story that is also the dramatic story of the 20th century. Kabdebo is a Hungarian scholar and man of letters who has written over forty books and translated just as many. He has received many awards from his native land and this book has a foreword by Árpád Göncz, former President of Hungary. He fled Hungary after the 1956 uprising and lived in England until he settled in Ireland, where he was director of the Maynooth

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www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they can no longer attend the event at least the day before.

Sunday | 6 May | 12 noon – 5 pm ≥ Victoria Embankment Gardens ✉ City of Westminster, London WC2N6JU e FAMILY FESTIVAL

Embassy of Hungary London

Hungarian Family Day (Magyar családi nap) Bring along your little sister, big brother, your uncle and grandma or anyone and everyone you love as family for a day full of fun and cultural learning from Hungary, the land of Magyars. move to the music that moves us • Hear our favourite songs by Kaláka, one of Hungary’s most beloved ensembles (Starts at 1 pm). get creative with traditional folk arts • Create beautiful bookmarks, figurines, fridge magnets and more using traditional Hungarian motives. learn beautiful hungarian dances • Böske Tímár will teach some key steps, on live music played by the Kontraband, so everyone can join in and learn something new. H-UNique authentic Hungarian dance essemble will lead the way (Starts at 3 pm). taste what magyars call tasty • Explore flavours from our country and buy Hungarian foods to cook at home. Δ All performances and activities are free

Special thanks to Mária Chambers (Hungarian Cultural Association and Magyar Tanoda és Játszóház), Dr Edit Zolnai ( Londoni Magyar Iskola+), Marianna Kiss (Londoni Gyermekek Klub), Nyilas Ilona(Csödei Alkotótábor, Természetes Iskola), Westminster City Council, 6:3 Magazin

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Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit

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University Library. The book is an intimate and affectionate account of Thomas Kabdebo’s family background and life. He was born into a relatively wealthy family that lost everything after the Soviet takeover of Hungary at the end of the Second World War. As a student he took part in the 1956 uprising and so was forced to flee to the West. Born in the 1930s, he witnessed and experienced many traumatic historical episodes during his life and his account of his part in the uprising is gripping. His is one of those lives which serves as a European history lesson.

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Sunday | 6 May | 7 pm ≥ St George’s Church ✉ Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2HR

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e CONCERT The Kaláka Ensemble Line-up and instruments: Gábor Becze: double bass, guitar Dániel Gryllus: flutes, zither, panpipe, clarinet, tarogato Vilmos Gryllus: cello, guitar, charango, moldavian lute, jews harp Balázs Radványi: mandolin, 12-string guitar, ukulele, cuatro, viola, kalimba

Concert for adults: St George’s Church will house the day’s second Kaláka concert with its wonderful acoustics and splendid interior. Come and enjoy poetry and music.

The tunes are old and new, and the poetry is from Hungarian poets as well as poets of other nationalities. On Kaláka’s 25 recordings there are approximately 1000 songs.

A few of the poets whose works they sing: János Arany, Endre Ady, Sándor Weöres, Dezsô Kosztolányi, Sándor Kányádi, Lôrinc Szabó, Attila József, Robert Burns, François Villon, Sergei Yesenin. Between songs, Mátyás Sárközi will help the audience understand the poems with his comments in English. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they can no longer attend the event at least the day before.

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Wednesday | 9 May | 8.30 pm ≥ 606 Jazz Club ✉ 90 Lots Road, London SW10 0QD

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East Gipsy Band: József Balázs, Lajos Sárközi, Gábor Bolla, Krisztián ”Toggle” Lakatos, Vilmos Oláh, Elemér Balázs, Gusztáv Balogh East Gipsy Band represents a new color on the Hungarian music scene, as well as in world music.

