Liszt Academy Concert Magazine 2017/2 by Zeneakadémia

LISZT ACADEMY CONCERT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2017

Dear Music Lovers, Perhaps the most influential figure of 20th-century Hungarian music, the legendary composer, folk music researcher and educator Zoltán Kodály, died 50 years ago, in 1967. The Liszt Academy is actively involved in events arranged for this commemorative year, as you will see in the following pages; Kodály the composer will be even more evident in our concert offerings this autumn. The most gifted of our graduates will perform virtually all Kodály’s chamber works; Háry János is staged in our youth concert series; and our choral concert, held annually on the birthday of Kodály, takes on a special significance this year. But it is not only Kodály who receives a central role in the autumn season: the spotlight is shared by his one-time friend and colleague Béla Bartók. In our 2016 ‘Bartók Year’ we began organizing the Bartók World Competition, and this event is launched in September, having attracted huge international interest. In its debut year the competition is for violinists. There is insufficient space in a welcome such as this to highlight any one artist from the galaxy of Hungarian and international stars – not to mention our own students and teachers – who will be appearing at the Liszt Academy over the course of the season. Rather, let me express my genuine delight that in autumn 2017, the Liszt Academy’s concert programme is moulded around both Bartók and Kodály, these two towering peaks on the Hungarian musical landscape. It is our duty to follow the intellectual example they set and to cherish the unparalleled heritage that has been left to us. Kodály’s words about Debussy could equally be applied to Bartók and to Kodály himself: “His compass points towards a purer art of superior quality. The course on which he set out leads towards freedom and beauty.”

Dr Andrea Vigh President of the Liszt Academy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TWIN STARS

CONCERTS IN SEPTEMBER

CLOSER TO BARTÓK

CONCERTS IN OCTOBER

FROM GENRE TO GENRE, AGE TO AGE INTERVIEW WITH DMITRY SINKOVSKY

GYÖRGY ORBÁN AT 70

THE PORTUGUESE AND THE BRAZILIAN

“RESIDENT” AT THE LISZT ACADEMY

A MULTI-TALENTED CONTEMPORARY

JAZZ, CHANSONS, CLASSICS

PARITY – INTERVIEW WITH SALAMON KAMP AND JÓZSEF EÖTVÖS

CONCERTS IN NOVEMBER

MAGICAL STORYTELLERS

“INQUISITIVENESS KEEPS ONE YOUTHFUL” INTERVIEW WITH JULIAN RACHLIN

CONCERTS IN DECEMBER

FOLKISH … BUT NOT QUITE

THE POLYMATH OF MUSIC

MOSES, LUTHER, ESTERHÁZY – INTERVIEW WITH ZOLTÁN JENEY

80 YEARS OF SINGING

LISZT MUSEUM MATINÉE AND EVENING CONCERTS

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY

SEASCAPE NO. 1 Â© STUART RICHARDSON

Dear Visitors, The Liszt Academy, together with its students – outstanding musicians on the threshold of their careers – regularly seek out the key to musical success: to find out precisely what it is that makes somebody a star, a figure capable of winning over audiences at home and abroad. We listen to young artists playing in concerts here all the time, and when we do so we realize that many of those who have graduated from the Liszt Academy display the very same instrumental expertise and musicality we hear from artists who are already enjoying successful international careers. Yet while the career of one of these young artists might skyrocket heavenwards, that of another may struggle to get off the ground. It is possible to identify several important attributes that differentiate the good from the great, qualities like stage presence, communication skills, a decisive artistic character, and so on. However, there also exists an objective standard: the music competition. Anyone who achieves a placing at a significant international competition almost inevitably finds it easier to launch their career, as their name is now associated with a title, and this serves as a guarantee of quality, not to mention arousing the interest of potential audiences. Today the Liszt Academy enjoys a lofty standing in global music circles as a venue for two important international competitions. We organized the 2nd International Éva Marton Singing Competition in autumn 2016, with great success, and we have every right to assert that this contest invests the winners with a prestigious rank and title. This September the Bartók World Competition gets underway, with the first event being announced for violinists; it will be repeated, we trust, every other year after that in the piano and the string quartet categories, with composition in the intervening years. Both of our competitions have respected international juries and the prize money on offer is in keeping with its objective. It is a matter of great pride that of the over 100 applicants for the qualifiers of the Bartók World Competition, eight current or former students of ours were ultimately accepted. We are really rooting for them to go as far as possible in the four-round competition, each of which features a highly demanding repertoire. It is the task of the organizers to constitute a competition that assists the winners in smoothing the path to the most distinguished concert hall podiums. We look forward to welcoming you to the rounds of the Bartók World Competition and, naturally, to our concerts during the autumn season, where a good few winners of other international competitions will be taking to the stage. András Csonka Programme Director of the Liszt Academy 3

TWIN STARS

BÉLA BARTÓK & ZOLTÁN KODÁLY BIHARFÜRED, WONDER SPRING, 1918 (EXTRACT) 4

On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Zoltán Kodály, Denijs Dille, Belgian biographer of Béla Bartók, attempted to capture the differences and similarities in the personalities and compositional approach of the two composers, as well as explore the nature of their friendship. He found the differences more distinctive than the similarities: Dille characterized Kodály as having a purposeful way of thinking and a great desire to remain firmly within a determined cultural language, showing a tendency towards abstraction, being an open-minded spirit who identified with the nation and one who focused on accomplishment; Bartók, on the other hand, displayed a sensibility, an interest in various cultures, a belief in specifics, a focus not on nation but rather a more human-centric attitude, and a reliance on intuition. In their interpretations, Dille and many Bartók and Kodály themselves, since they, too, emphasized in their writings the differences apparent in their art. Even though they were contemporaries at the Liszt Academy, it was only in 1905, at the salon of Emma Gruber (later to become the wife of Kodály), that the two composers met for the first time. Surviving documents indicate that their meeting was overshadowed by an awkward difference of political opinion. However, the intellectually far more mature – albeit younger – Kodály quickly exercised such a great influence on Bartók, who was even at that time considered the great hope of Hungarian music circles, that the latter soon dropped his chauvinistic views. Nevertheless, a close personal relationship unfolded within the frame of a common interest – the collection of folk music – and the private student of the two musicians, the future Mrs Kodály, played a key role in ensuring the deepening of this personal bond. In many respects, in the area of folk music research just as in composition, Bartók considered Kodály, a humanities graduate of the Eötvös school, his master and a person to look up to. It is a fact that Kodály was far more at ease in the worlds of culture, science, music history and politics, and reflected as an independent thinker on the world around him. From 1906 each began to share insights into their work and way of thinking with one another, and Kodály, who later went on to become a professor of composition, gave advice to his friend on technical issues on several occasions. At their first composers’ recitals (17 and 19 March 1910) both presented their String Quartet No. 1, which indicates that they themselves wanted to develop parallel oeuvres and purposefully set about creating history in music in Hungary as twin stars. Compositions written up to 1923 (the year of the birth of Psalmus Hungaricus and Dance Suite) reveal numerous aesthetic-poetic points of contact: autobiographical aspects dominate in the piano and chamber works of both artists, and we may thus view them as significant diaries of a kind. One personal touch is the third part of Bartók’s Sketches cycle, which he dedicated to Zoltán and Emma on the occasion of their wedding in August 1910. Both composers reacted with a specific depressive tone to the outbreak of the First World War, with slow closing movements dominating Bartók’s works (Suite, Op. 14, String Quartet No. 2) and dark colours of old age

apparent in Kodály’s compositions (songs from Belated Melodies, Op. 6). In both their oeuvres the shaping to music of the female figure in love became a central theme (for Bartók in the Wooden Prince as well as the songs Opus 15 and Opus 16; for Kodály in Sappho’s Love Song). However, the tragic conclusion of the war brought with it a parting of the ways for these two composers: Bartók initially turned to Schoenberg-like Expressionism, then Neoclassicism as hallmarked by Stravinsky, and his art became increasingly recognized globally. By the end of the 1930s, he was considered internationally as the third great composer of Modernism, alongside Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Kodály oriented towards consciously accepted traditionalism, and despite his international success coming somewhat later than that of Bartók, he decided to play an active role in public education in Hungary: his many works for youth, his choral music founded on Hungarian poetry and folk music, and the promotion of his music education methods, as well as the ‘Singing Youth’ movement, were all targeted towards this very purpose. In the background of this parting of ways we can discern the polar opposite responses of Bartók and Kodály to the politics of the day, primarily the trauma of Trianon, which impacted directly – and heavily – on both. The hypersensitive though strongly individualistic Bartók escaped the reality of a fractured Hungary (its denial of turn-of-the-century modernization, the stripping of its identity and leaning towards Nazism) in the direction of the West: his sorrowful confessions on his homeland were played out in the concert halls of the world. The educator Kodály, on the other hand, strove for the creation of a more – in terms of its music and history – culturally united Hungary. He aimed for the formation of a better world through his works, which carried a disguised political message that built on 18th-century Classical and Enlightenment idealism. The common issue of their scientific association, folk music research, suffered as a result of the promulgation of their new disparate ideals, both in their lives and their art: when in 1940 Bartók left Hungary, Kodály considered the folk music systemization he left behind to be inconsistent. In one of his letters to Bartók, it is apparent that they had not discussed the methodology to be used for this systemization of the collection for many years. In the wake of the death of Bartók in September 1945, Kodály – who outlived him by 22 years – felt it vital on several occasions to summarize for posterity his recollections of his relationship with Bartók, to write down how he viewed his good friend, one of the greatest composer geniuses of the 20 th century. In the end, his volumes on Bartók (Bartók and Hungarian Youth, 1946; Bartók the Folklorist, 1950; From Szentirmay to Bartók, 1955) are imbued with the tenderness of their early friendship, a critical, analytical approach both from within and outside of the Bartók oeuvre, as well as a certain level of resignation. And this is not solely the resignation of an old man, but instead a spiritual figure who, having confronted the age in which he lived, perhaps self-critically, too, recognizes the principal virtue of his friend. According to this, Bartók’s oeuvre warns posterity, first and foremost, “that the path to truth lies through indisputable realities, and anyone straying from this path shall be irretrievably lost in the fog of illusions.”

Anna Dalos 5

Concerts organized by Liszt Academy Concert Centre Hosted concert

THURSDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00 SOLTI HALL

TUESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30 GRAND HALL

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL FINAL OF CHAMBER MUSIC

SHENZHEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

PRIMAVERA SHIMA

Classical Jazz Opera World / Folk Junior FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00 SOLTI HALL

MUSICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN KOREA AND HUNGARY Dohnányi: Sonata for Flute and Piano in C-sharp minor, Op. 21 Weiner: Preludium, Nocturne und Scherzo, Op. 7 László Tihanyi: Premiere Jiesun Lim: Premiere

Li-Wei Qin (cello) Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Daye Lin Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 Organizer: Cortina Production

THURSDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30 GRAND HALL

HUNGARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Hwaum Project, Korean Cultural Centre

Primavera Shima (piano) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Conductor: János Kovács

GRAND HALL INGRID KERTESI BEL CANTO RECITAL

Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

Rossini: ‘Giusto ciel’ – Pamira’s Aria from The Siege of Corinth Bellini: ‘Ah! non credea mirarti’ – Amina’s Aria from The Sleepwalker Verdi: ‘Non so le tetre immagini’ – Medora’s Aria from The Corsair Donizetti: ‘Signorina in tanta fretta’ – Duet of Norina and Don Pasquale from Don Pasquale Vivaldi: Sinfonia in G major, RV 149 Donizetti: ‘Prendi per me sei libero’ – Adina’s Aria from The Elixir of Love Donizetti: ‘Cruda, funesta smania’ – Lord Enrico Ashton’s Aria from Lucia di Lammermoor Donizetti: ‘Il pallor funesto, orrendo’ – Duet of Lucia and Enrico from Lucia di Lammermoor Donizetti: ‘Il dolce suono’ – Lucia’s ‘Mad Scene’ Aria from Lucia di Lammermoor

JIESUN LIM

Hosung Chung (cello) Weiner Ensemble

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595 Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 (‘Jupiter’)

SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2017 MONDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2017 TUESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2017

SOLTI HALL BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL PRELIMINARY AND SEMI-FINALS Page 13

Rimsky-Korsakov: Spanish Capriccio, Op. 34 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

Page 13

LI-WEI QIN

CONCERT CHRONOLOGY SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30 GRAND HALL

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL GRAND FINAL Page 13 SUNDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30 GRAND HALL

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL GALA CONCERT Page 14

WEDNESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30

TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30

Ingrid Kertesi, Xénia Sárközi (soprano); Zsolt Haja (baritone) Inventum Dei Quintet Conductor and piano: Janos Acs

GRAND HALL X. ST. GELLERT FESTIVAL Beethoven–Karajan: Anthem of Europe Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Szuffita

Orchestra of the St. Gellert Academy (artistic director: Robert Christian Bachmann) Viktor Vaszy Choir (choirmaster: Sándor Gyüdi) Conductor: Yoon Kuk Lee

FRIDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL TALENT OBLIGES KRISZTIÁN KOCSIS PIANO RECITAL

FRIDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

GRAND HALL MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Khachaturian: Spartacus – Adagio Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor Brahms: Hungarian Dances Mihaela Martin (violin) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Péter Csaba Tickets: HUF 3 500, 4 000, 4 500 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

DÉNES VÁRJON

KRISZTIÁN KOCSIS

Page 14

SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30 SUNDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL CONCERTO BUDAPEST Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 16 in D major, K. 451 Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127 Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D minor Dénes Várjon (piano) Concerto Budapest Conductor: András Keller

Tickets: HUF 3 500 Organizer: Roman Catholic Diocese of Szeged–Csanád WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL KODÁLY 2017 ESZTER KARASSZON & JÚLIA PUSKER: KODÁLY CHAMBER RECITAL Page 15

WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL KOREAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Liszt: Les Préludes Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

Tickets: HUF 2 200, 3 100, 3 900, 4 800, 5 900 Organizer: Concerto Budapest

Christel Lee (violin) Korean Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Chi-Yong Chung

TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC GÓBÉ BAND 10

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Korean Symphony Orchestra, Korean Cultural Centre

Page 14

GÓBÉ BAND

THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30

SOLTI HALL COMPETITION WINNERS MIKHAIL MERING CLARINET RECITAL WINNER OF BÉLA KOVÁCS INTERNATIONAL CLARINET COMPETITION

GRAND HALL CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL ISTVÁN VÁRDAI & SHAI WOSNER CHAMBER RECITAL

Page 15

Page 16

MIKHAIL MERING

SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Page 16

THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.00

GRAND HALL INGRID FUJZKO HEMMING & MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Dvořák: The Noon Witch, Op. 108 Chopin: Etude in A-flat major, Op. 25/1 Chopin: Etude in E major, Op. 10/3 Chopin: Etude in G-flat major, Op. 10/5 Chopin: Etude in C minor, Op. 10/12 (‘Revolutionary’) Liszt: Paganini Etude No. 6 in A minor Liszt: Love Dreams – 3. Oh Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst Liszt: Paganini Etude No. 3 in G-sharp minor (‘La Campanella’) Dvořák: The Water Goblin, Op. 107 Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major Ingrid Fuzjko Hemming (piano) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Mario Košik Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Propart Hungary

INGRID FUZJKO HEMMING

ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK Dohnányi: Symphonic Minutes, Op. 36 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.1 in C major, Op. 15 Brahms: Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op. 68 Apor Szüts (piano) Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: Gábor Hollerung Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

CLOSER TO BARTÓK The Liszt Academy announced the Bartók World Competition and Festival in December 2016, the live rounds of which are to be held in the period 10–17 September 2017. By the 26 March deadline, 106 artists had registered for the competition bearing the name of the universally acknowledged Hungarian composer. This first competition is open to violinists. Of the entrants, 65 received the opportunity to perform live in front of a jury.