Its members come from first-rank jazz and gypsy musicians. Their music is an adventure within the traditions of Roma music with a great spin on jazz. Improvisation and characteristic features of jazz are central to their music. The band, formed by József Balázs, who himself is one of the most talented piano players of the young generation, having played with Erik Truffaz, Stephane Belmondo, Bobbie Watson, Charlie Mariano, Robin Eubanks, and Steve Houben, among others, plays well-known French, German, Italian, Hungarian and Roma tunes with unique scoring. The jazz band consists of József Balázs on piano, Lajos Sárközi on violin, Krisztián “Toggle” Lakatos on double-bass, Vilmos Oláh on cimbalom, Gábor Bolla on tenor saxophone and Elemér Balázs on drums, with Gusztáv Balogh singing. Their debut album was released in May 2011, featuring the great jazz saxophone and keyboard player Tim Ries. In the autumn of 2011 the band played in the finest jazz clubs of New York City (Drom, Smalls) and Toronto (Rex), among others, on a short tour in North America. In 2012, they perform in capital cites of Europe, while many other venues are continually being booked. Δ Tickets are £10. For more information please contact 606 at jazz@606club.co.uk or on 0207 352 5953.

Wednesday | 9 May | 7 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉ 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA e BOOK LAUNCH AND EXHIBITION White and Black „It is a strange, inverted kind of life that János Szász took” – begins Károly Kincses the introduction to his book „János Szász – White and black” on the Hungarian photographer from Pécs (1925–2005). Indeed: the recently discovered ouevre is proving to constitute an important part of Hungarian photography without the artist having enjoyed any true recognition through his life.

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The book is an introduction to his life and body of work, and represents the first major effort at processing his archive, found, five years ago after his death in a huge cupboard. The artist’s life is a typically Eastern European one: due to political hindrances and further obstacles, his work was kept from truly emerging and being accepted as part of the photographic art scene despite receiving many important awards (amongst them the Hungarian Photo Artists’ Lifetime Achievement Award).

Conditions of photographers like him were unique all over Eastern Europe. They set up small mobile laboratories in their kitchens or bathrooms and as they carried out everything from exposure to drying the hard copies, this deep knowledge generated a lot of technical experience and innovations, leading to strong personal touches so well noted in the works of Szász. „Never to give up” – became his life’s motto: the need to push the boundaries towards the unimitable prints we see today.

The launch of the book, published by the János Szász Estate and Smart Association and the accompanying exhibition will mark a return of the artist to the Hungarian Cultural Centre. Since having first been introduced at the HCC in May 2010 in Western Europe, the images have gone a long way – the stark black and white images have become highlighted at important European auctions, recently featured in a private show at London’s HotShoe Gallery as the official launch of events dealing with Hungarian photography culminating in the sell-out Royal Academy exhibition Eyewitness – Hungarian photography in the 20th century.

The exhibition will feature photographs by Ilrai Panci, winner of our János Szász competition in 2010, taken at Ördögkatlan Festival in Hungary. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 8448 or email bookings@hungary.org.uk

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e CONCERT Quimby In 2011 Quimby, one of Hungary’s most popular alternative rock bands, celebrated their 20th anniversary, packing Budapest's Sports Arena to the rafters with a crowd of 10,000, a feat never before achieved by an act from a similar musical background. Although Quimby have been headliners at Hungary's most renowned festivals for a long time, they also maintain a steady presence on the club and theatre circuit. It is quite impossible not to be moved by this band's music and their lyrics.

In the two decades of their career, Quimby have released 10 albums, two of which won the Hungarian Album Of The Year award. Unafraid of new horizons, Quimby disregard the strict confines of popular music and explore new territories where music borders on kindred art forms. Their songs can be heard in several Hungarian motion pictures, and they provided the music for two highly successful theatre productions including an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in which the band performed live on the theatre stage.

Their ties with the thespian world were further strengthened by their Teatrum concert series, a tour of major theatres all over Hungary where they performed a set specially adapted for the occasion. They have also collaborated with a variety of contemporary Hungarian poets.

December 2010 saw the release of Kicsi Ország (Small Country), their latest 17-track studio album, and a year later, just in time for the anniversary, the band came out with Instant Szeánsz, their first live CD to date. Δ Tickets £19 and are available from the box office. Otherwise, please call 08704325527 or visit www.drumandmonkey.org or www.ticketweb.co.uk

Tuesday | 15 May | 6.30 pm ≥ Waterstones Hampstead Book Shop

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68–69 Hampstead High Street, London NW3 1QP

e BOOK SIGNING Come to meet Noémi Szécsi, one of Hungary’s most promising talents in literature and make sure you pick up a copy of her wonderful book Finno-Ugrian Vampire so you can come prepared to the European Literature Night the day after. Δ Free.

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Monday | 14 May | 9 pm ≥ KOKO ✉ 1A Camden High Street, London

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Wednesday | 16 May | 6.30 pm – 9 pm ≥ The British Library ✉ 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB

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e LITERATURE European Literature Night featuring the Hungarian writer Noémi Szécsi The annual European Literature Night is back for its fourth year in London, taking over the capital cities of Europe for a whole evening in a marathon celebration of the best of European literature.

European Literature Night is based on the premise of literature being a unique creative tool reflecting the elementary dialogue between single voices and cultures who share the same reading experience. Literature is the tool of mutual understanding, cultural exchange helping to break down communication barriers.

The European Literature Night event at the British Library is organised by EUNIC London with the coordination of the Czech Centre London. It will showcase ten of the finest European talents, chaired by Rosie Goldsmiths, and short extracts will be read by each author followed by a Q & A session afterwards.

The Hungarian writer Noémi Szécsi has been invited out of fifty nominations to join the panel of writers. The Balassi Institute Hungarian Cultural Centre London is proud to support her participation in this prestigious event. Her book Finnugor vámpír will be published in English by Stork Press later this year. The novel follows a young vampire returning from England to Budapest who does not want to suck blood but has literary ambitions. Her young-looking Grandmother seriously objects to this. The short, two-part novel is a parody of Künstlerroman, Bildungsroman and literary vampire traditions.

In 2000 Noémi studied cultural anthropology and gender studies at the Christina Institute in Helsinki. She wrote her first novel, Finno-Ugrian Vampire there. The script which was based on the novel participated the Sundance Scriptwriters’ Workshop in Prague in November 2001.

Noémi Szécsi was born in 1976 in Szentes, Hungary. Her second novel, The Communist Monte Cristo was awarded the European Union Prize For Literature in 2009. In the same year she published a novel about present-day anarchists under the title of Last Centaur.

In 2011 she received the prestigious József Attlia Award for literary achievement.

Her most recent novel, The Restless is published by Európa Publishing House. Δ Tickets: £6 (£4). Booking: 019 3754 6546.

Further information: www.bl.uk, www.szecsinoemi.hu, www.storkpress.co.uk, www.eunic-london.org

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10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

in memoriam dezsô garas

Football of the good old days (Régi idôk focija) (dir. Pál Sándor, 1973) We need a team! Ede Minarik, owner of a laundry, has a dream. To have a team, the Csabagyöngye SC. And that team needs to get to the premier league.

The film truly represents a huge part of the Hungarian society in the middle of the 20s. Ede has a dream and he is ready to sacrifice everything to make his dream come true. As a sign of a desperate life, his dream became his obsession, he gives up his job, his marriage and his life to create something gorgeous in an environment where one of the most common questions is ‘Why and for what do we live?’.

The film has an ambience and style of the old silent films. Director Pál Sándor succeeded to create an outstanding real pearl in the Hungarian Film history. Elemér Ragályi was the cinematographer on Expedition of Retribution and the director of photography of every Pál Sándor film. Ragályi had become a master of the hand-held camera and sensitive, psychologically expressive lighting while working on Béla Balázs Studio documentaries. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they can no longer attend the event at least the day before.

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Thursday | 17 May | 7pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉

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25 – 31 May

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≥ Barbican Centre

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Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

bauhaus: art as life at the barbican centre Bauhaus on Film To complement the exhibition Bauhaus: Art as Life (Barbican Art Gallery, 3 May 2012 – 12 August 2012), Barbican Cinema will run a week of events dedicated to Bauhaus on film. From abstract shorts, to documentaries celebrating modern design and architecture, this series of screenings is presented alongside ScreenTalks and panel discussions with experts from the field.