Violinists under the age of 30 were eligible to apply for this international contest, with prize money totalling more than €40,000, by uploading three videos demonstrating selected pieces of set works by Bach, Paganini and Bartók. The three-member jury carrying out the preliminary selection of entries – Vilmos Szabadi, Géza Kapás and Péter Kováts, all professors at the Liszt Academy – chose 45 female and 20 male competitors to go forward to take part in the four-round contest. “To our surprise, we had several entries from young artists who had previously won first places at various major international competitions. We were delighted to receive many extremely high quality Bartók interpretations, and what is more, from both Hungarian and foreign candidates alike. It was evident from the provisional voting criteria that around 25 applicants stood head and shoulders above the others, although I reckon that in the time left before September this could change a great deal,” says Vilmos Szabadi, who will also be sitting on the jury in the autumn. On the Hungarian side, Barnabás Kelemen, violinist, and Tibor Tallián, music historian, Bartók researcher and Liszt Academy professor emeritus, also play a role in selecting the final winner. These experts are joined on the jury by superb foreign violinists and professors such as Salvatore Accardo, Qian Zhou, Ivan Ženatý, Krzysztof Węgrzyn, Joel Smirnoff and Takashi Shimizu. In the wake of the record number of applicants it is not so surprising to find that 56 confirmed their participation in the competition, including eight Hungarians. Among these is a violinist holding American-Hungarian citizenship and another who has lived overseas for years. “I have been studying abroad for many years, which is why I thought I simply couldn’t miss the Bartók competition being organized in Budapest! I’m delighted to have this opportunity,” one of the entrants relates, adding that it is really about proving oneself. “With the right attitude, one can learn a huge amount from such a competition. In addition, this is a meeting point for us, because contestants will be arriving from all over the world, each coming with different experiences and approaches. I feel very close to the world of Bartók, and as a Hungarian it is with great pride that I play his works,” the entrant adds. For another competitor who recently graduated from the Liszt Academy, there was no question about completing the entry form, since many others around him were inspired to apply by the mere fact that Budapest is the location for this challenge. The competition is seen as an excellent chance to test oneself; it acts as a springboard for further opportunities, not to mention the fact that it is a good occasion to enhance the repertoire with new works: “I was very pleased to finally learn the Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, which I had been planning to do for 5 or 6 years, since I consider it one of Bartók’s finest pieces, but I never got round to it because of its complexity. I’ve been working on Bartók, who became one of my favourite composers through the influence of Zoltán Kocsis, since I was 14 or 15. I view him as one of only few composers who perfected every single one of his works. I consider his oeuvre to be remarkable also from the aspect

TRANSYLVANIA © ÁBEL SZALONTAI

that his style is unique, yet the Beethoven-Brahms tradition is still perceptible in it, not to mention the influences of Debussy, the treasury of Hungarian folk songs, even the Schoenberg school and Stravinsky.” When compiling the competition material the critical aspect was, naturally, to give the leading place to the music of Bartók. Competitors prepare for the qualifying round with an 18-minute programme, including Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 or No. 2 and at least one Bach solo movement. Those making it through to the semi-finals can choose from three options: Bartók’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, or the Solo Violin Sonata, or a movement from the composer’s four sonatas, a virtuoso work and a sonata movement of the given Classical-Romantic repertoire. Six competitors will find themselves in the chamber orchestra final, when they will have to perform a Mozart violin concerto accompanied by the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra under the guidance of Gergely Ménesi. Only those competitors making it into the medallist spots have the chance to play in the grand orchestra final, partnered by the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with János Kovács: besides two violin concertos of Bartók, they can select from three concertos in D major, classics by Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. For foreign competitors the large number of Hungarian works perhaps represents the main challenge, whereas for Hungarians it is rather that in the qualifiers there is extremely little time in which to offer a production sufficiently effective to take them forward to the next round. “It is interesting that as far as I am concerned, I have been able to put together my programme so that besides the compulsory Bach and Mozart works, I just play Bartók,” says one, while another entrant mentions the broad scope of the material required in the competition. “In addition to the compulsory Bartók compositions, there are the hardest and most beautiful works for the violin, for example, pieces by Mozart, Bach and Paganini. As to the preparations, it requires astonishing energy, receptivity and control in order to be able to handle this quantity of material.” During the live rounds of the competition, which are sponsored by the Ministry of Human Capacities, the public have the opportunity of acquainting themselves with representatives of 16 countries, 23 nations and 42 cities. Those who are interested can come closer to the music of Bartók not only through the presentations by competitors, but also at the open day (9 September), which features a wide range of programmes, as well as the two-day scientific conference (14–15 September) organized by the Bartók Archive, which operates within the Institute of Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Zsuzsanna Könyves-Tóth

SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER, 11.00–20.00

LISZT FERENC SQUARE

THURSDAY 14 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL FINAL

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL PRELIMINARY & SEMI-FINALS

Mozart’s violin concertos

SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER, 14.00; 18.30 MONDAY 11 SEPTEMBER, 14.00; 18.30 TUESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER, 14.00; 18.30

In autumn 2017 the Liszt Academy organizes the first international competition for young violinists that focuses on the works of Béla Bartók. On the opening day, alongside the draw to decide the order of appearance of competitors in the qualifying round, children between the ages of six and ten are welcome to join an unconven tional Liszt Kidz Academy arranged on Liszt Ferenc Square and in the 110-year-old palace of music itself. All are welcome to register for the Bartók’s Budapest sightseeing tour, at the conclusion of which visitors have the chance to meet the competitors themselves. Following the draw, musicians from the Special School for Young Talents at the Liszt Academy, the Chamber Music Department and the Folk Music Department perform a series of mini-concerts. The qualifying round is staged over the next two days; contestants have put together their programmes from movements from Bartók’s rhapsodies and J. S. Bach’s solo sonatas and suites. Only twelve will make it through to the semi-finals, when audiences can enjoy the finest pieces written for violin. Prior to the start of these rounds, for which admission is free, audiences can also sit in on lectures given by musicologists examining the violin works of Bartók. Free admission to qualifying and semi-final rounds. Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Gergely Ménesi

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL GRAND FINAL Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Conductor: János Kovács

The six best competitors make it through to the final of the Bartók World Competition and Festival, the programme for which is now drawn exclusively from Mozart’s violin concertos. Mozart held a central position in the musical universe of Bartók. In an instructive publication, he released sheet music of Mozart sonatas, and as a performer he also regularly engaged with the composer: he was equally happy playing his solo pieces as chamber works or concertos, and it is not surprising that his legendary farewell concert in 1940 featured a Mozart double piano concerto, which he performed in partnership with his wife, Ditta Pásztory. “Through Bartók, we discover a totally new Mozart, the real one,” wrote Júlia Székely, a student of Bartók, continuing: “hard, verging on knocking fortes, pianos, which were far from refined but sounded in a unified tone, clear, closed articulation. No mannerisms, no theatricalities, absolutely no virtuoso exhibitionism.” Of course, Bartók’s image of Mozart should not necessarily influence the competitors, but one thing is certain: the world of Mozart violin concertos repre sents perhaps the most sensitive area in the entire repertoire of the instrument. Anyone who avoids meeting his or her Waterloo in these works in competition is destined for a career as a musician.

The competition programme for the Grand Final features two violin concertos by Bartók, in addition to violin works by Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky: podium-placed competitors have to choose from among these pieces. Of course, as Concert Magazine goes to press there is no way of knowing who the lucky ones – or rather we should say, best ones – will be performing in the company of the Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by János Kovács, and given the opportunity to display what they are able to do with a concerto requiring a full symphony orchestra. Nonetheless, what we can say with some confidence is that, at this exalted level, there will be no great differences in the superb quality of violin play between competitors and that we will be able to bask in the skills of truly mature artists. The concertos in the programme of the final set the bar very high; after all, the world premiere in Amsterdam in 1939 of Bartók’s ‘great’ violin concerto was performed by Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Willem Mengelberg and accom panied by Zoltán Székely, a close friend of Bartók, his regular chamber partner and perhaps the most significant representative of the authentic Bartók style of violin playing.

Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 900, 1 200, 1 700, 2 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 13

SUNDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

FRIDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC GÓBÉ BAND 10

BARTÓK WORLD COMPETITION & FESTIVAL GALA CONCERT Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Conductor: János Kovács The most memorable moments of music competitions are often associated with the gala concerts. After months of prepar ation, and after all the stresses of the various rounds and the final, young artists can finally play without constraint. And this is clearly apparent: the performance of a given work is frequently far more successful at the gala concert than in the earlier rounds or even in the final. Just as in the final, medal-winners are accompanied by the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra led by Kossuth Prize laureate János Kovács. For many years, János Kovács did not even dare touch Bartók because as he put it once in an interview: “… my teacher, Albert Simon, approached the works of Bartók from a height that I was unable to emulate for a long time.” Today, Kovács ranks as one of the finest Bartók conductors, and about whom Zoltán Kocsis always spoke with the greatest respect. Tickets: HUF 1 100, 1 600, 2 200, 2 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 14

TALENT OBLIGES KRISZTIÁN KOCSIS PIANO RECITAL Liszt: Impromptu Brahms: Variations on a Paganini Theme, Op. 35 Liszt: Réminiscences de Don Juan Liszt: Ave Maria – The Bells of Rome Schumann: Toccata in C major, Op. 7 Schumann: Carnival, Op. 9 Krisztián Kocsis (piano) Krisztián Kocsis is one of the most promising talents of the generation of young artists, and this programme could justifiably be billed as his calling card: a broad-minded, profound musical personality who seeks challenges and values quality, and who rejects the option of cheap success. He started studying at the Liszt Academy in 2015; a year later he was accepted into the composition department, and in the same year he was the only Hungarian competitor among the six making it through to the final of the Liszt Ferenc International Piano Competition. His performance was rewarded with seven special prizes, including numerous invitations to give concerts. Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: E.ON Hungary

Góbé Band: Ádám Kiss-B. (violin, viola); Máté Vizeli (violin, violas, guitar, cobza); Mátyás Egervári (cimbalom, bagpipes, recorders, tambura, percussion); Imre Csasznyi (tambura, viola); Márton Timár (double bass), Áron Czupi (percussion) Góbé Band celebrate the 10th anniver sary of their formation this autumn. The members met while at secondary school and went on to establish their own ensemble, almost immediately planting themselves firmly in the underground folk music scene in Budapest. All of them later pursued classical and folk music studies at the Liszt Academy, so they are as comfor table with the arrangements of Bartók as the world of authentic folk songs. In the past decade they have appeared at numerous venues, from dance houses and Szimpla Kert to the concert hall of Müpa Budapest, not to mention enthu siastic performances at folk music and pop festivals. So far they have released two albums, featuring traditional folk music alongside their own creations. Their goal is to bring folk music back into fashion by striking out from the pigeonholes of style and category. Band member Ádám Kiss-B. perhaps best summed up the essence of Góbé Band in a recent quote: “This is the sort of music we most wanted to hear. And because such music didn’t exist, we made it ourselves.” Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

KODÁLY 2017 ESZTER KARASSZON & JÚLIA PUSKER CHAMBER RECITAL Zoltán Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 Cello Sonata, Op. 8 Adagio Eszter Karasszon (cello) Júlia Pusker (violin)

ESZTER KARASSZON & JÚLIA PUSKER © LISZT ACADEMY / GÁBOR VALUSKA

The Liszt Academy commemorates the 135th anniversary of the birth and the 50th anniversary of the death of Zoltán Kodály with a concert series comme morating the epoch-making folk music researcher, composer, teacher and musicologist. The programme features emblematic works of his string chamber music with pieces representing the peak of instrumental performance: Duo (1914), Sonata for solo cello from the following year, and the rarely performed Adagio. After graduating from the Liszt Academy, Júlia Pusker studied under György Pauk at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Over the years she has perfor med with virtually all leading Hungarian orchestras. Eszter Karasszon has given concerts all over Europe. She studied under Csaba Onczay at the Liszt Academy and went on to perfect her skills with the help of the world-renowned János Starker. One year before being awarded her diploma from the Liszt Academy, Karasszon won first prize at the Dávid Popper International Cello Competition. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

COMPETITION WINNERS MIKHAIL MERING CLARINET RECITAL WINNER OF THE BÉLA KOVÁCS INTERNATIONAL CLARINET COMPETITION Widor: Introduction and Rondo, Op. 72 Tchaikovsky–Alexandre Chabod: Nutcracker Fantasy Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E-flat major, Op.167 Béla Kovács: Hommage à Strauss Sukhikh: Three sketches for clarinet solo (Premiere) Weinberg: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 28 Béla Kovács: After You, Mr. Gershwin Mikhail Mering (clarinet) Éva Szalai (piano) In 2015, after a hiatus of 45 years, an international clarinet competition was organized in Hungary in honour of the four decades of educational work at the Liszt Academy by legendary Kossuth Prize-winner artist Béla Kovács. Two fantastic musicians shared first prize and the special prize offered by the Liszt Academy, and one of these appears on stage here. Mikhail Mering was born in 1991, and recently has been taken on as solo clarinettist with distinguished ensembles. In 2011 he came out top at a woodwind competition arranged in Moscow, and three years later he came third at the Jacques Lancelot Internati– onal Clarinet Compet ition in Japan. The extremely talented young artist will demostrate an exciting and colourful collection from the well-known and the less well-known works from the clarinet literature. Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 15

FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER, 19.30

SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL ISTVÁN VÁRDAI & SHAI WOSNER CHAMBER RECITAL Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5 in D major, Op. 102/2 Kodály: Sonatina Janáček: Pohádka Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 István Várdai (cello) Shai Wosner (piano)

SHAI WOSNER © MARCO BORGGREVE

The cello and the piano: one the instru ment most beautifully evoking the human voice, the other the mechanical pride of instrument development over the centuries – and when combined perhaps the most popular pairing in chamber music. Equally exquisite is the pairing of István Várdai of Hungary and Shai Wosner from Israel: two youthful instrumentalists – who long ago surpassed the station of ‘great promise’ – play as one in this refined and carefully chosen programme. In addition to core works by Beethoven and Brahms of utmost relevance in this type of programme, there is also room for three chamber works of the 1910s and ‘20s that have become classics in their own right. Debussy’s late (1915) cello-piano sonata recalls the charac teristic figures of commedia dell’arte, while Janáček’s Pohádka (‘Fairy Tale’) recounts in three movements the heroic story of the deeds of Tsar Berendyey. Zoltán Kodály composed his singlemovement Sonatina in 1910; the piece is characterized both by Hungarian folk music and modern French music, the influence of Debussy being particularly prominent. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 3 100, 4 300, 5 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Elgar: Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20 Tamás Beischer-Matyó: Time’s All-Severing Wave – concerto for viola and string orchestra Britten: Variations on a Frank Bridge Theme, Op. 10 Péter Bársony (viola) Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: László G. Horváth) Conductor: Balázs Horváth Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra was formed in 2010 from students of the Liszt Academy. Since then they have appeared at many venues, including Vienna’s Musikverein and the Berlin Philharmonic. They are holders of numerous international prizes and their first independent record, featuring works by Mozart, was released by Hungaroton. Their repertoire is extremely varied, spanning the range from Baroque to contemporary. They consider it their mission to perform and present works by contemporary Hungarian compo sers and frequently showcase comp letely new works written specifically for them. This concert has works by two English composers and a world premiere: the unveiling of Tamás Beischer-Matyó’s viola concerto, with solo by Péter Bársony, winner of the Liszt Prize and teacher at the Liszt Academy. Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

CONCERT CHRONOLOGY OCTOBER Concerts organized by Liszt Academy Concert Centre Hosted concert Classical Jazz Opera World / Folk Junior

WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL ERIKA MIKLÓSA & FRANZ LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

GRAND HALL GYÖRGY ORBÁN 70

Lutosławski: Overture for Strings Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 (arrangement for string orchestra) Händel: Il delirio amoroso – Cantata, HWV 99

SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00 TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

Erika Miklósa (soprano) Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (concertmaster: Péter Tfirst)

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SOLTI HALL CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL GEORGIA BOTTOMS Page 26

SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA CREATIVE FIRE

Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 200, 5 500, 6 900 Organizer: Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

Haydn: The Creation, Hob. XXI:2

GRAND HALL MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Danubia Orchestra Óbuda

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Beethoven: King Stephen, Op. 117 – Overture Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3. in C minor, Op. 37 Bartók: Concerto, BB 123

SALVATORE ACCARDO

Mária Celeng (soprano); Gyula Rab (tenor); Krisztián Cser (bass) Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos) Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Tamás Vásáry

GRAND HALL FOUR BY FOUR PLUS ONE QUARTETTO ACCARDO

Dénes Várjon (piano) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Péter Csaba TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

MONDAY 2 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

Tickets: HUF 3 500, 4 000, 4 500 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

GRAND HALL JAZZ IT! SNÉTBERGER TRIO: TITOK (SECRET) RECORD RELEASE CONCERT

FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL KRISTÓF BARÁTI & GUESTS

ANDERS JORMIN

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Ysaÿe: Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 27/2 Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66 Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola, K. 423 Chausson: Piano Quartet in A major, Op. 30 Kristóf Baráti (violin) Maxim Rysanov (viola) Pieter Wispelwey (cello) Enrico Pace (piano)

GRAND HALL CONCERT OF KÓTA & HUNGARIAN KODÁLY SOCIETY MESSAGES OF THE AGES IN ZOLTÁN KODÁLY’S CHORAL WORKS Cantemus Mixed Voice Choir, Nyíregyháza (choirmaster: Soma Szabó) Prelude Choir (choirmaster: Sándor Kabdebó) Gödöllő Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Gábor Horváth Organizers: Association of Hungarian Choirs, Orchestras and Folk Ensembles (KÓTA), Hungarian Kodály Society

TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL BACH FOREVER DMITRY SINKOVSKY & AURA MUSICALE

Tickets: HUF 3 900, 4 900, 5 900 Organizer: Philharmonia Hungary

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WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL COMPETITION WINNERS KÁLLAI QUARTET WINNER OF THE LEÓ WEINER NATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION

GRAND HALL CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL KÁLMÁN OLÁH KODÁLY IMPRESSIONS

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Ágnes Herczku (voice); Csaba Klenyán (clarinet); Kálmán Oláh (piano) Oláh Kálmán Sextet: Kálmán Oláh (piano); Mihály Borbély, Kristóf Bacsó (saxophone); Ferenc Schreck (trombone); József Barcza Horváth (double bass); Elemér Balázs (drums)

WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL HUNGARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Ludwig van Beethoven: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Op. 112 Choral Fantasy, Op. 80 Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 (‘Pastorale’)

GRAND HALL CONCERTO BUDAPEST Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44 Schubert: Symphony No. 9. in C major, D. 944 (‘The Great’) Boris Berezovsky (piano) Concerto Budapest Conductor: András Keller Tickets: HUF 2 700, 3 600, 4 400, 5 300, 6 400 Organizer: Concerto Budapest

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 200, 2 500 Organizer: CAFe Budapest FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL KAM-PORAT TRIO

Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Zoltán Pad) Conductor: Tamás Vásáry

BORIS BEREZOVSKY

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SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017, 11.00

Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 300, 5 500, 6 500 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN

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SHARON KAM

THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

SOLTI HALL CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN – QUADRIVIUM FAR INTO THE STARS – RECORD RELEASE CONCERT

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2017, 15.30

GRAND HALL ZUGLÓ PHILHARMONICS BUDAPEST Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Op. 8/1–4 Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings, Op. 48 Áron Dóczi (violin) Zugló Philharmonics Budapest Tickets: HUF 2 300, 2 500, 2 900 Organizer: Zugló Philharmonics Budapest SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL ON THE SPOT – THE CELLO Page 29 18

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30 SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

SOLTI HALL LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY– HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS THE WATER NYMPH FOR 10-15-YEAR-OLDS Page 29 SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017, 17.00

SOLTI HALL IMRE UNGÁR MEMORIAL CONCERT Page 29

MONDAY 16 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL NIKOLETTA SZŐKE, JÓZSEF BALOG & JAZZICAL TRIO Nikoletta Szőke (vocals) József Balog (piano) Jazzical Trio: Norbert Káel (piano) Krisztián Lakatos Pecek (double bass) András Lakatos Pecek (drums) Organizer: CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival

MONDAY 16 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

GRAND HALL MVM CONCERTS – THE PIANO EVGENI KOROLIOV PIANO RECITAL BACH SERIES 3

SOLTI HALL KONZI CONCERTS CONCERT BY THE KONZI JAZZ DEPARTMENT

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TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

EGBERTO GISMONTI

SOLTI HALL CONCERT BY KEYBOARD STUDENTS OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL/1 1910–1920

WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

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GRAND HALL AT HOME IN THE LISZT ACADEMY LILLA HORTI & KELEMEN QUARTET Page 35

LILLA HORTI

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THURSDAY 19 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS PÉTER NAGY PIANO RECITAL Page 32

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL JAZZ IT! MOMENT’S NOTICE TRIO Page 34

SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA PINCHAS STEINBERG & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

GRAND HALL ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE JÖRG WIDMANN & FRANZ LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Page 38

FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL TALENT OBLIGES ORIGIN GWENDOLYN MASIN & HER STUDENTS Page 42 FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK

GRAND HALL KODÁLY 2017 JUDIT RAJK & BUDAPEST STRING ORCHESTRA

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THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Rossini: William Tell – Overture Bruckner: Symphony No. 6. in A major Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: Tibor Bogányi

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL CONCERT BY KEYBOARD STUDENTS OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL/2 FOLK MUSIC INSPIRATIONS

Tickets: HUF 3 000, 3 500, 4 000 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

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SOLTI HALL RICHARD GALLIANO & MIHÁLY DEMENIV

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA GOLDEN AGE Debussy: Afternoon of a Faun Stravinsky: Orpheus Sibelius: Four Legends, Op. 22 Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Máté Hámori

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

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MIHÁLY DEMENIV

TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL JAZZ IT! MARIA JOÃO & EGBERTO GISMONTI

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Danubia Orchestra Óbuda 19

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

György Orbán: Rorate coeli

ST. THERESA OF AVILA CHURCH CONCERT BY KEYBOARD STUDENTS OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL/3 HOMMAGE À REGER & LIGETI

Cantemus Mixed Voice Choir Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Introduction and Conductor: Gábor Hollerung

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SOLTI HALL CHAMBER MUSIC, SO CLOSE CALEFAX REED QUINTET FAIRY TALES PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI

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SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2017, 19.45 SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2017, 15.30

GRAND HALL BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA Mozart: Symphony in F major, K. Anh. 223/19a Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 11. in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138 Haydn: Symphony No. 96 in D major, Hob. I:96 (‘The Miracle’) Piotr Anderszewski (piano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy Tickets: HUF 2 700, 3 700, 4 600, 6 600, 11 000 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2017, 11.00

GRAND HALL UNDERSTANDABLE MUSIC DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK THE HARMONY OF OPPOSITES 20

MONDAY 30 OCTOBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL BUDAPEST GYPSY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & GUESTS HOMMAGE À KODÁLY Anita Masa (mezzo-soprano) Apolka Bonnyai (piano); Ernő Kállai (violin); Dániel Ali Lugosi (clarinet) Kállai Quartet: Ernő Kállai, Géza Szajkó (violin); Kálmán Dráfi (viola); István Balázs (cello) Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra Host: Tóth Géza Artistic director: Nándor Beke Farkas Tickets: HUF 5 900, 7 900, 9 900, 14 900 Organizer: Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL CONCERTO ARMONICO BUDAPEST Page 44

ENTRY IN THE GUEST BOOK OF LISZT ACADEMY AMY NORRINGTON & PEKKA KUUSISTO (18 MARCH 2017) 21

MONDAY 2 OCTOBER, 19.30

TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

JAZZ IT! SNÉTBERGER TRIO TITOK (‘SECRET’) – RECORD RELEASE CONCERT Ferenc Snétberger (acoustic guitar); Anders Jormin (bass); Ferenc Németh (drums)

FERENC SNÉTBERGER & ANDERS JORMIN © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA

Ferenc Snétberger is a Kossuth and Liszt Prize-winning guitarist and founder of the Snétberger Music Talent Centre, which provides disadvantaged children with music teaching programmes. His music has deep and wide roots, organically combining Roma and Latin American traditions, with jazz and classical music influences. The album Titok, recorded in Oslo in 2015 and released in April 2017 by prestigious record label ECM, makes this imperative for diversity even clearer given that the other two members of the trio are Anders Jormin, Swedish bass player (and master of improvisation teaching, as well as being an expert on Cuban and Mozambique folk music), and American drummer legend Joey Baron. Despite – or perhaps because of – their disparate musical backgrounds, the three artists play in perfect harmony. The emphasis in their new release is on melodic improvisation. The audience can hear a sung dialogue between guitar and bass, to which the drums add a sensitive rhythmic background. For this concert at the Liszt Academy, Snétberger and Jormin are joined by none other than New York resident Ferenc Németh on drums. Tickets: HUF 4 800, 5 400, 6 500, 7 900, 8 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

BACH FOREVER DMITRY SINKOVSKY & AURA MUSICALE Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052R Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 Der zufriedengestellte Aeolus – cantata, BWV 205 Dmitry Sinkovsky (violin) Verena Fischer (flute) Pallas: Theodora Raftis (soprano) Pomona: Lúcia Medgyesi-Schwartz (alto) Zephyrus: Dávid Szigetvári (tenor) Aeolus: Dominik Wörner (bass) Aura Musicale (artistic director: Balázs Máté) New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir (choirmaster: László Norbert Nemes) Violinist, conductor, singer – Dmitry Sinkovsky is a multifaceted musician in the strictest sense of the term. A specialist in Baroque music, Sinkovsky has a cabinet full of glittering interna tional competition trophies. He is a true virtuoso, a person with genuine magical podium presence, and someone who regular appears with star ensem bles such as Concerto Köln and Il Giardino Armonico. For this concert Sinkovsky plays a special selection of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, in the company of Budapest’s Aura Musicale (headed by Balázs Máté), and the New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir, who have extremely close connections with the Liszt Academy. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 3 100, 4 300, 5 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

FROM GENRE TO GENRE, AGE TO AGE Violinist, countertenor, conductor. Dmitry Sinkovsky is one of the most exciting musicians of our day. Although most at home in the Baroque, he actually plays the entire Classical-Romantic repertoire. Irrespective of period or genre, he performs with astonishing vigour and affirmation of life flowing from his music-making. The audience of the Liszt Academy had the chance to experience for themselves the magic of this artist when he accompanied Julia Leznyeva at the head of his ensemble, La Voce Strumentale, last year. This time we can enjoy him as partner of Aura Musicale, led by Balázs Máté.

Your career is far from ordinary, yet it started out this way. My background might be considered traditional – my violin studies in Moscow followed a well-worn path – but later I took a few decisions that cannot be considered typical: I went to study Baroque music and performing methods, then after a time I started to sing professionally, while now I am taking a course as a conductor at the university of Zagreb. Naturally, as a practicing musician I know a lot about conducting, but it does not hurt to sit down and study the technique of conducting, the movements and the communication mechanism. You were twenty-four and helping out a professional singer at a rehearsal when you were asked to sing yourself the next day. Was this a revelation or did you know you were a good singer? Earlier I had sung in a chorus and had always dreamt of a singing career, but this was a genuine shock for me. That evening I really ruined my voice singing, I was so nervous, but then everything turned out fine and I had a lot of luck with my teachers in later years. Today I even sing lead roles in operas. Not long ago I sang the title part in Händel’s Lucius Cornelius Silla at the Händel festival in Göttingen, and next year I will be singing the same role at the Ludwigsburg and Potsdam festivals. What did you learn from your former teachers, the countertenor Michael Chance and the violinist Marie Leonhardt, wife of Gustav Leonhardt? Naturally, from Michael Chance early English music literature, the music of Dowland and Purcell, and correct English pronunciation. He was of enormous help in shaping my English repertoire. As for Marie Leonhardt, she introduced me to the world of Baroque at the beginning of my career. She was not so much a teacher as a guide. We went to galleries and talked about architecture and ornamentation. This was also extremely important: to come to know the general art of the age whose music I play. How far do you consider yourself to be a Baroque violinist? This is how I was introduced to the market and this decisively defines what people think of me. But I do not consider myself to be a typical Baroque violinist. I played a Shostakovich violin concerto at my diploma concert [...] We are soon to record an album of violin concertos by Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart. Of course, Baroque music is a great love, but I have other loves, too.

In what ways does the Baroque performance mode differ from other periods? Baroque is a language; indeed, I could say it is a philosophy. Many ask me for the secret, the recipe to Baroque performance. There is none. It is a language that must be learnt in just the same way as a spoken language. If a person really wants to acquire a language, then they must understand the habits, humour, literature and art of the given language area [...] in other words, it is not just about how to play trills in the Baroque repertoire. As far as you are concerned, what is the essence of historically informed play? I mentioned that Baroque is a musical language. It has grammar, articulation. And then there are the affects: happiness, sorrow, pain, joy, and so on. But it is extremely important to be pragmatic; Baroque is extremely structured, highly regulated and rich in form, yet it must still be played as the piece requires. Anyway, it is not as though only one type of Baroque exists: the dialects differ, and a person doesn’t play Bach in the same manner as Corelli or Purcell. Baroque is a bit like saying “Europe”. What exactly does “Europe” mean? Moscow, Lisbon, Dublin or Helsinki? You play on a 17th-century Cremona Ruggieri violin, although it has been restored and modernized on several occasions. Which part is still original? Its soul! Just imagine, it was made before Bach had even been born! It is in perfect condition. You are right, though, it was restored in the 19th century, and they changed the neck. I’m delighted with it because I am able to use it to play later Classical and Romantic works. Even though certain things are far harder to play on gut strings because they are far more sensitive to humidity. Every string is made by hand. I request 20–30 strings from my Italian supplier, from whom I have been putting in orders for many years, and those that are no good – for instance, the animal from which the string was made was not in a healthy condition – I send back and he replaces them. This is a very tricky matter because, for instance, if the E string does not match the A string, then the sound is damaged. Metal strings are always the same; gut strings are an eternal challenge requiring constant finetuning and adjustment. But the fact is that metal strings only came in in the 1920s, so up until that time everybody played on gut strings. I only switch to metal strings if I play with a grand orchestra. Judit Rácz

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SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GYÖRGY ORBÁN 70 György Orbán: Book of lockets Cantico di Frate Sole Timor et tremor Veni creator spiritus Feuilles d’Album (Razumovsky Trilogy/2) Rorate coeli Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble (choirmaster: Katalin Kiss) Featuring: Éva Madarász (piano) Alma Mater Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos) Nyíregyháza Cantemus Mixed Choir (choirmaster: Soma Szabó) Budapest Academic Choral Society (choirmaster: Csaba Tőri) Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: Gábor Hollerung, Gábor Werner György Orbán, one of this country’s most incisive contemporary composers, celebrates his 70th birthday this year. He is the leading Hungarian represen tative of an easy-listening style that draws on music’s past traditions rather than the avant-garde. He shaped his own musical language by being receptive to the greatest inspirational influences; as a result, his works are extremely popular among a wide segment of the listening public. Although his oeuvre has spanned a broad range of genres and performance modes – his name is associated with many film and stage soundtracks – Orbán’s is principally known for his oratorio and choral works. Tickets: HUF 1 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 26

SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER, 19.00 TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL GEORGIA BOTTOMS Gregory Vajda–Mark Childress: Georgia Bottoms – Comic opera about the modern South Libretto: Mark Childress and Gregory Vajda Georgia Bottoms: Rebecca Nelsen (soprano) Nathan: Keith Browning (baritone) Krystal Lambert: Andrea Meláth (mezzosoprano) Little Mama: Katalin Károlyi (mezzosoprano) Costume and stage designer: Lili Izsák Choreographer: Dóra Barta Organizer: András Almási-Tóth UMZE Chamber Ensemble Conductor: Gregory Vajda Gregory Vajda’s comic opera, which premiered in the United States in 2015, is presented here as part of the CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival. At the focal point is our heroine, who attempts to sustain herself and her family with the ‘gifts’ given to her by wealthier admirers. Her complicated life, her disintegrating family and her dark secret hold the audience spell bound right from the very first minute. The performance (in English) is conducted by the composer himself, whose works have, through their unique sound based on variable tones and unusual effects, stirred up ever more attention worldwide in the last few decades. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizers: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival

FOUR BY FOUR PLUS ONE QUARTETTO ACCARDO Boccherini: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 33/5 Respighi: Il Tramonto Wolf: Italian Serenade Verdi: String Quartet in E minor Eszter Sümegi (soprano) Quartetto Accardo: Salvatore Accardo, Laura Gorna (violin); Francesco Fiore (viola); Cecilia Radic (cello) Salvatore Accardo burst onto the music scene with his performance of Paganini’s Capricci at the age of 13, and he has remained a permanent figure in Italian and international music circles for over six decades. Spurred by a deep-seated dedication to chamber music, he founded his own string quartet, Quartetto Accardo, in 1992. For this concert the quartet will perform one work each by Italian composer geniuses Boccherini, Verdi and Respighi. Boccherini’s quartet is followed by Respighi’s Il Tramonto, a tale of the meeting and separation of lovers. Soprano Eszter Sümegi, holder of the Hungarian Meritorious Artist award, interprets the solo part of this chamber work, which lays bare the emotional power of operas. The concert winds up with Verdi’s unique String Quartet in E minor. Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

GYÖRGY ORBÁN AT 70 Cluj-Napoca, autumn 1989. A 14-yearold scruffy urchin is sitting with his teacher in a music theory class. “Please Miss, I’d like to be a composer! Whatever it takes. I’m moving to Budapest with my family soon. What should I do? Who will teach me?” The elderly lady – Piroska Demény, renowned folk music researcher, music teacher, and one of the finest minds with the broadest cultural learning in Transylvania – replied thus: “Now my boy, there is a former student of mine who lives in Budapest. He is a brilliant composer called György Orbán. Once you have arrived, go and see him. Tell him I sent you and that you want to be a composer. He’ll teach you.”

GYÖRGY ORBÁN

Dear Gyuri, Well, four years later, just before the entrance exam to the Liszt Academy, I really did go to see you, just as my music teacher Piroska suggested; but beside the immediate – and, I feel, mutual – affinity there was another by no means insignificant deus ex machina required in order for the elderly lady’s prophesy to come true: Two great minds of the composition department had quarrelled so much over some sonata rondo at the year-end exams that one immediately quit his post as tutor and walked out of the Academy. So, this is exactly the moment you were able to begin teaching composition as a major subject, and because of this I managed to get into your class, alongside Tamás Beischer-Matyó, Dániel Csengery and Tiborc Jobbágy. Despite the aforementioned affinity and the adored music composition classes, it still took me a long time to realize who exactly my master was (perhaps because, with an excess of modesty, you never presented your own works in these classes). This had to wait until December 1996, when the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mátyás Antal presented your oratorio Rorate Coeli at the Liszt Academy. It is a breathtaking work of astonishing power, characterized by a most superior handling of the material and indomitable counterpoint skill (your teachers at the conservatory in Cluj-Napoca were Mihály Eisikovits and Sigismund Toduţă), which primarily appear in huge choral tableaux (for example, the 16-part choral canon No. 6); in addition to this there is a French-like lightness around the entire massive work, reminiscent of Honegger. The experience was so transformational that for months afterwards I couldn’t stop listening to the work on a pirate recording obtained through dubious sources. It held me completely spellbound. I came into contact with your choral works in a similarly profound way only at the end of my studies at the Liszt Academy, when somebody conducted your work Daemon Irrepit Callidus for women’s choir, which had garnered huge acclaim abroad as well, during a choir-conducting diploma exam. I nearly broke into a dance on hearing it. Although in it one can clearly sense its classical roots (Kodály), as well as various contemporary, jazz and film music influences, it all combines to create an inimitable, truly unique alloy, and this is equally true of your other approximately 140 (!) choral pieces: an Orbán choral work can instantly be picked out from a thousand others. As a result of the impact Daemon had on me, I started studying these works, and I rapidly became convinced that in György Orbán (together with Miklós Kocsár) we have the number one innovator of Hungarian choral art and, furthermore, one of the most profound experts and most remarkable formulators of the Hungarian/Central and Eastern European soul. May God bless you in strength, in health and in your continuing creative efforts! Levente Gyöngyösi 27

WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER, 19.30

FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

CAFe BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN– QUADRIVIUM FAR INTO THE STARS – RECORD RELEASE CONCERT

CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL KAM–PORAT TRIO CHAMBER RECITAL

COMPETITION WINNERS KÁLLAI QUARTET WINNER OF THE LEÓ WEINER NATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (‘Death and the Maiden’) Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat minor, Op. 30

Markus Stockhausen (trumpet, flugelhorn, electronics); Jörg Brinkmann (cello, electronics); Angelo Comisso (piano); Christian Thomé (drums, electronics)

Kállai Quartet: Ernő Kállai, Géza Szajkó (violin); Kálmán Dráfi Jnr (viola); István Balázs (cello)

The story of Quadrivium stretches back to 2003, when Markus Stockhausen and Angelo Comisso gave their first joint concert. In 2004 they were joined by the sensitive drummer Christian Thomé to create a trio, and together they went on to release several hit albums. In 2015 Jörg Brinkmann joined the team, which is officially when this now four-member group started using the name Quadrivium. Compositions by Stockhausen and Comisso rooted in European classical music create a harmonic synthesis with the art of improvisation: sometimes light, sometimes playful, expressive and emotional, and when appropriate, there is no lack of humour either. Stockhausen, Brinkmann, Comisso and Thomé are all virtuosos, who expand the possibilities of instrumental performance with exciting novelties and techniques. Their music, enriched with electronic sounds, lies closest to jazz, but it is also capable of overwhelming listeners whose tastes are more attuned to classical or even contemporary music.