Saturday | 26 May | 3.30 pm László Moholy-Nagy: The Film and Photo Curator (PG*) + live musical accompaniment

by John Sweeney + Introduction by Bauhaus film specialist Thomas Tode

T. Lux Feininger – The jump over the Bauhaus/ Sport at the Bauhaus, c. 1927. Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin , The Estate of T. Lux Feininger

The Film und Foto (FiFo) exhibition, held in Stuttgart in May–June 1929, was the most significant public display of modern photography and film in Europe . Moholy-Nagy and Hans Richter collaborated as curators for the film section of the exhibition, a selection of which will be screened at this special event. Includes films by Marcel Duchamp, Walter Ruttmann, Fernand Léger, Réne Clair, Guido Seeber, Eugène Deslaws, Joris Ivens and Mannus Frankens.

This event was first re-enacted by Thomas Tode at the Metropolis Kino Hamburg.

Saturday | 26 May | 5.30 pm László Moholy-Nagy: Permanent Experiment (Dir. Jens Schmohl, 56mins) (PG*) + Introduced by Hattula Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy: Permanent Experiment is a unique documentary, which provides a fascinating insight into the life and work of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. The film includes a combination of historical footage, family photographs and interviews recalling Moholy-Nagy’s life, from his native Hungary to his appointment as master at the Bauhaus, and later as Director of the Institute of Design in Chicago .

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László Moholy-Nagy’s shorts (PG*) with live music accompaniment by John Sweeney + Aura Satz film performance Universal Language: A Lost Manifesto + Screentalk with Hattula Moholy-Nagy and Professor Ian Christie This is a rare chance to see a selection of Moholy-Nagy’s films on the big screen, together with Aura Satz’s premiere of her 16mm filmic performance Universal Language: A Lost Manifesto, which draws on two mysteriously missing projects: the lost Moholy-Nagy film Sound ABC (1932) and the lost manifesto document of Richter and Eggeling, Universal Language (1920).

Aura Satz is supported by the Arts Council of England. Hattula Moholy-Nagy trip to the UK is supported by the Hungarian Cultural Centre London. Δ Booking and further information: 020 7638 8891, www.barbican.org.uk

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Saturday | 26 May | 7.30 pm

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Hattula Moholy-Nagy is the daughter of the late László Moholy-Nagy and the director of the Moholy-Nagy Foundation in the United States .

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Wednesday | 30 May | 7.30 pm ≥ 606 Jazz Club ✉ 90 Lots Road, London SW10 0QD Thursday | 31 May | 7.30 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉ 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA e CONCERT introducing the feelharmony duo Juli Fábián – vocals, Péter Sárik – piano Songstress Juli Fábián, despite her youth, is a mature performer with a distinctive style of her own and a tremendous flair for improvisation. A critic, justifiably, described her voice as „honey with chili peppers”.

Before she decided to take up singing she had been studying classical piano which deepened her understanding of music and widened her scope. She has been on stage since the second year of her jazz studies. Despite her relatively short presence on the jazz scene, she has been picked out by many topline musicians and bands. Both in 2007 and this year Julianna was a finalist in the Shure Voice Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Her effortless delivery sometimes makes one forget her daring and adventurous attitude to jazz singing.

An absolute must!

Juli will be accompanied by the dazzling pianist, Péter Sárik. It’s hard to say what is Péter’s forte because he is absolutely brilliant both as a soloist and as an accompanist.

As for the former, his recent album is living testimony. Péter is also very much at home in classical, Latin and world music. In 2007 he won the best soloist’s prize in the competition organised by Hungary’s Radio Jazzy.