Kállai String Quartet shared first prize at the 2016 Leó Weiner National Chamber Music Competition, established to honour the memory of the legendary chamber music professor of the Liszt Academy. Ernő Kállai studied under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School. He has played with the accompaniment of great orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, and he has been concertmaster of the Hungarian State Opera since 2016. Chamber music continues to play a key part in Kállai’s career, and he has learnt some of the most intimate secrets of the genre from individuals like János Devich, member of the Julliard Quartet, who represents the Weiner tradition, as well as Gábor Takács-Nagy. Kállai first took to the stage of the Liszt Academy with his own string quartet in 2015; one critic characterized their play thus: “extreme musical tension, a courageous display of Magyar-style elements and astonishing technical professionalism.” Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 28

Works by Markus Stockhausen, Jörg Brinkmann & Angelo Comisso

Tickets: HUF 1 500 Organizers: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival

Mozart: Trio in E-flat major, K. 498 (‘Kegelstatt’) Schumann: Fairy Tales, Op. 132 Brahms: Two Songs for Alto, Viola and Piano, Op. 91 Schubert: Moments musicaux, Op. 94 Bartók: Contrasts, BB 116 Sharon Kam (clarinet); Ori Kam (viola); Matan Porat (piano) The concert provides the audience with the opportunity to travel from the classics of chamber music to today in the company of three superb Israeli musicians: the Kam siblings, clarinet player Sharon and her brother, the viola player Ori, together with the pianist Matan Porat, who is also an active composer. Naturally, the two essential masterpieces of this unusual instrumental lineup are included in this exquisite programme: Mozart’s Kegelstatt trio (1786), which will forever retain its moniker even though we actually have no reason whatsoever to suppose that it was written while the composer was playing skittles, and the four pieces of Fairy Tales, composed in October 1853, just a few months before Robert Schumann suffered a nervous breakdown. The Two Songs by Johannes Brahms are performed at this recital without input from a mezzo-sop rano, this part instead being assumed by the clarinet. The same instrument then takes on the main role in Bartók’s Contrasts, which was written at the request of Benny Goodman in 1938. Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER, 19.00

SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER, 11.00

SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER, 17.00

SOLTI HALL

ON THE SPOT – THE CELLO IMRE UNGÁR MEMORIAL CONCERT

Works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Popper & Villa-Lobos Teachers and students of the Cello Department Cello studies at the Liszt Academy were launched in 1886 and headed by David Popper, the famous Bohemian cellist and composer, all the way up to his death in 1913. Popper was first cellist at the Vienna Opera, although he frequently toured as a chamber musician and soloist. He took up his post at the Budapest Liszt Academy in the same year as Jenő Hubay. In 1898 the then director of the Liszt Academy, Ödön Mihalovich, petitioned for an award for Popper with these words: “David Popper has done much to invigorate the music relations of the capital and we can be pleased that such a first-rate artist has found a second home with us, that he has acclimatized in Hungary and done honour to our music academy.” What Liszt did for piano teaching at the Liszt Academy, so Popper achieved in cello studies: today’s professors are the spiritual descendants of Popper, and they studied from the students of his students. The 131year-old cello department is showcased in this recital in the Live series initiated by the Liszt Academy Concert Centre. Both students and teachers take to the stage of the Sir Georg Solti Chamber Hall. The concert programme selects fine pieces from three centuries of the cello repertoire, naturally including several important works by Popper, including his Requiem, originally written for three cellos and orchestra but on this occasion performed in a six-cello version. It is the same work that was performed by his students at the burial service of Popper. Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS THE WATER NYMPH FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Haydn: Mermaid Song, Hob.XXVIa:25 (transcription by Noémi Győri) Reinecke: Sonata for Flute and Piano in E minor, op. 167 ('Undine') Tibor Szemző: Water Miracle Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit – 1, 'Ondine' Gershwin: The Lorelei (transcription by Noémi Győri) Narrator and featuring: Noémi Győri (flute) Katalin Csillagh (piano) Heroes, fairies and clowns take centre stage in the Liszt Kidz concert series this autumn for 10-15-year-olds (not to mention their parents and grandparents). The heroes and heroines of ancient myths were always favourite figures in classical music, being evoked in count less operas, cantatas and even instru ment al pieces. However, composers were inspired not only by heroes like the Greek Hercules but boastful figures such as János Háry or bittersweet clowns like Pierrot. Another example might be the water nymph Undine, who wished for an immortal soul which could be acquired only through the love of a man. Carl Reinecke, a major Romantic composer, developed the story in a full sonata for flute and piano. The work and the tragic tale are performed and narrated by Noémi Győri and Katalin Csillagh. Tickets: HUF 1 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

J. S. Bach: Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056 (excerpt) Mozart: Adagio in B minor, K. 540 Schubert: Impromptu B-flat major, Op. 142/3 Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 – 1. Allegro (transcription by E. Bachmann for four hands) Horváth Attila: Three Pieces for Four Hands Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op. 12 (excerpts) Debussy: Petite Suite – 3. Menuet, 4. Ballet Chopin: Ballade in F minor, Op. 52 László Baranyay & Tamás Németh, former students of Imre Ungár (piano); Apor Szüts, student of Piano Department, Liszt Academy & great-grandchild of Imre Ungár (piano); Duo Fragmento: Tamás Lakatos & Csaba Magyar (piano) Accordance Piano Duo: Tamás Németh & Edina Berta (piano) A student of Ungár once said: “Anyone who had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Imre Ungár for just half an hour became a better person for it.” An inter nationally renowned pianist and a highly influential professor of the Liszt Academy, Ungár assisted in the development of several generations of musicians. Having lost his sight at the age of three, Ungár was five when he started playing piano, and music quickly assumed a central role in his life. The turning point in his career was a shared first prize at the 1932 Chopin Competition in Warsaw. His legendary solo recitals were hallmarked by intense lyricism, dramatic power and tenderness. Students, admirers and the artist’s great-grandson Apor Szüts, dedicate this recital to the memory of this Liszt and Kossuth Prize-winning pianist. Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizers: Liszt Academy Concert Centre, MVGYOSZ 29

MONDAY 16 OCTOBER, 19.30

TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

JAZZ IT! MARIA JOÃO & EGBERTO GISMONTI Maria João (vocals) Egberto Gismonti (piano, guitar)

MVM CONCERTS – THE PIANO EVGENI KOROLIOV PIANO RECITAL BACH SERIES 3 Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830 English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807 15 Three-Part Inventions, BWV 787–801 The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (excerpts) Evgeni Koroliov (piano) In connection with Evgeni Koroliov, concert guides often mention that György Ligeti once said that should he ever be cast away on a desert island, he would take the Russian’s recording of Bach’s The Art of Fugue with him. Perhaps less well known is that Ligeti not only raved about the recording, he also actually bought 300 copies to send to his friends. Clichéd though these facts may be, they do put into perspective the achievements of Koroliov, with the Russian pianist, who lives and teaches in Hamburg, regarded as one of today’s most significant players of Bach. For this recital, he also plays excerpts from Bach’s late, enigmatic cycle. We hear him play the Three-part Inventions (or as Bach called them, Sinfonias), which were written with an instructional purpose in mind, plus two major keyboard suites: the moving Partita in E minor and the energetic English Suite in A minor. Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 8 000, 10 000 Organizers: Besszer Concert, Liszt Academy Concert Centre 30

Miracles do happen. Dreams do come true. Thankfully, these truths extend to music: Maria João and Egberto Gismonti are now a duo – without doubt one of the most felicitous, significant, musically original and aesthetically energising encounters between two outstanding musicians and personalities of contemporary music-making. João and Egberto gave their first concert in Italy last July. Not only was it a performance of poetic and explosive magic, the fantastic news of their association spread rapidly around the globe. And now they ready themselves for their very first tour together. Egberto Gismonti is a multi-instrumen talist virtuoso and brilliant composerinventor of enormous musical fantasy in instrumentation and style, from guitar and piano to full orchestra, from Brazilian traditional to jazz and classical-contem porary music. Gismonti has raved about his new musical partner’s extraordinary singing and unique musicality. Maria João has been enthusiastically acclaimed by critics and audiences all over the world for her very own original nonconformist approach to creating and performing music, ranging from Portuguese and Brazilian folklore to jazz and surroundings; she is considered one of the most accomplished voice artists, tout court. She has, for her part, always dreamt of performing with much-revered Gismonti. Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500, 7 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

MARIA JOÃO © ALEXANDRE CABRITA

THE PORTUGUESE AND THE BRAZILIAN After several decades of individual global conquest, life finally brought Maria João and Egberto Gismonti together in the summer of 2016. They gave their debut joint concert in Italy, and this proved to be a tremendous success. As a result, they undertake a tour of Europe this autumn, one of the stops – fortunately for us – being the Liszt Academy. Maria João, renowned for her extraordinary voice and unique musicality, had long dreamt of the day that she could take to the stage in the company of the Brazilian composer-inventor-virtuoso instrumentalist. Now her wish is being fulfilled. At this performance we can ourselves witness what new marvels have been created from the meeting of their musical orbits.

“Aikido saved my life,” the jazz singer once stated in an interview. Interestingly, she had previously never considered taking up music as a profession. In her youth, Maria João always took things to extremes, breaking the rules and skipping classes; her hyperactive behaviour led to her being expelled from no fewer than five schools. Finally, at the urging of her Mozambican mother, she took up swimming, yoga and then aikido. The sport totally changed the outlook of this unmanageable girl, who even now exercises every single day. She was 27 when, from one moment to the next, music took over her life: a friend invited her to sing at the oldest jazz club in Portugal (and Europe), the Hot Club Portugal in Lisbon. Even though she had never had a teacher and couldn’t read sheet music, she overwhelmed her audience in an instant. Just one year later she and her band released their first album, Quinteto Maria João. In 1985 she appeared at the Cascais Jazz Festival, then the San Sebastian Jazz Festival, winning the latter. From that moment there was no stopping her: there were European tours, and she worked together with various artists, for instance with Japanese pianist Aki Takase and, from 1994, with Portuguese composer-pianist Mário Laginha. Almost every year the pair released an album, one highlight being Chorinho Feliz, recorded in 2000 on the occasion of the 500 th anniversary of the discovery of Brazil. Unlike the Portuguese artist, the life of Egberto Gismonti, a son of Rio de Janeiro, was virtually made for music. He was born into a half-Lebanese, half-Italian musical family, and he played piano from an early age before teaching himself the flute and guitar. He moved to Paris in 1968 in order to pick up the art of instrumentation and composition from some of the greats of modern music, including Nadia Boulanger, teacher of numerous major composers of the 20th century, and Jean Barraque, one of the leading figures of the French avant-garde in the period following World War II. A year later he recorded his own debut album, which was followed by a further seven in the 1970s. Initially, he primarily focused on composing instrumental music, in which jazz was mixed with electronic, atonal and South American Indian music. 1976 proved a turning point in his life, when he spent the year living with the Brazilian Xingu Indian tribe. He described the resulting album as a “walk through the jungle”, and resonances of his journey can be picked out in his later works. Despite this, the music of Gismonti does not feed solely from Brazilian native roots; his extraordinarily individualistic style is also imbued with pop, jazz, avant-garde and rock. Anna Unger

WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER, 19.30

THURSDAY 19 OCTOBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS PÉTER NAGY PIANO RECITAL

KODÁLY 2017 JUDIT RAJK & BUDAPEST STRINGS RESHAPED TRADITIONS Works by Kodály & Respighi Judit Rajk (alto) Dóra Pétery (organ) Budapest String Orchestra Choir of the Church Music Department of Liszt Academy Conductor: Alessandro Cedrone

JUDIT RAJK © LENKE SZILÁGYI

An eclectic selection of vocal works by Zoltán Kodály, who was born 135 years ago and died 50 years ago, are excitingly juxtaposed. Works by one of Kodály’s most famous contemporaries, the Italian Ottorino Respighi, are also in the prog ramme. Both composers were particu larly influenced by the style of Debussy; indeed, Kodály and Respighi were friends and the Italian was made an honorary professor of the Liszt Academy. Double Artisjus Prize winner Judit Rajk is a hugely competent and dedicated per former of 20th-century and contemporary vocal literature. She is a teacher in the Church Music Department of the Liszt Academy and professor at the Interna tional Kodály Institute in Kecskemét. Dóra Pétery is a multifaceted artist of keyboard instruments with an extraor dinarily broad repertoire and vision. She, too, teaches in the Church Music Department. The conductor Alessandro Cedrone heads his own choir in the Italian city of Sora, and increasingly over the past few years he has added works by Hungarian composers to his programmes. Tickets: HUF 1 100, 1 500, 2 200, 2 900, 3 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 11 in F minor, D. 625 Bartók: Dance Suite, BB 86 Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B major, D. 960 Péter Nagy (piano) He teaches and gives concerts, is a chamber partner of top-notch artists such as Kim Kashkashian, plays concertos and solo recitals, and yet Péter Nagy remains very much a hidden genius of the Hungarian school of piano. This one-man recital is designed as a way of acquainting ourselves with him so as to better appreciate his artistic significance. This sensitive yet never sentimental Schubert interpreter is to undertake the performance of two Schubert sonatas alongside the Bartók Dance Suite, something that is a chal lenge for him both personally and as a pianist. The first Schubert sonata (four movements, in F minor) dates from 1818, while the other (in B major) was written just a few months before Schubert’s death in 1828. The latter is an enigmatic four-movement work – it is a creation that has been analyzed and interpreted in many different ways – and one which prefigures the composer’s tragic passing. Bartók wrote of his Dance Suite, the piano version of which demands an artist of unassailable technique: “The thematic material of every movement is an imitation of peasant music. After all, the aim of the whole work was to put together a kind of idealized peasant music – you could say an invented peasant music.” Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

SEASON TICKETS 2017/18 MUSIC SO CLOSE ZENEAKADEMIA.HU/EN/SEASON-TICKETS

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER, 19.00

SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

JAZZ IT! MOMENT’S NOTICE TRIO

MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA PINCHAS STEINBERG & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Moment’s Notice Trio: György Kurtág Jnr (electronic instruments) Miklós Lukács (cimbalom) László Gőz (trombone, bass trumpet, shells)

Liszt: Prometheus Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 Ádám Banda (violin) Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg

The musical style of the Kurtág–Lukács– Gőz Trio derives from the meeting of minds of these three unique artists, forming a composite picture of today’s world of music which exists only in the given place and time. John Cage believed that contemporary music is born when it is played in front of an audience, it only exists in the here and now, and in the next moment it ceases to be contemporary, immediately becoming part of the past. The three musicians differ from each other in style and musical appreciation, yet all three also look to 21 st-century jazz, European classical, contemporary and electronic music, in other words, those ‘languages’ that they cultivate at the highest level. The audience will also view a projection behind the artists that is an integral part of the concert: Bence Samu and Ágoston Nagy, teachers at MOME University of Art and Design, and Szabolcs Kerestes, teacher at the Department of Electronic Music at the Liszt Academy, jointly developed the program that generates a visual of audio content in real time, tracking and reflecting, it tracks and reflects the musical experience through images.

There exist dozens of anecdotes recalling the deep-seated indifference felt by Brahms and Liszt towards each other’s music. It is a fact that Liszt, who indiscrim inately propagated the music of his contemporaries, never in his entire life played a Brahms piece in public, while Brahms spectacularly took a nap during a recital of one of the greatest piano works of the 19th century, Liszt’s Sonata in B minor. Frequently, however, posterity does not treat these great spats with the respect they may deserve, and the handshake that never happened between these two greats of music occurs in the form of concert programmes that would have been inconceivable at one time. József Joachim, erstwhile concertmaster of Liszt’s Weimar orchestra and an unwavering devotee of Brahms, would certainly never have played the violin concerto dedicated to him right after a Liszt work, but it is our great fortune that Ádám Banda does not follow the example of the legendary violinist in this matter. Pinchas Steinberg, senior conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, leads the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

PINCHAS STEINBERG © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA

TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER, 19.00

TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

AT HOME IN THE LISZT ACADEMY LILLA HORTI & KELEMEN QUARTET CONCERT BY KEYBOARD STUDENTS OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL/1 1910–1920 Works by Debussy, Schoenberg, Webern, Bazelaire & Ravel Panni Hotzi, Zsuzsanna Tihanyi, Balázs Demény, András Németh, Javier López Jorge (piano); Oszkár Varga (violin); János Fejérvári, Morgane de Lafforest (cello); Tímea Papp (harp) This themed concert by keyboard students of the doctoral school turns the spotlight on the decade of 1910– 1920, the period spanning the First World War. Selected preludes by Debussy are followed by works for two pianos: Lindaraja served as a kind of study for the movements of En blanc et noir. Although Debussy insisted that the latter work had nothing to do with the war, being instead inspired solely by piano tonalities, it is clear from his letters how engaged he was with the day-to-day hostilities. Similarly concerned with the war’s events was Ravel, who on completion of his Trio in A minor immediately signed up for the French army, in which he was to serve as a truck driver. For all the works in this evening showcasing both French and Austrian composers, there as many different stories of lives and inspirations. The concert sheds an intriguing light on the history of music in this remarkable decade. Free tickets to the concert can be obtained at the ticket office of the Liszt Academy one month before the concert. Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Puccini: Crisantimi Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10 Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51/1 Lilla Horti (soprano) Kelemen Quartet: Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas (violin); Gábor Homoki (viola); László Fenyő (cello) Three works written within three decades of each other can be heard at this concert by Kelemen Quartet, resident orchestra of the Liszt Academy for the academic year 2017–2018. Johannes Brahms’s first string quartet dates from 1873, when the composer was 40. Allegedly, Brahms wrote and then destroyed more than 20 string quartets before he was satisfied – though one can say it was certainly worth waiting for. One of the few chamber works by Puccini, the string quartet Crisantimi, was born barely a decade and a half later, in 1890, in a single night; later he used the darkly toned music in the final act of Manon Lescaut. Schoenberg’s second string quartet is stirring not only for its infinitely expressive phrasing of a personal drama but also because in it the composer goes beyond the borders of the genre, with the soprano solo regarded as the apogee of abstract instrumental chamber music. Lilla Horti, runner-up at the 2nd International Éva Marton Singing Competition, sings the two poems by Georg Trakl.

KELEMEN QUARTET © BALÁZS BÖRÖCZ

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900, 5 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 35

‘RESIDENT’ AT THE LISZT ACADEMY An increasing number of concert halls and cultural institutions have their own resident ensembles. ‘Residence’ can be permanent or temporary: whereas the former category generally includes ensembles that are an integral part of the given institution (for example, the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera House), in the latter case any ensemble can hold the title for a fixed term, typically for one or two seasons.