He was a massive hit at London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club. Juli and Péter have an uncanny musical understanding of each other that makes their music entrancing. Δ Tickets for 30 May are £10. For more information please contact 606 Club at jazz@606club.co.uk or on 0207 352 5953. The 31 May event is free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they cannot attend the event at least the day before.

hungarian cultural centre • london

≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre

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10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

David A. Hill: Arts and Crafts Architecture in Hungary and Britain The years 1880–1914 were ones of incredible creativity in the world of architecture and the applied arts throughout Europe and beyond. Both Hungary and Britain were major players in these fields, and while each country developed original approaches to their products, there was also much that they had in common. This talk, fully illustrated by the speaker’s own photographs, will examine various key aspects of the architectural and related design work of the period, drawing links and divergences.

károly kós house, sztána, transylvania

the red house in bexleyheath, southeast london

David A. Hill (b. Walsall, 1952) works as a freelance lecturer and writer of educational materials. He has made a lifetime study of architecture and applied arts from 18301920, with particular reference to the work of William Morris and his associates, art nouveau and the arts and crafts movement. He has written articles, and lectured on these topics throughout Europe, and lead Art Nouveau tours of Budapest and Milan.

He has been a member of The William Morris Society for 40 years, and is also a member of The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society and the Decorative Arts Society. His studies have taken him from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and from Birmingham to Buenos Aires, and he continues to explore new aspects of the subject wherever possible. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk.

We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they cannot attend the event at least the day before.

2012

e TALK

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Thursday | 7 June | 7pm

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Monday | 11 June | 7pm

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e CONCERT

≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre

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10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

monday music soirees Introducing Júlia Pusker (violin) accompanied by Tadashi Imai (piano) Described recently in The Times as a violinist of ‘eye-popping virtuosity’ at the gala evening of the Royal Academy of Music’s 190th anniversary, Júlia Pusker was born into a family of musicians in 1991 in Kecskemét, Hungary, where she began her violin studies at the age of five. programme Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata in D major Op. 12 No. 1 1. Allegro con brio 2. Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto 3. Rondo: Allegro Eugène Ysaÿe: Poème élégiaque, Op.12 Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz.56, BB68

Two years later she was already recognised in Hungary as the firstprize winner of the János Koncz national violin competition held in Szombathely. Together with her sister, who is also a violinist, she was the first-prize winner of the Béla Bartók Violin Duo competition in 2000. Since then she has been a multiple recipient of major awards at festivals such as the Georg Philipp Telemann Competition in Poland, as well as the Carl Flesch Violin Competition in Budapest and the Yamaha Music Scholarship.

As a testament to a musical talent harnessed to a maturity well beyond her years, she made her concerto debut with Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra at the age of twelve to critical acclaim, which led to an invitation to perform again the following year. In the same year she became a student at the Preparatory Section of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music for Children of Exceptional Talents in Budapest. She has a close affinity with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. At the age of seventeen, she made her debut with the orchestra and has since been a regular guest soloist under director János Rolla.

hungarian cultural centre • london

Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk. We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they cannot attend the event at least the day before.

11–16 June ≥ Mall Galleries

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The Mall London SW1

e EXHIBITION Lili Zoé Érmezei Hungarian photographer's success in the International Renaissance Photography Prize 2012 – Lili Zoé Érmezei prizewinning photo at Mall Galleries The talented young Hungarian photographer Lili Zoé Érmezei holds an MA from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest. She also attended the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera of Milano. Her work has been shown at several solo and group exhibitions in Hungary as well as

renaissance madonna by lili zoé érmezei

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Tadashi Imai made his debut in Tokyo in 1997 under the auspices of the Japan Committee of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. As a prize-winner of several international competitions in Japan and the United States, he has performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Osaka Symphoniker and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. As a Grand Prize winner of the Grand Prix International Chopin Competition, he made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall. Tadashi is a graduate of Toho Gakuen College of Music, the Texas Christian University and the Royal Academy of Music, London. Since 2005, Tadashi has been working with the violinist and academy professor György Pauk’s violin class. In 2008, he was appointed Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM). His concert commitments for 2009-2010 include solo recitals and chamber music concerts in Japan, England, France, Ireland, Spain, Holland, Poland and Germany.