The Liszt Academy is issuing a temporary resident orchestra title from autumn 2017. Since the Academy is not only an important European concert venue but a distinguished institution of higher education, the role of permanent resident orchestra is taken by the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music’s symphony orchestra, membership of which changes with the student roll. The orchestra have rehearsed and performed in the building on Liszt Ferenc Square since 1909, and there will be no change to this tradition. However, from this season the institution will also have its own temporary resident orchestra. Symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, chamber choirs, contemporary formations and string quartets (not to mention other instrumental and vocal chamber formations falling outside these categories) can all tender for the title. The system is based on the principle of mutuality: the ensemble and the university reinforce the prestige of one another. The residents are allowed to bear the title ‘Resident Ensemble of the Liszt Academy’, which the institution proudly displays on concert programmes, posters and in press releases. Naturally, resident status also implies a series of in-house concerts, the programme and performers of which are compiled jointly by the ensemble and the Liszt Academy. The resident ensemble also plays a part in university life; it holds master classes or stages concerts in partnership with students, while in special cases selected students may be permitted to join the ensemble for a concert or even a tour. The prestigious title for this the inaugural season has been awarded to Kelemen Quartet and New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir. The string quartet was founded in 2010 by Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas, Gábor Homoki and Dóra Kokas (the latter was replaced by cellist László Fenyő in 2014). A noteworthy aspect of the quartet – aside from their numerous international podium placings and concert invitations – is that all three violinists also play the viola, which is why they do not have fixed instrumental settings; they are constantly swapping roles and, for this reason, they have a far better understanding of their repertoire than might otherwise be expected. The New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir was also launched in 2010, and its current conductor, László Norbert Nemes, has led the group since 2014. The choir’s objective is to introduce contemporary choral works to audiences in Budapest through the performance of pieces by Hungarian and foreign composers. Both groups have strong associations with the university: among their members are teachers as well as former and current students of the academy. Although this aspect was a factor when it came to selecting the ensembles for the first season, programme director of the Liszt Academy András Csonka does not rule out establishing resident relations with ‘complete outsiders’, perhaps even foreign ensembles, in future. Minka Benkő

NEW LISZT FERENC CHAMBER CHOIR © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA 36

A BETTER PLACE NO. 1 © JULIANNA NYÍRI 37

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

KONZI CONCERTS CONCERT BY THE KONZI JAZZ DEPARTMENT CONCERT BY KEYBOARD STUDENTS OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL/2 FOLK MUSIC INSPIRATIONS Works by Hahn, de Falla, Bartók, Ligeti, Kurtág & Eötvös Mónika Kertész (mezzosoprano); Tímea Papp (harp); Zsuzsanna Tihanyi, Llorenç Prats Boscà, András Németh, János Palojtay, Balázs Demény (piano); Péter Kováts (violin); Bálint Tóth (horn); András Szalai (cimbalom); Péter Szűcs (clarinet); Tamás Zétényi (cello) What is it in folk music that can inspire classical composers? A rhythm, a melody, an instrument, an ambience, a performance style – all factors that can get the imagination of a composer working and that can open up new possibilities. This concert by keyboard students of the doctoral school primarily focuses on compositions inspired by Hungarian folk music, although there is room for a work by Reynaldo Hahn, born in Venezuela but raised in Paris, which evokes the magic of Venice, plus the Fantasia Baetica by Spaniard de Falla. The asymmetric beat of the Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm and the Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs gives us a glimpse into Bartók’s workshop. Kurtág’s Tre pezzi and Péter Eötvös’s Psy illustrate how big a role Hungarian composers have had in exploring the possibilities of the cimbalom as a contemporary instrument. Free tickets to the concert can be obtained at the ticket office of the Liszt Academy one month before the concert. Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 38

Featuring students and teachers of the Bartók Konzi: Tibor Márkus, Richárd Révész, Máté Pozsár, Áron Tálas (piano); Barna Tibor Csuhaj (bass); Gábor Kollmann (saxophone); Tamás Geröly (drums); Gábor Juhász, Bálint Gyémánt (guitar); Ágnes Lakatos, Orsolya Urbán (vocals) When in 1965, under the leadership of János Gonda and in the framework of the Bartók Conservatory of Music (Konzi), the ‘jazz department’ was established, jazz had only recently been reassigned from the ‘forbidden’ arts to the ‘tolerated’ category. A note by György Aczél in 1958 suggested the genre “leads to sentimentality, pessimism and exultation, it diverts the attention of youth from important issues of society and it spreads the Americanist lifestyle.” However, an apparently even greater threat from the viewpoint of cultural policy reared its head in the 1960s: Beat. This, in tandem with the gathering strength of the internationally recognized Kodály music pedagogy, no doubt played a role in the institutionalization of jazz teaching in Hungary. It is no exaggeration to say that the actions of János Gonda and his colleagues are of historical significance, because almost without exception the most significant figures on Hungary’s jazz scene today received their grounding in the genre from the department. At this concert, the youngest generation take to the stage of the Sir Georg Solti Chamber Hall with their teachers to offer a glimpse into the life of one of the most impor tant workshops of Hungarian jazz. Tickets: HUF 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE JÖRG WIDMANN & FRANZ LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Widmann: Con brio – concert overture Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Mendelssohn: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E-flat major, MWV Q15 Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 (‘Jupiter’) Jörg Widmann (clarinet) Dénes Várjon (piano) Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Jörg Widmann Few dispute that Jörg Widmann is one of the finest clarinetists in the world today. He has taken the breath away of Budapest audiences on numerous occasions, both as soloist in concertos and as a member of chamber formations. As Widmann’s regular partner, Dénes Várjon has proved time and time again that if the gold standard of a partnership is truly being in perfect harmony with each other, then every such work is revealed in extraordinary dimensions. Over the past few decades Widmann has enhanced his composer’s oeuvre with unequalled vigour and apparently inexhaustible invention, so that today he ranks not only among the elite of clarinetists, but he has also won himself a leading position as a top composer. Those that enjoy Widmann on the concert podium conducting not only his own works but also those from the highest strata of the orchestral repertoire are eye and ear witnesses to the evolution of a significant conducting career. Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ENTRIES IN THE GUEST BOOK OF LISZT ACADEMY LONDON SINFONIETTA (9 FEBRUARY 2017) 39

A MULTI-TALENTED CONTEMPORARY Composer and performer. At one time this combination was unremarkable, even natural, whereas today Jörg Widmann is one of only few who represent this – sadly relatively rare – hybrid musician: equal talented in both capacities, and of course to a remarkably high standard.

“I like diversity and I am too inquisitive not to combine these things,” commented Munich-born composer and clarinettist Jörg Widmann, as he explained his primary musical motivation in an interview not long ago. Budapest concertgoers who know him well will nod in acknowledgement at these words. The fact is, Widmann is a regular – one could almost say homecoming – guest of Hungarian music life: we have had the opportunity of meeting him as a virtuoso artist of his chosen instrument, as a contemporary composer and conductor of his own works, as concerto soloist and chamber musician, not to mention as a partner of Budapest Festival Orchestra and Dénes Várjon. Our feeling for Widmann is mutual. As he put it in an earlier statement: “I have to tell you that I have always loved Budapest not just as a city, but as a musical city. I have always had the feeling here that people listen differently. Music means something. [...] For them [Hungarians] it is still sacred.” It is worth mentioning that Widmann truly has the experience on which to make such a comparison, as following his studies in Munich, and then his training in New York as a student of the legendary Juilliard School, he soon became a globe-trotting concert musician. He is no less sought-after as a composer; indeed, over the years the world premieres of his works for grand orchestra have been conducted by top artists such as Pierre Boulez, Kent Nagano and Christian Thielemann. His interest in this side of music also began as a youngster in Munich, at the tender age of eight; Widmann eventually went on to study under Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm, among others. An English critic characterized his compositional activities, which span the most varied genres from string quartets to opera, in the following way: “His music is a dialogue, homage and continuation of the essential concerns of the music he loves most: Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Mozart, Mahler, Berg – as well as Rihm and Helmut Lachenmann.” The audiences of the clarinet-playing Widmann understand very well his fertile and felicitous attitude to the system of traditions of Western music and its values stretching back over centuries. Should the listener fail to appreciate Widmann’s exceptional affinity with the past after listening to his orchestral composition Armonica, written for the largely forgotten glass harmonica, or his string quartet Jagdquartett, which boldly evokes Beethoven, then they will be certainly convinced by listening (and watching) the virtuoso launch with perceptive serenity into the principal part of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major. The fact is, Jörg Widmann is not only a professor of his instrument – as much as he is a professor of composition – he is also a hedonist of the clarinet. Ferenc László

JÖRG WIDMANN © MARCO BORGGREVE 41

FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER, 19.30 ST. THERESA OF AVILA CHURCH

TALENT OBLIGES ORIGIN GWENDOLYN MASIN & HER STUDENTS Works by Saint-Saëns, Sarasate, Rodion Shchedrin, Lutosławski, Händel, Bartók, Kreisler, Bloch, Ravel & Miklós Lukács

CONCERT BY KEYBOARD STUDENTS OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL/3 HOMMAGE À REGER & LIGETI

Gwendolyn Masin, Eszter Kökény, Eszter Osztrosits, Oszkár Varga (violin); Martin Moriarty (viola); Patrick Moriarty (cello); Dávid Csuti (bass); Miklós Lukács (cimbalom)

Works by Galliano, Thelonious Monk, Granados, Debussy, Satie and Piazzolla Richard Galliano, Mihály Demeniv (accordion)

Dániel Sárosi (organ)

The Origin project is a collection of various cultures, music, traditions and inheritances that shape the life and art of Gwendolyn Masin. The violinist, who has ancestry rooted in CentralEastern Europe (her mother’s side is Hungarian), comes from a family that boasts musicians over several generations, so she has always been surroun ded by music. “The way in which we make music is a lifestyle, a way of approaching life,” she says. As a wunderkind she gave concerts in many countries, and this allowed her to discover many new cultures and music. Her students, who are similarly interested in new musical sounds, appear on stage at the Liszt Academy alongside several highly gifted young Hungarian musicians. The Origin programme comprises many of the artist’s most virtuoso pieces, the sort of works that – as musical tastes change over time – she feels she needs to preserve for audiences of today and tomorrow.

The musical style of French accordion player Richard Galliano is tricky to pin down. It is a reworking of European folk music or, perhaps more accurately, early 20th-century French salon music, supplemented with that emotional scale that suits the modern age. This is blended with jazz elements and a twist of improvization so that any border between the two genres is completely dissolved. His style and indeed concept stemmed from a meeting with Astor Piazzolla, who transformed Argentinian tango using similar methods. Mihály Demeniv is known to domestic audiences from the talent show Virtuosos, in which he was awarded a special prize in 2014. The parents of this young artist are also musicians, though they did not pressure him to start learning an instrument: it all started out as a game, but one that eventually developed into a love affair. He won his first international competition at the age of eight, since when his career has taken him from the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy to the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

“The last giant in music.” These are the words of Paul Hindemith about his teacher Max Reger, who is considered the most influential composer of German organ music after Bach. In his music, Reger followed the Bach traditions while also integrating late Romantic stylistic flourishes into his art (inspired not least by Wagner). Typically, he created in the Baroque genres, writing fugues, fantasias and choral preludes, but he did everything according to his own concepts and then developed them further. Whereas Reger set about creating something new while keeping an eye on organ-playing traditions, Ligeti virtually blew these traditions out of the water. For instance, the opening sequence of his first large-scale organ work, Volumina, was seen by many as being the musical equivalent of an atomic bomb being dropped on traditions. Ligeti’s experimental spirit is always evident in his compositions for organ, although true to the art of Ligeti, this experimentation never became an end in itself.

Tickets: HUF 4 500, 5 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Free admission Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: E.ON Hungary 42

RICHARD GALLIANO & MIHÁLY DEMENIV

Organ works by Max Reger & György Ligeti

JAZZ, CHANSONS, CLASSICS Although the accordion tends to make only cameo-like appearances in jazz and classical music, both genres feel fully at home on the chosen instrument of Frenchman Richard Galliano. Composer Astor Piazzolla personally encouraged the accordion player, nearly 30 years his junior, to go back to French traditions in order to innovate the accordion repertoire, just as the Argentinian had done when fashioning nuevo tango in the FIFTIES.

The dance music that had gained huge popularity by the mid-20th century, started off in Parisian cafés and bars in the 1880s as a form of entertainment for the poorer social classes. Chanteuse Édith Piaf, as well as film actor and singer Jean Gabin, played a role in popularization of the style, and accordionists – the predecessors of Galliano – also made their appearances, musicians such as Italian-born Tony Muréna and the Belgian-French artist Gus Viseur. Galliano not only continues and refreshes this tradition, but he also applies the art of Brazilian (Sivuca, Dominguinhos) and Italian (Luciano Fancelli) accordion players to early jazz accordionist styles (Joe Mooney, Art van Damme). His album New Musette (1991) caused a big stir; on it appears a more complicated jazz-like rhythm and harmony, enriched by refined tonal use. After accordion and music theory studies, Galliano came across jazz at the age of 14 through the recordings of trumpeter Clifford Brown, who died tragically young in a car crash. In 1973 he moved from the South of France to Paris, where for a time he played in jazz singer Claude Nougaro’s formation. In 2010 he was contracted by the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon, following which a whole series of classical music discs were released (Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart), although naturally his repertoire also includes the French composers Debussy, Ravel and Satie. Galliano has made music in a wide variety of formations and bands, and he is more than happy trying out unconventional instrumental line-ups. He has no problem taking to the stage with a string orchestra or a big band, and he regularly performs solo, too. He has jammed with the best of French revue and cabaret, not to mention European and American jazz. In Paris he worked with chanson singers Charles Aznavour and Juliette Gréco. He has appeared with jazz trumpeter Chet Baker; Belgian-American Toots Thielemans, known for his mouth harmonica play and whistling technique; vibraphonist Gary Burton, the fusion jazz pioneer; and Jan Garbarek, the Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who also holds an interest in classical music. A duo album with Ron Carter, the world-famous double bassist, was released under the title Panamanhattan in 1990. Galliano returns to Budapest and the stage of the Sir Georg Solti Chamber Hall at the end of October in the company of Mihály Demeniv, the young accordion player discovered by the Hungarian talent show Virtuosos. Péter Merényi

RICHARD GALLIANO ©JEAN-BAPTISTE MILLOT 43

SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER, 19.00

TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

CHAMBER MUSIC, SO CLOSE CALEFAX REED QUINTET FAIRY TALES

CONCERTO ARMONICO BUDAPEST

Cage: Living Room Music – Story Debussy: Syrinx Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (arrangement by Jelte Althuis) Ravel: Mother Goose (arrangement by Rob Zuidam) R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, Op. 28 (arrangement by Oliver Boekhoorn) Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (arrangement by Raaf Hekkema) Mussorgsky: Night on the Bare Mountain (arrangement by Raaf Hekkema) Tchaikovsky–Ellington: Nutcracker Jazz Suite (arrangement by Oliver Boekhoorn)

Concerto Armonico Budapest (artistic director: Miklós Spányi) Concertmaster: Gábor Homoki

Calefax Reed Quintet’s programme builds on a motif spanning civiliz a tions, time and space: storytelling. Though the tales that serve as the foundations for the works played at the concert have roots that stretch as far back as the Middle Ages, the forms that we know them by today were shaped in the 19 th century, and it is from these that the musical versions were derived. Fairy Tales is a programme for adults even though it is crammed with witches, magicians, villains, princesses and monsters, the occasional troll, an army of mice and a handful of enchanted brooms.

Some critics avow that Vivaldi’s concerto series L’Estro Armonico (‘Harmonic Inspiration’) was perhaps the most influential publication of the 18th century. What is true is that very little music has ever evoked such explosive success and, at the same time its own fashion wave, than this opus, which contains concertos for one, two or four violins in four trio groups. Although today this fantastic collection is widely known, it appears only very rarely in its entirety. Concerto Armonico undertake this project in two most promising evenings: the orchestra perform all twelve concertos of Vivaldi’s opus 3 series, with solos by members of the ensemble. The Vivaldi collection is joined by works from the six concerto armonicos after which the ensemble is named. The pieces were for many years considered to be by Italian composers (for a while they were ascribed to Pergolesi), but eventually it transpired that these superb compositions were by the Dutch Count Wilhelm van Wassenaer, who as a nobleman could not publish them under his own name. However, the count was truly a musical, trained composer: his works are among the finest examples of Italian style concertos.

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Calefax Reed Quintet: Oliver Boekhoorn (oboe); Ivar Berix (clarinet); Raaf Hekkema (saxophone); Jelte Althuis (bass clarinet); Alban Wesly (bassoon)

CALEFAX REED QUINTET © MARCO BORGGREVE

Works by Vivaldi & Van Wassenaer/1

GUIDED TOURS

IN HUNGARIAN EVERY FRIDAY AND SUNDAY, IN ENGLISH EVERY DAY AT 1.30, NO REGISTRATION NEEDED Tours last approximately 50 minutes, in the course of which the guide provided by the Liszt Academy shows groups around the ground floor and first floor foyers, the Grand Hall and the Sir George Solti Chamber Hall. Tours can be booked with Hungarian, English, German, Italian, French, Russian, Finnish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak and Japanese guidance upon consultation. Minimum group size: 12 persons; maximum group size: 35 persons. Tour bookings, further information and partnerships with travel agencies: tourism@lisztacademy.hu Further information: http://zeneakademia.hu/en/guided-tours Ticket purchase: Liszt Academy Ticket Office (1061 Budapest, 8 Liszt Ferenc square) The Liszt Academy retains the right to modify the tours.

PARITY We spoke with Salamon Kamp, conductor and member of the Doctoral Council of the university, as well as guitarist József Eötvös, head of the Strings Department, about PhD courses at the Liszt Academy, the inter action between performance art and culture, the hierarchy of instruments, and Bach’s timelessness.

Does the fact that you, as a guitarist, lead the work of the Liszt Academy’s internationally renowned Strings Department mean that the guitar – an instrument often underrated by non-professionals – has finally come of age? József Eötvös: I consider it an honour, and at the same time I must say I have never felt that anybody within the profession underrates the instrument. I am fully aware that when it comes to the guitar, people on the whole think first of pop music. A certain segment of classical musicians retain reservations about the guitar genre. I think it is true that the literature of the classical guitar has not yet attained that level of complexity, of nuance and excitement that, let’s say, the piano, the violin or indeed the majority of classical instruments have. However, it is possible to forge a virtue out of this, precisely because it can be used to build a bridge between different genres of music. The guitar was granted ‘civil rights’ at the Liszt Academy 15 years ago, and although still in its infancy compared to the violin or cello, this is precisely where its strength lies. It stands before a huge development; or put another way, its evolutionary revolution – which took place much earlier in the case of the other string instruments – is now underway. This is also evident in the technical skills of current students. Can these students cope with your arrangement of the Goldberg Variations, called by some the arrangement of the century? JE: When I set about the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, I never believed that it would be like that, but today ever more talented young artists are able to do it. The majority of opportunities in guitar playing remain unexploited; however, the pace of development is frightening. Naturally, technical know-how does not always equate to artistic interpretation based on a profound understanding of the music. Can this kind of profundity be passed on and taught in the era of show-like concert productions and performer competitions that emphasise virtuosity?