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In 2011, she moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music under renowned Professor György Pauk, which was made possible through the generous support of the Solti Foundation. Her violin, a Maggini crafted in 1600, is loaned to her by the Royal Academy of Music.

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hungarian cultural centre • london

in Paris, London, Cologne, Luxembourg and Krakow. Femininity, the female body and body image constitute her key topic. Her photograph ‘Renaissance Madonna’ was selected by the Renaissance Photograpy Prize 2012 judges Michael Hoppen, Brett Rogers, Monica Allende, Mary McCartney and Brigitte Lardinois from over 6,000 entries as one of the 100 Renaissance finalist photographs to be exhibited at Mall Galleries. Δ Futher information: www.ermezei.com, www.mallgalleries.org.uk

21–23 June ≥ London

e ARCHITECTURE London Festival of Architecture The London Festival of Architecture is a city-wide celebration of architecture and architectural talent in the UK capital. It brings architects and communities together to examine how we make London a better place. The theme of the 2012 Festival - ‘The Playful City’ – responds to the presence in London of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hungary is joining The UK’s largest exhibition of architecture in London for the second time. Established in 2004, LFA is a celebration and exploration of buildings, streets, spaces and places in the capital and highlights London’s reputation as an international creative hub. Hungary will be represented by an exhibition curated by Eszter Steierhoffer, who at the previous edition of the LFA co-curated the Anatomy of a Street exhibition based on a research project exploring sites of an accelerated urban transformation by juxtaposing two examples of the ‘high street’ from Pécs and Budapest with Church Street in Paddington London.

The Hungarian participation at the LFA this year will be focusing on Zoo architectures as sites of architectural experimentation in Budapest and London. Δ For further details check of website or visit. www.artnetworkagency.org.uk elephant house, budapest zoo

hungarian cultural centre • london

≥ Southbank Centre

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Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Poetry Parnassus In summer 2012 Southbank Centre launches Poetry Parnassus. This visionary festival sees poets from all participating Olympic nations come together for a week of readings, talks and performances. Poetry Parnassus marks the first time that so many poets from so many parts of the planet have converged in one place; it is a monumental poetic happening worthy of the spirit and history of the Olympics.

‘My hunch is this will be the biggest poetry event ever – a truly global coming together of poets.’ (Simon Armitage, the poet behind the idea and Artist in Residence at Southbank Centre)

Hungary will be represented by Ágnes Lehóczky, Hungarian-born poet and translator.

She completed her Mastrers in English and Hungarian Literature at Pázmány Péter University in 2001 and an MA with distinction in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in 2006. She holds a PhD in Critical and Creative Writing, also from the UEA. She has two short poetry collections in Hungarian, Station X (2000) and Medallion (2002), published by Universitas, Hungary. Her first full English language collection, Budapest to Babel, was published by Egg Box in 2008. She was the winner of the Daniil Pashkoff Prize 2010 in poetry and the inaugural winner of the Jane Martin Prize for Poetry at Girton College, Cambridge in 2011. Her second English language collection Rememberer was also published

by Egg Box earlier this year.

Her collection of essays on the poetry of Ágnes Nemes Nagy, Poetry, the Geometry of Living Substance, was published in 2011

by Cambridge Scholars and a libretto of hers was commissioned by Writers’ Centre Norwich for The Voice Project at Norwich Cathedral as part of & Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2011. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Sheffield. Δ The Poetry Library is based on Level 5 of the Royal Festival Hall. For more information visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk, www.poetrylibrary.org.uk

2012

e LITERATURE

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26 June – 1 July

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Wednesday | 27 June | 7.30 pm and 10.15 pm ≥ 606 Jazz Club ✉ 90 Lots Road, London SW10 0QD

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e CONCERT Introducing the Tóth Viktor Tercette and János Nagy first band on 27 june at 7.30 pm Alto-sax player Viktor Tóth, one of the great sensations of the 2007 Budapest Jazz Festival, is the most open minded of the young jazzmen in Hungary. He made his mark in London in November 2002 and two years later also blew a fantastic set with the world-jazz outfit Djabe at The Spitz in the East End. Since then he has formed his riveting trio the sound of which is based on straightahead but exciting hard bop but can also extend to imaginative fusions of jazz, hip-hop, rap, poetry and free music. He has played with most of the experimental groups in Hungary and recorded two albums with Hamid Drake, the first of which won the critics’ prize for the best Hungarian jazz album of 2007.