JÓZSEF EÖTVÖS & SALAMON KAMP © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN TUBA 46

Salamon Kamp: Without a doubt, yes. For instance, the instrumentalist students taking part in our doctoral programmes show that there is still great demand for methodological work even today. There really is a need for performance artists to know about oeuvres in detail, even when only one or two works feature in their repertoire. A given piece can be played only when one knows how the composer expressed other themes in other genres at other times. Education and culture are not merely elements of music theory and musicology; analysis and interpretation are mutual preconditions. However, it is absolutely certain that even the most detailed analysis will never be able to uncover all the correlations within a given masterpiece. Curiosity and interest stimulate and encourage the true

musician to uncover the composer’s intentions, bringing these to the surface and transmitting them in the course of a performance. At the same time, we must never lose sight of the fact that the ultimate objective of composing is to play and perform the given piece; the audience listens, hears and experiences it, because in the final analysis it is the music that speaks. Does one require a PhD for this, though? JE: The primary objective of the years spent at the Liszt Academy is acquisition of the skill of instrumental play and the performance attitude – and this is assisted by the theoretical subjects. However, the Doctoral School is more than that. A higher, or if you prefer, more profound knowledge of culture is an organic part of art. SK: The place of art is to stand above reality; art is the radiance of truth, which always illuminates chaos. The important thing is for us to allow ever greater space in our lives for the forces of positivism, those forces which lift us up and ennoble us, and to suppress those which would drag us down and hold us back. The Liszt Academy and Johann Sebastian Bach play an important part in both your lives. What makes his art so timeless? SK: His music addresses man in his existentiality, in what remains childlike and pure, incorruptible in us all, whatever the circumstances. Man’s original being awakens to this call: his thirst for the ultimate, the most truthful of things, a longing directed towards a central order, which together with the world and existence is identical in all places and at all times. That is why striving towards perfection is not a dream, but life! The degree of completeness of God: this is the recognition that addresses us all in our human existence and from which no man can consider himself immune. But one must not confuse faith and music! Music begins with notes and ends with notes. In any case, in my eyes the Bach oeuvre is proof of the existence of God. It is the single intellectual achievement in the history of humanity that conclusively proves that it is possible to achieve perfection. JE: I am in total agreement with everything that has just been said. Tamás Vajna

SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

Concerts organized by Liszt Academy Concert Centre Hosted concert

GRAND HALL TAMÁS ÉRDI & ANIMA MUSICAE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BRIDGE OVER ‘SEVEN SEAS’ – CANADA 150

Classical Jazz Opera World / Folk Junior

Beethoven: Coriolan - Overture, Op. 62 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 Quesnel: Colas et Colinette (Ridout version) Christopher Butterfield: Excelsior Kodály: Dances of Galánta

THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL BALLADS IN MEMORY OF JÁNOS ARANY & ZOLTÁN KODÁLY Page 54

THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

GRAND HALL MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SCHUBERT EVENING Franz Schubert: Rosamunde Overture, D. 797 Symphony in B minor, D. 759 (‘Unfinished’) Mass No. 2 in G major, D. 167 Kodály Choir Debrecen (choirmaster: Máté Szabó Sipos) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Gergely Kesselyák Tickets: HUF 3 500, 4 000, 4 500 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

Tamás Érdi (piano) Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra (artistic director: László G. Horváth) Conductor: Csaba Ajtony Tickets: HUF 1 500, 1 900, 2 900, 3 900 Organizers: Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, Cimbora Association

Andrea De Vitis (guitar) Tickets: until 20 October 2017: HUF 1 900, 2 900 from 21 October 2017: HUF 2 400, 3 400 Organizer: Eötvös Music Foundation

SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2017, 11.00

MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MVM CONCERTS – THE PIANO DEZSŐ RÁNKI PIANO RECITAL CONCERT IN B-FLAT

Page 56 SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL FOUR BY FOUR PLUS ONE JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET & KODÁLY QUARTET Page 56

FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

Page 57 TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017, 10.00

ROOM X 2ND BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION SEMI-FINALS Tickets: The entrance is free up to the capacity of the hall Organizer: Eötvös Music Foundation WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017, 10.00

ROOM X 2ND BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION SEMI-FINALS

Page 54

SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

The entrance is free up to the capacity of the hall Organizer: Eötvös Music Foundation

SOLTI HALL COMPLETE WORKS LIVE DEBUSSY’S INSTRUMENTAL CHAMBER WORKS/2 48

MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL 2ND BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION OPENING CONCERT

SOLTI HALL LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS HERCULES FOR 10-15-YEAR-OLDS

SOLTI HALL COMPLETE WORKS LIVE DEBUSSY’S INSTRUMENTAL CHAMBER WORKS/1

Page 56

ANDREA DE VITIS

CONCERT CHRONOLOGY NOVEMBER

JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET

WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2017, 16.00

GRAND HALL BACH FOREVER PURCELL CHOIR & ORFEO ORCHESTRA BACH’S CHURCH CANTATAS

GRAND HALL 2ND BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION FINAL Rodrigo: Conciertode Aranjuez Villa-Lobos: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra

THURSDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2017, 10.00

SOLTI HALL 2ND BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION SEMI-FINALS Tickets: until 20 October 2017: HUF 700 from 21 October 2017: HUF 1 000 Organizer: Eötvös Music Foundation THURSDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.45 FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.45

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10 Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 Lilya Zilberstein (piano) Budapest Festival Orchestra Conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko

LILYA ZILBERSTEIN

Tickets: HUF 2 700, 4 800, 6 200, 8 800, 14 300 Organizer: Budapest Festival Orchestra

FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

Page 57

Tickets: until 20 October 2017: HUF 1 600, 2 000, 2 400, 2 800 from 21 October 2017: HUF 1 900, 2 400, 2 900, 3 400 Organizer: Eötvös Music Foundation SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

SOLTI HALL ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC COBZA RENAISSANCE REBIRTH OF AN INSTRUMENT IN HUNGARY

Featuring: Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Joan Pages Valls

GRAND HALL 2ND BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION AWARD CEREMONY, GALA CONCERT Featuring: Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Joan Pages Valls

Tickets: HUF 1 200, 2 200, 3 200, 4 200 Organizers: Hungarian Händel Association, National Cultural Fund of Hungary MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL ANDRÁS MIHÁLY 100 Page 62

TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA MÁTYÁS ANTAL & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Page 62

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL ÁGI SZALÓKI ’I HAVE SOWN VIOLET…’

SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

Ági Szalóki (vocals) Éva Bodrogi (vocals) István Kónya (lute) Sándor Szászvárosi (viola da gamba) Balogh Kálmán (cimbalom) Csaba Ökrös (violin) Máté Kalász (violin) László Mester „Pintyő” (viola) Barna Mihálydeák (double bass)

SOLTI HALL HÄNDEL: APOLLO E DAFNE / ACI, GALATEA E POLIFEMO

Tickets: HUF 3 600, 4 500 Organizer: Gingo Art & Service

Tickets: until 20 October 2017: HUF 1 600, 2 000, 2 400, 2 800 from 21 October 2017: HUF 1 900, 2 400, 2 900, 3 400 Organizer Eötvös Music Foundation

Händel: Apollo e Dafne, HWV 122 Dafne: Krisztina Jónás (soprano) Apollo: Tomáš Šelc (baritone) Händel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, HWV 72 Aci: Nóra Ducza (soprano) Galatea: Krisztina Jónás (soprano) Polifemo: László Jekl (bass)

ÁGI SZALÓKI

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Savaria Baroque Orchestra (on authentic instruments) Director, set and costume design: János Greifenstein Conductor: Pál Németh

Franck: Symphonic Variations Ravel: Piano Concerto in D major for the left hand Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL BUDAPEST PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA BONSOIR, ESPAGNE! – MEDITERRANEAN EVENING Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 Chabrier: España De Falla: The Three-Cornered Hat – Suite No. 1 & 2 Ravel: Bolero László Pólus (cello) Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Gergely Madaras Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 300, 4 100, 4 900 Organizer: Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/1 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Page 62 FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/2 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Pgae 63 FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

GRAND HALL MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA GALA CONCERT ON THE OCCASION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FINLAND'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 50

Michel Béroff (piano) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Péter Csaba Tickets: HUF 3 500, 4 000, 4 500 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2017, 10.30

CUPOLA HALL MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/CINDERELLA Page 63

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LISZT ACADEMY BUFFET MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/BETWEEN THE THREE OF US CONVERSATION ON LITERATURE AND MUSIC Page 65

SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL MIHALOVICH SONGS

SOLTI HALL MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/5 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

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SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/3 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Page 64 SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2017, 11.00

GRAND HALL UNDERSTANDABLE MUSIC DOHNÁNYI ORCHESTRA BUDAFOK VOCAL UNIVERSE Zoltán Kodály: Ode to Liszt Who are Always Late Elders Jesus and the Traders Mátra Pictures

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GRAND HALL HUNGARIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Weber: Der Freischütz – Overture Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op. 46 Suren Bagratuni (cello) Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Zsolt Hamar Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 000, 6 000 Organizer: Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

Cantemus Mixed Voice Choir, Nyíregyháza (choirmaster: Soma Szabó) Introduction and Conductor: Gábor Hollerung Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 300, 2 700 Organizer: Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

SUREN BAGRATUNI

GERGELY MADARAS

SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2017, 11.00

SOLTI HALL MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/4 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

TUESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MVM CONCERTS ANDREA ROST & ANDREA VIGH

GRAND HALL HUNGARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

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Ludwig van Beethoven: Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40 Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 Vilmos Oláh (violin) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Tamás Vásáry

WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL KODÁLY 2017 ACCORD QUARTET KODÁLY QUARTETS Page 66 WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE JULIAN RACHLIN & ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Page 66

Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 300, 5 500, 6 500 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL CHAMBER MUSIC, SO CLOSE GÁBOR ECKHARDT, GYÖRGY DÉRI & MIHÁLY BORBÉLY CHAMBER RECITAL Page 71

FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA MAGIC DEER Percussion music from West Africa Ligeti: Piano Concerto Bartók: Cantata Profana, BB 100

ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL COMPETITION WINNERS AKILONE QUARTET WINNER OF THE BORDEAUX QUARTET COMPETITION Page 67

JI EUN YOOK

ACCORD QUARTET

SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL EURO SINFONIETTA WIEN & MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Haydn: Symphony No. 1 in D major, Hob. I:1 Ji Eun Yook (violin) Jihyun Cho (piano) Euro Sinfonietta Wien MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Alfredo Sorichetti

Sonus Percussion Group (artistic director: István Szabó) Zoltán Fejérvári (piano) István Horváth (tenor); Alexandru Agache (baritone) Hungarian Radio Choir (choirmaster: Zoltán Pad) Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Róbert Farkas

Tickets: HUF 1 500 Organizer: IMK – Verein für Internationale Musik- und Kulturförderung

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Danubia Orchestra Óbuda

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SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2017, 11.00

GRAND HALL LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS LET'S PLAY HÁRY JÁNOS! FOR 10-15-YEAR-OLDS

SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

GRAND HALL JÓZSEF BALOG PIANO RECITAL

SOLTI HALL BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS ANDRÁS KEMENES PIANO RECITAL

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BÁLINT KRUPPA

WEDNESDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30 THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL TALENT OBLIGES DOMONKOS CSABAY, BÁLINT KRUPPA, ANDRÁS KURGYIS & JÁNOS FEJÉRVÁRI CHAMBER RECITAL Page 71

GRAND HALL ANTJE WEITHAAS & CONCERTO BUDAPEST Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 Takemitsu: Toward the Sea II Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 B-flat major, Op. 60 Antje Weithaas (violin); Orsolya Kaczander (flute); Ágnes Polónyi (harp) Concerto Budapest Conductor: András Keller Tickets: HUF 2 200, 3 100, 3 900, 4 800, 5 900 Organizer: Concerto Budapest

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2017, 19.30

Mozart: Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K. 448 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor (‘Appassionata’) Op.57 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Endre Hegedűs (piano) Featuring: Katalin Hegedűs (piano) Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 500, 4 500 Organizer: Studio Liszt

ANTJE WEITHAAS

GRAND HALL ENDRE HEGEDŰS PIANO RECITAL

Magic Mountain Chamber Music Festival of the Liszt Academy

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS: Izabella Simon & Dénes Várjon FEATURING ARTISTS: Muriel Cantoreggi; Marie-Claude Chappuis; Veronika Eberle; Escher String Quartet; Tamás Érdi; Zsolt Fejérvári; Andrea Hallam; Marie-Elisabeth Hecker; Kim Kashkashian; András Keller; Csaba Klenyán; György Lakatos; Zoltán Megyesi; Miklós Perényi; Roman Rabinovich; Izabella Simon; Dénes Várjon; Radovan Vlatkovic

16—19.11.2017.

THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER, 19.00

FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

BALLADS IN MEMORY OF JÁNOS ARANY & ZOLTÁN KODÁLY

COMPLETE WORKS LIVE DEBUSSY’S INSTRUMENTAL CHAMBER WORKS/1

Works by János Arany & Zoltán Kodály

Works by Debussy

Director: Géza Hegedűs D. Anna Fürjes (soprano); Judit Anna Kiss (mezzosoprano); Barna Bartos, Bence Gulyás (tenor), Attila Szűcs (baritone) Head of department: Andrea Meláth Poems performed by students of the Academy of Drama and Film Ballad recital compiled by Mihály Ittzés

Zoltán Fejérvári, Marcell Szabó (piano); Bálint Kruppa (violin); Ilona Izsák (viola); Eszter Karasszon (cello); Anastasia Razvalyaeva (harp); Zsuzsanna Tóth (flute) Artistic director: Marcell Szabó

János Arany was born 200 years ago and died 135 years ago; Zoltán Kodály was born 135 years ago and died 50 years ago. These milestones would in themselves merit a Kodály–Arany recital in 2017, yet these two giants of Hungarian culture have far deeper connections than the coincidence of Kodály’s birth and Arany’s death. In 1907 Kodály described Arany to his future wife Emma Gruber as “my doppelgänger and forward-projected shadow, or I am his shadow – it’s all the same.” Kodály published his Arany collection on the 70th anniversary of the death of the poet, and although he set to music only two Arany poems, he transposed numerous folk ballads into the world of composed music: the influence of Arany is clearly evident in them. The combined evening of the Hungarian Kodály Society, the Liszt Academy and Academy of Drama and Film provides a selection of these works, offering the audience a true synthesis of the arts, thanks in no small part to projected slides by graphic artist György Buday. Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizers: Hungarian Kodály Society, Academy of Drama and Film, Liszt Academy Concert Centre 54

Debussy gave a composer’s recital in Budapest in 1910. After the concert Géza Csáth conducted an interview with the composer, who questioned the so-called Debussy revolution. “I never fermented a revolution and I am not a revolutionary,” Debussy asserted. “Anyone who says this of me does not know me or my music. And anyway, who am I revolting against? Against those who came before me? Those who are truly great, of whom I have the greatest respect and admiration? Sparking a revolution against Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn? Nonsense. These are immortal masters, what they have done will live on forever and no sort of revolution can ever refute this.” Scanning through the (not particularly lengthy) list of Debussy chamber compositions, it is apparent that there is a preponderance of classical chamber music genres. If one looks in greater depth at these works, it immediately becomes clear that there is something provocative – or put another way, revolutionary – in the anachronism of Debussy’s chamber music. In this Complete Works Live series, designed to present in their entirety certain genres of composers’ oeuvres, recent graduates and doctoral students of the Liszt Academy offer a comprehensive survey of Debussy’s chamber music work. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

MARCELL SZABÓ © Liszt Academy / Misi Kondella

WOMAN IN A HURRY (1973) © PÉTER KORNISS

SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER, 11.00

SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS HERCULES FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS

FOUR BY FOUR PLUS ONE JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET & KODÁLY QUARTET

COMPLETE WORKS LIVE DEBUSSY’S INSTRUMENTAL CHAMBER WORKS/2 Works by Debussy Zoltán Fejérvári, Marcell Szabó (piano); Bálint Kruppa, Éva Osztrosics (violin); András Kurgyis (viola); János Fejérvári (cello); Péter Szűcs (clarinet); Erzsébet Seleljo (saxophone) Artistic director: Marcell Szabó “The French make contact with the world through their eyes, so it is no surprise that if they hear music, they want their eyes to be a part of it,” wrote Zoltán Kodály with regard to the titles of works by Debussy, which arouse visual associations. However, in the broad genre of chamber music there is no need for any sort of inspiration: the composition can break away from the burdensome gravitational force of titles that attempt to say something. It is extremely instructive that while compiling the obituary of Debussy, Mozart came to Zoltán Kodály’s mind: “We begin to understand what people praised about Mozart when his taste was mentioned with such emphasis. As if since then, the sense of the word had been lost. As if now, after so much distorted din, again the first shy rays of Latin beauty would radiate from the works of Debussy.” However, these shy rays can never fully illuminate every single nook and cranny of Debussy’s works. His pieces will always remain mysterious or, as some of Debussy’s contemporaries so willingly put it, intoxicatingly vague. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 56

J. S. Bach: Hercules at the Crossroads – cantata, BWV 213 Aura Musicale (artistic director: Balázs Máté) Narrator: Dániel Mona The Students of the Liszt Academy: Edina Békefi (soprano) Anna Fürjes (alto) András Farkas (tenor) Máté Herczeg (bass) Heroes, fairies and clowns take centre stage in the Liszt Kidz concert series this autumn for 10–15-year-olds (not to mention their parents and grandpa rents). In the first production we were introduced to a legendary water nymph through a romantic flute sonata; this time we get to spend an hour in the company of one of the mightiest heroes of Greek mythology, Hercules himself. Our hero is introduced by no less a composer than Johann Sebastian Bach, who composed the cantata Hercules at the Crossroads for the 11th birthday of the son of the Elector of Saxony. The work, for once, is not about some heroic act of Hercules, but rather whether the young champion will take the path of pleasure or virtue. The decision is far from simple, but help is provided by the fine cellist Balázs Máté, alongside Aura Musicale playing period instruments. Tickets: HUF 1 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: National Cultural Fund of Hungary

Mendelssohn: Andante and Scherzo, Op. 81 Schumann: String Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 41/3 Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano) Kodály Quartet: Attila Falvay, Ferenc Bangó (violin); János Fejérvári (viola); György Éder (cello) The Parisian audience, so sensitive to etiquette and the most minute of gestures, were astonished when they noticed that on completing César Franck’s Quintet in F minor, the pianist walked off the stage and ‘accidentally’ left behind on the piano rest his own sheet copy of the music. Many interpreted this gesture as a sign of contempt for the work, which was all the more ill-mannered because the pianist in question was actually the composer the work was dedicated to! The behaviour of Camille Saint-Saëns – and we will never know whether his actions were deliberate or not – has thus entered the annals of music history as a “minor scandal that overshadowed the world premiere of the Franck quintet.” If the work had debuted not in Paris but instead in Berlin or Leipzig, perhaps in the company of pieces by Mendelssohn and Schumann, then we might expect the public to have taken the quintet closer to heart, given that the work bears a close affinity to the chamber music of German Romanticism. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 3 100, 4 300, 5 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER, 19.30

FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

MVM CONCERTS – THE PIANO DEZSŐ RÁNKI PIANO RECITAL CONCERT IN B-FLAT Haydn: Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Hob. XVI:41 Schumann: Humoresque, Op. 20 Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC COBZA RENAISSANCE REBIRTH OF AN INSTRUMENT IN HUNGARY BACH FOREVER PURCELL CHOIR & ORFEO ORCHESTRA BACH’S CHURCH CANTATAS

Dezső Ránki (piano) “An ideal pianist constitution who has superb feeling for the piano and is carried by the music with marvellous confidence. His performance is always plastically delineated, enclosed, ordered, clear and simple. He does not seek anything on the surface, instead drawing from the emotional wellsprings of music. His lyrical inspiration and immaculate purity flowing from his entire music-making make his play exceedingly attractive, and hold the promise of an artistic career touching the true heights.” This is how György Kroó praised the 18-yearold Dezső Ránki, newly minted winner of the Zwickau Schumann Piano Competition, in 1970. Nearly half a century has passed since we were first introduced to the young pianist and today one can say that Kroó’s prediction of an “artistic career touching the heights” has proved true in every respect. There is simply no question that Dezső Ránki is one of the most significant pianists of our day. His concert at the Liszt Academy features a Haydn sonata which is perfect for Ránki’s piano style, Humoreske, the Schumann virtuoso cycle, and Händel Variations, perhaps the most ambitious piano work by Brahms. Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 8 000, 10 000 Organizers: Besszer Concert, Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Johann Sebastian Bach: ‘Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe’– cantata, BWV 25 ‘Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende’– cantata, BWV 90 ‘Schauet doch und sehet ob irgendein Schmerz sei’– cantata, BWV 46 ‘Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott’– cantata, BWV 101 ‘Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht’– cantata, BWV 105

László Szlama, Mátyás Bolya, Boróka Raffay (cobza); Mihály Dresch (fuhun); Róbert Kerényi (flute); Attila Mihó, Tilla Török (violin) Bordó Sárkány Early Music Order; Anno Musica; PásztorHóra orchestra; Kobzart; SzlamaBand Hungarian State Folk Ensemble

The music of Bach never needs an ‘occasion’. It is a pleasure to listen to at any time, and the ‘message’ of his music is relevant to all times. Today this equally applies to his cantatas, even though at one time these compositions were each closely connected to the liturgical content of a specific Sunday service. Cantatas associated with five Sundays throughout the year are performed at this Wednesday concert featuring György Vashegyi and his ensembles.

As a member of an ancient instrument family, the cobza carries you on a musical journey both in space and time; this concert features not only traditional works but more modern extraordinarily creative arrangements. With the assistance of his friends and using his own productions, Junior Prima Prize winner László Szlama reproduces some of the finest melodies in folk and historical music, showcasing this ‘reinvented’ instrument. Szlama takes to the stage with a selection of fine ensembles: Bordó Sárkány Early Music Order, who are renowned for their energy-packed concerts; Anno Musica, who approach early music from the direction of authentic folk music; PásztorHóra, who blend ancient Csángó traditions with the youthful dynamism of the Budapest dance house scene; Kobzart, with their unconventional line-up; and last, but by no means least, SzlamaBand. The following artists are also on hand to play with László Szlama: Attila Mihó, Tilla Török, Flóra Török, Róbert Kerényi, Mihály Dresch and Mátyás Bolya, not to mention dancers of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 3 100, 4 300, 5 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Adriána Kalafszky, Katalin Szutrély (soprano); Péter Bárány, Zoltán Gavodi (countertenor); Márton Komáromi, Péter Mészáros (tenor); Ákos Borka, Lóránt Najbauer (bass) Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra (on period instruments) Conductor: Vashegyi György

LONDON SINFONIETTA (9 FEBRUARY 2017) © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA

BORODIN QUARTET (9 JUNE 2017) © LISZT ACADEMY / ZOLTÁN ADRIÁN 58

LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (22 FEBRUARY 2017) © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA

OPERA EXAM - SINISTER ROMANTIC (16 JANUARY 2017) © LISZT ACADEMY / ANDREA FELVÉGI

ALEXANDRE THARAUD (11 MARCH 2017) © LISZT ACADEMY / LÁSZLÓ MUDRA 59

MAGICAL STORYTELLERS In the wake of Firsts and Lasts and then Turning Point, Magic Mountain, a most apt appellation similarly lifted from literature, becomes the title of the new series of kamara.hu. Many parallels can be drawn between the Thomas Mann novel and the Liszt Academy’s now well established autumn chamber music festival, but artistic directors Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon did not choose the title purely for these similarities.

DÉNES VÁRJON & IZABELLA SIMON © LISZT ACADEMY / MISI KONDELLA 60

Kamara.hu has two characteristics of outstanding significance. One is that every featured artist belongs among the host couple’s select group of friends. The second is that these artists are all, without any exaggeration, ranked as some of the finest musicians of our day, artists who regularly take to the stage of the leading concert halls of the world. Several will already be familiar to audiences of kamara.hu, as they make their return appearances at the festival. Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon plan long ahead and send out invitations to artists years in advance of the concert – and no wonder, given their intense concert schedules – so it has long been known that 2017 features the youthful and superb violinist Veronika Eberle, as well as horn player Radovan Vlatković, an artist the author of this article has fallen in love with – musically speaking, that is! Joined by Dénes Várjon to make the same trio that played Brahms at the festival two years ago, the artists appear at the opening concert performing Ligeti’s Horn Trio. There are familiar names from last year, too, with Csaba Klenyán and György Lakatos both making appearances in several concerts. Budapest is also not entirely unfamiliar territory for either violinist Muriel Cantoreggi or violist Andrea Hallam, since both have played here before, albeit at one of Simon and Várjon’s earlier chamber music festivals. We also have the Marlboro Music Festival, staged under the musical direction of Mitsuko Uchida, to thank for the presence of several artists. This is the venue where each year the two artistic directors of kamara.hu develop life-long friendships and acquire unforgettable chamber music experiences. Both speak of the festival in glowing terms and with nostalgic smiles. This year they have managed to tempt to Hungary Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Kim Kashkashian, Roman Rabinovich and Escher String Quartet cellist Brook Speltz, along with the other members of the quartet. Another favourite destination of Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon is Switzerland, where they go to play music and holiday with equal enthusiasm. This magical country is not only significant from the aspect of kamara.hu in being the setting for the novel by Thomas Mann, but also because the artistic directors have established numerous close friendships there. This is where Izabella Simon met singer Marie-Claude Chappuis, who performs works by Brahms, Schubert and Mahler at the opening concert on 16 November. Every year the pianist places special emphasis on the lieder repertoire, steadfastly maintaining that works written for vocals and piano are genuine chamber music and far from being mere pianoaccompanied songs. After joint performances with Polina Pasztircsák, Sarah Shafer and István Kovács, there will be no doubt in the minds of the Solti Chamber Hall audience that Simon is indeed right. Perhaps it is also due to this concord of feeling – not to mention, of course, the seemingly endless repertoire of beautiful songs – that this year, just as in 2016, we can once again listen to two singers. Besides Chappuis, Zoltán Megyesi takes to the stage in the closing concert with Schumann’s cycle A Poet’s Love. The list of featured artists attending kamara.hu is further enhanced by other excellent Hungarian musicians,

including bassist Zsolt Fejérvári and violinist András Keller; Tamás Érdi performs Chopin in the Grand Hall, while Miklós Perényi showcases the broad cello repertoire, from Schumann and Janáček through to Dohnányi and Schoenberg. Naturally, the two artistic directors also have major roles in the programmes: they are on stage for all the concerts. Their piano duet is one of the highlights of the festival, along with their joint productions with invited artists; this year, they perform a Debussy and a Brahms piece. This constitutes one of the principal hallmarks of the festival: a carefully selected, family-style group of musicians of unquestionable professional quality. Another hallmark is the delightful programme, which has been fashioned with similar precision. While previous title Firsts and Lasts made an easy connection with the oeuvres of composers, and Turning Point also clearly marked out certain works, Magic Mountain is far less specific. This time, Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon took a twin approach. On the one hand, they sought a literary hook to the music (they highlight the importance of the harmony of the fellow arts through complementary programmes); on the other hand, they were looking for a concept that would in itself spark a whole variety of associations. Without a doubt, a similarity can be recognised between the power of the original Magic Mountain and kamara.hu to lift one above earthly reality and problems: the festival is for those aiming to relax and improve the mind in an oasis of tranquillity. Just as in the novel, here too there are complete philosophical systems to be discovered for those who arrive at the Liszt Academy with open ears and open hearts. What is more, in a metaphorical sense, kamara.hu is also a ‘mountain’ in that it represents a pinnacle of artistic standard, one guaranteed to enchant all who ascend its slopes. The programmes for this year’s concerts are forged into units by the ‘magic mountain’ as a concept: part magic, fairy tale, fantasy and ballad, with a narration that links the works of each programme. Every concert is a story in which there are contrasts, but these contrasts form an integral part of the whole. This is how Ligeti can end up between Brahms and Schubert; why Schoenberg is placed alongside Mahler; and why a Frenchman, a Pole, a Moravian and an Austrian come one after the other. There are composers with close connections such as Bach and Busoni, or Brahms and Schumann, and one can say that, in general, the parts before and after the intermission always form a coherent block. We will come across fairy-tale figures such as the love-struck poet, the spirit, the wandering lad, the elf king, and even death and the maiden; with respect to genre, there is everything from free fantasy to strictly regulated fugues. The tale is the central theme of the literary discussion, to which Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon have invited Ildikó Boldizsár, author and researcher of fairy tales. Meanwhile, kids can glimpse the musical world of Cinderella on 18 November. To sum up, this storybook – that is, the festival – promises everyone pleasant adventures, one that is certainly worth listening to, especially because one rarely comes across such storytellers and stories as these. Dániel Mona

MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER, 19.30

TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER, 19.30

THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

ANDRÁS MIHÁLY 100 Mihály: String Quartet No. 2 Beethoven: Sonata No. 10 for Violin and Piano in G major, op. 96 Mihály: Mouvement Mihály: Three Movements for Chamber Ensemble Péter Kováts (violin); Miklós Perényi (cello); Csilla Varga, Balázs Fülei (piano); Kruppa Quartet; students of the Liszt Academy Chamber Music Department Host: Lóránt Péteri András Mihály, composer, conductor, cellist and legendary professor of chamber music at the Liszt Academy, was born 100 years ago. A survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp, Mihály was one of the most influential figures in music in the period 1945–1950; from 1962 he acted as music director at Hungarian Radio, and for nearly a decade from 1978 he was director of the Opera House. His oeuvre as composer remains as significant as his work as a teacher of chamber music, and this commemorative concert places the spotlight on both these activities. Just a few months before his death, Mihály stated that he considered the String Quartet No. 2 to be one of his most important pieces. Three Movements for Chamber Ensemble premiered in Hungary in the Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy on 4 October 1968 at a concert featuring the Budapest Chamber Ensemble conduc ted by Mihály. Beethoven’s Sonata in G major not only represents the classical tradition that Mihály, as a practicing musician and composer, considered important, but it also stands in tribute to the memory of this great professor of chamber music. Free tickets to the concert can be obtained at the ticket office of the Liszt Academy one month before the concert. Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 62

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/1 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY MASTERS OF THE ORCHESTRA MÁTYÁS ANTAL & LISZT ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Szőllősy: Concerto No. 4 Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127 Kodály: Missa brevis Fülöp Ránki (piano) Alma Mater Choir (choral director: Csaba Somos) Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Mátyás Antal Some years ago, at what might have been billed as an ‘everyday conductor’s exam’, Fülöp Ránki gave a performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto in A major of such confidence and mature conception, and of such extraordinary forcefulness, the like of which one typically finds only at the rarest and most talked-about concerts. It was obvious for aficionados then that Bartók’s third piano concerto would also be particularly suited to this kind of approach. This extremely poetic piece has always been far more a test of heart, empathy and imaginative timbre than of technique. And if we are looking for a conductor who is receptive to a chamber music approach to grand orchestral pieces, then that person is Mátyás Antal. To accompany the piano concerto, Antal has selected a Szőllősy concerto rich in string tonality, plus a work by Kodály created at virtually the same time as the Piano Concerto No. 3. Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Brahms: Two Songs for alto, viola and piano, Op. 91 Schubert: Death and the Maiden, D. 531 Schubert: Erlkönig, D. 328 (arrangement for vocals and strings) Ligeti: Horn Trio (‘Hommage à Brahms’) Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer Schoenberg: Transfigured Night, Op. 4 Izabella Simon, Dénes Várjon (piano) Marie-Claude Chappuis (mezzosoprano); Veronika Eberle, Muriel Cantoreggi, András Keller (violin); Kim Kashkashian, Andrea Hallam (viola); Miklós Perényi, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello); Radovan Vlatković (horn) Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Aaron Boyd (violin); Pierre Lapointe (viola); Brook Speltz (cello) Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon’s chamber music festival is hosted by the Liszt Academy for the third occasion, this year under the title Magic Mountain. During the four-day festival top Hungarian and international musicians, close friends of the couple, take to the stage in what promises to be a series of musical experiences quite unique in terms of the profoundly personal approach and remarkable artistic connections. Fairy tales, fantasies and little-known stories are drawn together at these concerts, the programmes of which were inspired by the associations between the free-running imagination of the two artistic directors and the works themselves. Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER, 10.30

SOLTI HALL

CUPOLA HALL

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/2 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY J. S. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (excerpts) Busoni: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in E minor, Op. 36a Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 Bruch: Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 83 (excerpts) Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70/1 (‘Ghost’) Izabella Simon, Dénes Várjon, Roman Rabinovich (piano) Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Aaron Boyd (violin); Pierre Lapointe (viola); Brook Speltz (cello) Muriel Cantoreggi, András Keller (violin); Andrea Hallam (viola); Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello) Radovan Vlatković (horn); Csaba Klenyán (clarinet)

ESCHER STRING QUARTET © SOPHIE ZHAL

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/CINDERELLA CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Editor-host: Izabella Simon Featuring artists of kamara.hu

“The Art of Fugue is the ‘magic mountain’ in the empire of music,” Dénes Várjon once said in connection with this monumental Bach work, excerpts of which are performed here by Echer String Quartet. The Art of Fugue is followed by an epic work by Busoni, the Sonata in E minor, which owes much to Bach’s music in terms of ethos and subjects. There are countless underlying associations threaded through the concertclosing Piano Trio in D major, the slow movement of which reminded Czerny, a student of Beethoven, of the ghost of Hamlet’s father. The work, since that time known simply as the ‘Ghost Trio’, is performed here by Muriel Cantoreggi, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and Izabella Simon.

Following Babar the Elephant, and the Little Red Violin and the Big Evil Cello, this year Cinderella arrives for the kamara.hu matinée programme to enchant the festival’s younger visitors. As with last year’s tale, the music for Cinderella is by Oscar winner Anne Dudley, while the libretto is the work of Steven Isserlis, the multifaceted cellist well known to the kamara.hu audience. Izabella Simon, who is fluent in the language of children, is programme editor and hostess, as well as being the mastermind behind this whole experience, which leads both young and old into the magical empire of storytelling and music. Children are not just the audience but also active participants in this programme designed to discover the magical cosmos of music and the fellow arts. This ambitious goal is realized with the participation of selected musicians of kamara.hu.

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 63

SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

MIHALOVICH SONGS Lilla Horti, Ildikó Megyimórecz (soprano); Attila Erdős (baritone); Bence Pataki (bass); Emese Virág (piano) Programme director: Sándor Kovács Artistic director: Éva Marton Ödön Mihalovich wrote himself into the annals of cultural history as one of the most significant figures in Hungary’s music life, as it was under his direction in the period 1887–1919 that the Liszt Academy became a world-class institution. When he took over there were six departments: all the others that are still in operation to this day were added during his tenure. He also established the organizational structure of teaching that provides the foundation for the functioning of the Liszt Academy today. Mihalovich not only contracted the teachers, for instance, Bartók and Kodály, but he also fought hard to get civil servant status and pay for them, as well as pension rights. Although he is little known as a composer today, in his day he was popular as an adherent of the path marked out by Wagner and Liszt. His unique songs are performed by four most excellent vocalists of the Liszt Academy, all under the artistic direction of Éva Marton, professor emerita. Listeners are swept back to the world of the Liszt Academy of a century ago by Sándor Kovács, music historian and recipient of the Knight’s Order of the Republic of Hungary. Free tickets to the concert can be obtained at the ticket office of the Liszt Academy one month before the concert. Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: MMA 64

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/3 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Debussy: En blanc et noir Chopin: Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 Janáček: Concertino Janáček: Pohádka Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (‘Trout’) Izabella Simon, Dénes Várjon, Roman Rabinovich, Tamás Érdi (piano) Veronika Eberle, Muriel Cantoreggi (violin); Kim Kashkashian, Andrea Hallam (viola); Miklós Perényi, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello); Zsolt Fejérvári (double bass) Radovan Vlatković (horn); Csaba Klenyán (clarinet); György Lakatos (bassoon) The Saturday concert of the Magic Mountain festival allows us once again to experience the skills of Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon communicating with special intimacy and unique sensitivity. This time the artist couple approach En blanc et noir, Debussy’s work for two pianos. Tamás Érdi joins the kamara.hu family of artists as a new guest. Janáček’s works are closely aligned to the music of Schubert, and at the same time they open towards Chopin’s harmonies and Impressionism, thus providing an artistic ‘glue’ for this Grand Hall programme. The concert closes with a Schubert’s joyous Trout Quintet. Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900, 4 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

VERONIKA EBERLE © FELIX BOERLE

SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 11.00

SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 17.00

SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

LISZT ACADEMY BUFFET

SOLTI HALL

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/4 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Schumann: Phantasiestücke, Op. 88 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 117 Schumann: Fairy Tale Pictures, Op. 113 Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/BETWEEN THE THREE OF US CONVERSATION ON LITERATURE AND MUSIC Hosts: Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon Guest: Ildikó Boldizsár

Schumann’s Phantasiestücke dates from 1840 (known as ‘the year of songs’) in the happiest period of his life, when, after several years of personal struggle, the composer married Clara Wieck. Shostakovich’s String Quartet in E-flat major is performed by Escher String Quartet, this year’s kamara.hu ‘resident’ quartet, a piece in which there is an entire series of hidden meaning and deep symbolism. The imagination of Schumann is revealed in the character pieces Fairy Tale Pictures, played here by Miklós Perényi and Dénes Várjon. The music of Smetana is not far from this fantasy world and is, similarly to Schumann’s works, characterized by an unlimited inner freedom.