György Orbán is one of the most original and young bassists in Hungary, a country teaming with virtuosos on his instrument. He first caught public attention as a member of the legendary Szakcsi New Gypsy Jazz outfit. Undoubtedly, he is the most interesting of today’s young bass players in Hungary.

The Turkish-born drummer Robert Ikiz is based in Sweden. He was 3 years (!) old when he first played with a band. Ikiz, like Viktor, is a most versatile musician at home in most genres. He received awards for his percussion playing in 1999 and 2003, also for jazz in 2004 from the Swedish Royal Music Academy. second band on 27 june at 10.15 pm The brilliant pianist and bandleader, János Nagy is one of the handful of world-class jazz pianists in Hungary. Among other top acts, he leads the Free Style Chamber Orchestra and plays for European Mantra. In 1997 he was voted ’Best Soloist’ at the Getxo International Jazz Festival. In 1998 he won the coveted eMeRton Prize as Soloist of the Year.

In 2001 at the Mediawave Festival he accompanied David Murray where he earned high praise from the American tenor-sax idol and critics of Gramophone magazine named the concert Event of the Year.

He also played to tremendous acclaim in London, Poland, Macau and Vilnius.

He will play solo at the Hungarian Cultural Centre on Thursday 28 June.

hungarian cultural centre • london

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Δ Tickets are £10. For more information please contact 606 at jazz@606club.co.uk or on 0207 352 5953

june

At his gig in the 606 Club the day before he will be accompanied by the same terrific rhythm section that played with him backing the Hungarian songstress Bea Tisza in 2003 and subsequently recorded her first British album. The bass player will be one of the best in the UK, also a noted bandleader (Cold Cherry Soup, Improvokation, Ambulance) in his own right, Arnie Somogyi. The drums will be looked after by Winston Clifford.

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Thursday | 28 June | 7.30 pm ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre ✉ 10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA e CONCERT Introducing János Nagy Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk.

We kindly ask all registered guests to let us know if they cannot attend the event at least the day before

12 July – 12 August ≥ Hungarian Cultural Centre

✉

10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA

HungarICONs: Olympic champions and world-famous Hungarians

july

HungarICONs is a collection of artworks inspired by the emblematic objects and relics of world-famous Hungarian artists and athletes. The exhibition therefore precedes and coincides with the London 2012 Olympic Games.

2012

e EXHIBITION

The aim of the HungarICON collection is to preserve, cherish and nurture important values. The Hungarian Cultural Centre presents about twenty-four of these unique artworks, which include those inspired by the camera of Andre Kertesz, the batton of Sir George Solti, the football boots of Ferenc Puskás and the sword of seven-time olympic champion Aladár Gerevich. Δ Free. For reservations please call 020 7240 6162, e-mail bookings@hungary.org.uk or visit www.hungary.org.uk

Madarassy István Hommage à Gerevich Aladár, 2009 50  114  14 cm

hcc recommends oxford hungarian society trinity term 2012 o All meetings, except those on 4 May and 25 May, will be held in the MacGregor Room, Oriel College Friday 27 April, 8 pm András Szendrey Heritage Railways in Hungary: their Preservation and Operation András, general director of the Hungarian Railway Museum, will give an illustrated talk followed

by Hungarian nibbles and drinks Friday 4 May, 8 pm ≥ Harris Theatre, Oriel College Filmshow: My 20th Century (Az én XX. századom) Ildikó Enyedi’s 1989 film tells the story of identical twin girls separated at birth (with English subtitles) Friday 11 May, 8 pm Sándor Váci The Buda-Pesth Chain Bridge: William Tierney Clark and Széchenyi – filling the gaps An illustrated talk about findings since Sándor’s 2009 talk, and a report on the Buda-Pesth Bridge Archiving Project Friday 18 May, 8pm Lonka Kappanyos and Gábor Halász From Hungary to Oxford: How to Be a Fresher Lonka is an undergraduate reading history at Oriel, and Gábor is a postgraduate in physics at St John’s Friday 25 May, 8 pm ≥ Harris Theatre, Oriel College Filmshow: Álmodozások kora (Age of Illusions) István Szabó’s 1965 tale of the trials facing the young generation that stayed in Hungary after 1956 (with English subtitles) Friday 1 June, 8pm Hugh Torrens Robert Townson, Hungarophile An illustrated talk about this enterprising naturalist whose pioneering Travels in Hungary (1797) is one of the most notable accounts of Hungary by an Englishman.

Friday 8 June, 8pm Robin McConnachie Hungary and the New Europe With the euro potentially on the verge of collapse, what will be Hungary’s place in the new political and economic order emerging from Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin? o www.hungsoc.com

cambridge szeged society programme

Saturday 21 April, 10 am – 1 pm Guildford, Surrey

≥

Hungarian Cultural Association Free Hungarian heritage events: workshops, playroom and library o Maria Chambers Tel: 01483 808 643/ 07843054940 Sunday 22 April, 7 pm ≥ Scala, London 275–277 Pentonville Road, King’s Cross, Greater London N1 9NL Drum & Monkey presents: Bikini

Friday 27 April, 7 pm ≥ ARU Room LAB 027

o www.drumandmonkey.org

Andrew Duff MEP Hungary & the European Union: problems & prospects

Sunday 29 April, 8 pm ≥ Upstairs at The Garage, London 20–22 Highbury Corner N5 1RD

Friday 4 May, 7.45 pm ≥ Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Tumpington Street Cambridge CB2 1RR

Lôrinc Barabás and Mindpilot Random Live

Cambridge Szeged Society presents Cambridge Chamber Ensemble Jill Morton piano, Stephen Foster violin, Charlotte Bonneton violin/viola, Thomas Wraith cello

Sunday May 6, 5.30 pm–10.30 pm ≥ Islington Assembly Hall, Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, London N1 2UD

programme: Beethoven: Piano Trio in E flat Op 1, 1 Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano Matyas Seiber: Sarabande & Gigue in the Old Style Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor Op 60 o Tickets: £10 at the door.

U23s: £5. Booking: 0794 1351111.

Interval refreshments included.

Contact: James Oram, Tresurer, Cambridge Szeged Society. enquiries@jamesoram.com Sunday 8 July Cambridge City Big Day Out Fabri Ivanovics Duo Sunday 15 July Milton Country Park Family Day Out Traditional Hungarian Music on traditional Instruments Sunday 8 July Clare College Summer Garden Party o www.cambridge-szegedsociety.org.uk

o Entry fee: advance £8

Stage in London presents: Hungarian Kulturshock 1 theatre show, 2 concerts Péter Kálloy Molnár, Róbert Hrutka Band and special guest: Palya Bea o www.stageinlondon.co.uk Friday 25 May, 7pm ≥ The Clapham Grand 21–25 St John's Hill, Clapham Junction, London SW11 1TT Londonfalva presents: Ákos Saturday 4 August, 8 pm ≥ 40 Parc Ty Glas Llanishen, Cardiff CF14 5DU The National Eisteddfod of Wales Karl Jenkins – János Arany: The Welsh Bards The Welsh-born Karl Jenkins based his last piece of work on the timeless and universal message of János Arany’s The Welsh Bards. o László Irinyi (CMI Ltd) +36 20 9218870, +36 1 341 3988 email: cmi@cmi.hu • www.cmi.hu www.eisteddfod.org.uk

10 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden London WC2E 7NA Tel: 020 7240 8448 Fax: 020 7240 4847 Message: 020 7240 6162 www.hungary.org.uk