“Everything is to be found in tales: everything that was and everything that can be.” For the kamara.hu literary afternoon there can be no better conversation partner for Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon when exploring the world of fairy tales and fantasies at this year’s Magic Mountain programme than Ildikó Boldizsár, who as author, researcher, fairy-tale therapist and storyteller guides us through worlds of wonder. “With the help of fantasy, the patterns of experience and thinking can be shattered; suddenly worlds that are imperceptible in ordinary circumstances can be seen, formed and experienced.” These words of Ildikó Boldizsár are marvellously apt for the festival concerts, which through the power of music help us experience realities that exist beyond the everyday. It is now a tradition for special compositions to be performed in the literary programme, a programme in which artists of the festival also join: last year Jörg Widmann gave a recital of on of his own compositions, while this year Radovan Vlatković plays a piece written for him by Krzysztof Penderecki.

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Dénes Várjon, Roman Rabinovich (piano) Veronika Eberle (violin); Miklós Perényi, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello) Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Aaron Boyd (violin); Pierre Lapointe (viola); Brook Speltz (cello)

MAGIC MOUNTAIN KAMARA.HU/5 CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Brahms: Variations on a Schumann Theme, Op. 23 Schumann: A Poet’s Love, Op. 48 Wolf: Italian Serenade Dohnányi: Sextet in C major, Op. 37 Izabella Simon, Dénes Várjon (piano) Zoltán Megyesi (tenor); Muriel Cantoreggi (violin); Kim Kashkashian (viola); Miklós Perényi (cello); Csaba Klenyán (clarinet); Radovan Vlatković (horn) Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Aaron Boyd (violin); Pierre Lapointe (viola); Brook Speltz (cello) At a period in his life when he bordered on the insane, Schumann believed that Mendelssohn and Schubert were dictating the ‘Ghost Variations’, the subject of which provided the core for Brahms’s four-hand Schumann variations. In the wake of last year’s song cycles, the movingly beautiful Winterreise and the dramatic Frauenliebe und -leben, this year Schumann’s A Poet’s Love adorns the series of song cycles on the kamara.hu programme. The second half of the concert opens with Hugo Wolf’s melodic, emotional Italian Serenade, and closes with Dohnányi’s unusual instrumental line-up in the Sextet in C major, to use the words of Dénes Várjon, “as a liberating force, like a huge exhalation.” Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 65

TUESDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 19.00

WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

KODÁLY 2017 ACCORD QUARTET KODÁLY QUARTETS Zoltán Kodály: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 2 String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 Serenade, Op. 12

MVM CONCERTS ANDREA ROST & ANDREA VIGH Works by Gluck, Händel, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini & Walter-Kühne Andrea Rost (soprano) Andrea Vigh (harp) According to the traditional allocation of roles for aria recitals, a singer is usually accompanied by an orchestra or, lacking these facilities, a piano; however, in this exquisite case Kossuth Prize soprano Andrea Rost’s partner is the former head of the Liszt Academy’s harp department and the current president of the conservatory, Andrea Vigh. There is no better example of the harp-vocals heritage of the institution than the opening ceremony of the Liszt Academy on 14 November 1875. Vasárnapi Újság reported that on this august occasion, Liszt’s works were performed on harp rather than piano. Of course, this once simple instrument had, by the end of the 19th century, developed a remarkably complex structure, and it is now capable of virtually the same technical bravura as a modern piano. The programme features two popular 18 th-century arias and pearls of 19th-century Italian opera, some of the most famed bel canto pieces, including virtuoso harp works. Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 8 000 Organizers: Besszer Concert, Liszt Academy Concert Centre 66

Accord Quartet: Péter Mező, Csongor Veér (violin); Péter Kondor (viola); Mátyás Ölveti (cello)

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE JULIAN RACHLIN & ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Ludwig van Beethoven: Coriolan - Overture, Op. 62 Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 Julian Rachlin (violin) English Chamber Orchestra

In the four months of the 2017–2018 concert season that fall within the Kodály commemoration year, the Liszt Academy pays tribute with a monthly concert to the memory of its one-time professor, educator of epochal significance, folk music researcher and composer. The concerts present a cross-section of Kodály’s rich and diverse oeuvre with the assistance of performance artists closely connected with, or working in, the Hungarian institution. For this evening, two string quartets are performed which represent the essence of the master’s chamber music for strings; these are accompanied by the rarely heard serenade for two violins and viola. Accord Quartet are among the youngest representatives of the great Hungarian quartet tradition and who perform works by Kodály and Bartók amongst the classics. Since their foundation in 2001 they have become one of the most determinative musical groups in Hungary and have given concerts in almost all the countries and great concert halls of Europe, such as in the Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels (BOZAR), the Fine Arts Museum of Madrid, and the Ermitage of St Petersburg.

Of Lithuanian origin but a long-time resident of Vienna, Julian Rachlin is a highly sought-after artist in his capacities as violinist, viola player and conductor. Despite his packed concert seasons, he also manages to find time to teach and work for the interests of future generations as a goodwill and humanitarian ambassador for major international organizations, including UNICEF and the World Economic Forum. However, Rachlin is committed not only to young people but to the music of the future as well: he is associated with the premieres of numerous new works and he has had pieces written for him by such fine composers as Giya Kancheli and Krzysztof Penderecki. One of the highpoints of the 2015–16 season was when Julian Rachlin debuted jointly as conductor and soloist in the Musikverein in Vienna, a place he holds dear to his heart. The programme featured a Mendelssohn violin concerto and a Mendelssohn symphony, with Julian Rachlin at the head of the English Chamber Orchestra. He brings the same orchestra to Budapest for this concert of Beethoven works.

Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 3 700, 5 100, 6 500, 7 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

“INQUISITIVENESS KEEPS ONE YOUTHFUL” Violinist and conductor (sometimes both at the same time), viola player and chamber musician, teacher and philanthropist… Born in Lithuania but resident since childhood in Vienna, Julian Rachlin is one of those rare musician personalities whose diversity and energy is difficult to formulate in words. As one of the most in-demand artists of our day, he takes to the stage of the Grand Hall on 22 November at the head of English Chamber Orchestra, which boasts a tradition going back TO close on 60 years. He conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Violin Concerto, the latter also as solo instrumentalist. In this interview with Concert Magazine, he speaks about his multifaceted activities, the musical up bringing of young people, Bartók, and the role of music in public life.

I believe that the Beethoven Violin Concerto is your favourite concerto. What is your association with this piece? Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is the king of the genre, the highest pinnacle that a violinist can climb. However, its incredible complexity lies precisely in its simplicity: it is full of scales, runs, arpeggios; the music is extremely pure and simple. This ‘silvery’ part represents the greatest challenge for violinists because the soloist cannot hide behind the music’s smooth exterior. At the same time, we are talking about a major symphonic work and it is difficult to find the ideal performance style for it, as well as the balance between Classicism and Romanticism. It is possible to play Beethoven in many different ways, and it is a huge challenge for us musicians to find from among the infinite possibilities that particular interpretation in which we truly believe. One lifetime is simply not enough in which to discover all the secrets of Beethoven’s music. You frequently work together with English Chamber Orchestra. English Chamber Orchestra are one of my favourite orchestras. I maintain close contacts with the musicians and this is a huge benefit during performances. We really know each other’s style, we understand the wishes and reactions of each other, and this creates an opportunity for us to go into the deepest recesses of the music. I’ve learnt a huge amount from the orchestra, because a conductor has just as much to learn from the musicians as they do from him. You frequently conduct as a soloist. What sort of feeling is it to play the same work with a conductor?

JULIAN RACHLIN © JULIA WESELY

I feel that it is a great gift to be able to approach concertos from both directions. Despite the fact that I play and conduct at the same time, I do pay far greater attention to the orchestral parts surrounding the solo. I hear the second bassoon, the clarinet, the kettledrum. It is a totally different though equally exciting experience o play the same piece with a conductor. Earlier, I didn’t restrict my attention solely to my own part, but ever since I have been conducting as well, I find I am far more interested in how the conductor rehearses, what his concepts are, how he interprets the piece. Inquisitiveness keeps one youthful. I find the various roles – the violin, viola, teaching, conducting, playing chamber music – hugely inspiring. I never consider myself to be exclusively a violinist. As far as I am concerned, the violin is not the most important: my instrument is merely a tool for me to experience music more profoundly. 67

This spring you appeared in Budapest as soloist in Bartók’s Viola Concerto, but you have also played his string quartets on numerous occasions. What does Bartók’s music mean to you? Bartók is without doubt the most brilliant Hungarian composer. I love the Viola Concerto, and of his violin concertos my favourite is probably the first. Aside from works by Beethoven and Shostakovich, his string quartets are the most significant in the genre. In the near future I intend to discover his orchestral works as well, first and foremost the Miraculous Mandarin and the orchestral Concerto. It was an honour and an uplifting experience to play Bartók in Hungary, one could sense in the orchestra that they truly understand and have a feeling for this music. Of course, it is not only Hungarian orchestras that are capable of playing Bartók well, just as Beethoven is not only finely played by Austrian and German ensembles. As well as your stage career, you are active as a UNICEF ambassador. Why is this important for you? It is in the lifeblood of every person to give – this is only natural for me. If somebody is successful at something, then they have a duty to share it with those to whom it is not given. I consider myself to be extraordinarily lucky to be able to make a living from my passion, I can travel the world, and I feel that through my activities with UNICEF I can repay my good fortune. I joined the programme seven years ago after receiving an invitation from my close friend Sir Roger Moore, since when I have tried to participate in it to the best of my ability. Every year I arrange a large project somewhere in the world, when I try to bring together and enrich with musical experiences the lives of young people who otherwise would not have such opportunities. You not only support gifted people but you also consider it your task to raise the audience of the future. How can young people be brought closer to classical music? It all depends how active we are in this and what part we are prepared to take in order to involve children in the world of music. The only way of being effective among the generation brought up on the Internet is if we are extremely active ourselves, because we have to take up the challenge posed by the astounding speed of information flow, and we have to exploit its inherent opportunities. If we do not do this, then we face the risk that quite soon concert halls will be empty and ever fewer people will have an interest in classical music. It is precisely because of this that I try to be active not only in embracing and teaching highly gifted young artists, but more generally all young people who soon can become adherents of classical music and adults attending concert programmes. Zsófia Hózsa

THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER, 19.00

FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

COMPETITION WINNERS AKILONE QUARTET WINNERS OF THE BORDEAUX INTERNATIONAL STRING QUARTET COMPETITION Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18/6 Webern: Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5 Webern: Six Bagatelles, Op. 9 Schumann: String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41/1 Akilone Quartet: Emeline Concé, Elise De-Bendelac (violin); Louise Desjardins (viola); Lucie Mercat (cello)

AKILONE QUARTET © AGNÈS CHANUT

CHAMBER MUSIC, SO CLOSE GÁBOR ECKHARDT, GYÖRGY DÉRI & MIHÁLY BORBÉLY CHAMBER RECITAL Beethoven: Clarinet Trio in B-flat major, Op. 11 (‘Gassenhauer’) Bruch: Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 83 Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 Gábor Eckhardt (piano); György Déri (cello); Mihály Borbély (clarinet)

A good many of the winners of the Bordeaux quartet competition, which was established nearly 20 years ago, now rank among the global elite. The French Akilone Quartet won this major contest in 2016, not to mention the €20,000 cash prize, plus a concert tour taking in twelve countries including Japan. The magic in the sound of this ensemble, which was constituted in 2011 by students of the Paris Conservatoire, comes from something only found with the greatest of quartets: the different personalities of the four musicians are fully asserted, and yet there is an immaculate harmony, resulting in dynamic, glittering productions that lift one from the earth into the heavens. Perhaps this is why they chose their name from the Italian word aquiline, meaning ‘kite’. Their Budapest concert encompasses a youthful Beethoven quartet and Schumann masterpiece, as well as miniatures by Anton Webern (founding father of 20th century Modernism), which represent perhaps the greatest challenge in the quartet canon.

The power of alliteration should never be underestimated because it can even influence programme organizers. In this case, of course, the three works presented here are linked by more than the letter B of the composers’ names. The pieces, all written for clarinet trio, are performed by three superlative teachers of the Liszt Academy. The name of Beethoven’s Gassenhauer Trio comes from its third movement, which is a series of variations on the melody of a popular opera. Bruch’s Eight Pieces is a far quieter work. The 1891 clarinet trio of Brahms is in fact an addendum to his oeuvre, given that the composer had decreed in 1890 that the String Quintet in G major, which he had just completed, would be his last. However – and as it turns out propi tiously for us – this was precisely when he met the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, who so entranced him that he wrote several pieces for the musician. A friend of Brahms, Eusebius Mandyczewski, had this to say about the clarinet trio: “It is as though the instruments were in love with each other.”

Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 69

SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER, 11.00

SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

GRAND HALL JÓZSEF BALOG PIANO RECITAL

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS LET’S PLAY HÁRY JÁNOS! FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Kodály: Háry János

Rameau: Suite in G Major Tansman: Piano Sonata No. 5 (hommage à Bartók) Kodály: Meditation on a motive of Claude Debussy Kodály: Seven Piano Pieces, Op. 11 No. 3 Il pleure dans mon coeur, comme il pleut sur la ville; No. 2 Székely Lament Lajtha: Tales (excerpts) Bartók: Three Hungarian Folksongs from Csík, BB 45b Bartók: 14 Bagatelles, BB 50 Bartók: Allegro Barbaro, BB 63 Boulez: Incises József Balog (piano)

Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz (mezzosoprano); Géza Gábor (bass); Antal Cseh (baritone); Ágnes Török, Károly Szívós (puppeteers) Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Péter Oberfrank Heroes, fairies and clowns take centre stage in the Liszt Kidz concert series this autumn for 10–15-year-olds (not to mention their parents and grandparents). This time we also welcome even younger ones for a performance entitled ‘Let’s Play Háry János!’, featuring puppeteers Ágnes Török and Károly Szívós, Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz (mezzosoprano), Antal Cseh (baritone) and Géza Gábor (bass). These artists are charged with bringing the adventures of János Háry right into the Liszt Academy. There’s a morning of fun and games in store for kids as they follow the tale of the fearless, strong and quick-witted hussar, glimpsing the imperial court in Vienna, the triumph over Napoleon and celebrating at the Nagyabony feast. Danubia Orchestra Óbuda (conductor: Péter Oberfrank) perform the orchestral version of this highly successful production from the Kolibri Theatre. Tickets: HUF 1 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: National Cultural Fund of Hungary 70

Put simply, he is one of the most talented pianists of his generation. And given that the great Zoltán Kocsis was of the same mind, this is no empty boast. It is no mere accident that Kocsis invited József Balog to play as soloist with the Hungarian National Philharmonic on several occasions. Balog has a huge capacity for work and enormous modesty; he maintains a simply astounding repertoire, as is evident in his piano recital at the Liszt Academy: nearly 300 years separate the opening Rameau piece and the concluding Boulez work. However, he is a unique feature on the modern pianist landscape not merely for the breadth of his repertoire but also because of his particular affinity for ‘specialities’. This is also apparent in this programme, as alongside three frequently played Bartók works there are also rarely heard works from Kodály and Lajtha. If there is yet another thing to add to the commentary about this pianist, it must be his remarkable technical and intellectual virtuosity. Aside from József Balog, there are very few other pianists in the world capable of playing Incises, the 10-minute composition from the pen of Pierre Boulez. Tickets: HUF 1 200, 1 700, 2 800, 3 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

JÓZSEF BALOG

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 19.00

THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER, 19.00

SOLTI HALL

TALENT OBLIGES DOMONKOS CSABAY, BÁLINT KRUPPA, ANDRÁS KURGYIS & JÁNOS FEJÉRVÁRI CHAMBER RECITAL Lekeu: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major Schnittke: Piano Quartet Balázs Kecskés D.: Piano Quartet Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478 Domonkos Csabay (piano) Bálint Kruppa (violin) András Kurgyis (viola) János Fejérvári (cello) Four young artists reveal the mysteries of piano chamber music through a selection of exciting works, starting with the first masterpiece of the repertoire, Mozart’s opus, all the way to a creation by a young Hungarian contemporary composer. All the artists have numerous competition wins and considerable solo and chamber music experience. Domonkos Csabay has appeared at several foreign festivals and competitions with much success. Bálint Kruppa is a teacher in the Chamber Music Department of the Liszt Academy and first violinist. András Kurgyis also plays in the quartet; he is a student of Péter Bársony at the Liszt Academy. The final member, János Fejérvári, comes from a musical family and was brought up on chamber music. In a varied programme, one curiosity is the grandiose work by Guillaume Lekeu, of whom many held high hopes but who died of typhus in 1894 one day after his 24th birthday. Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: E.ON Hungary

BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS ANDRÁS KEMENES PIANO RECITAL Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet in G major, K. 387 String Quartet in D minor, K. 421 / 417b String Quartet in E-flat major, K 428 / 421b András Kemenes (piano) András Kemenes he has been a constant figure on the Hungarian and foreign concert scene ever since his graduation in 1982. Not only is he an accomplished piano player, but he is also a teacher of the instrument, both at his alma mater and around the world. This solo concert comes with a highly unusual programme of three Mozart string quartets – played on the piano! The quartets date from 1782–83 and show the influence of Joseph Haydn, who enjoyed a professional friendship with Mozart at that time. The first work in the six-part string quartet series, published in 1785 and dedicated in friendship and respect to Haydn, is the Quartet in G major bearing the title Spring, even though Mozart actually finalized it on New Year’s Eve 1782. Tradition has it that the work in D minor was written shortly after, precisely when his wife was in labour. The second movement of the third quartet, in E-flat major, is particularly noteworthy because it looks back to one of Haydn’s string quartets and at the same time points forward all the way to, in the opinion of some musicologists, Johannes Brahms.

ANDRÁS KEMENES © LISZT ACADEMY / ISTVÁN FAZEKAS

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 71

CONCERT CHRONOLOGY DECEMBER

Kuula: Karjapihassa (In the Cattleyard), Op. 31a/2 Järnefelt: Berceuse Mårtensson: Myrskyluodon Maija Merikanto: Kun päivä paistaa (When the Sun Shines) Kodály: Dances of Galánta Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus Lehár: ‘Lippen schweigen’ – Duet from the The Merry Widow Hurmio: (Ecstasy) – Tango transformation Yrjö Hjelt: Tango orkesterille ( Tango for orchestra) Sibelius: Finlandia, Op. 26

Concerts organized by Liszt Academy Concert Centre Hosted concert Classical Jazz Opera World / Folk Junior FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE GÁBOR BOLDOCZKI & PKF – PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA ‘BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’

Helena Juntunen (soprano) László Boldizsár (tenor) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Tibor Bogányi

FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

TUESDAY 5 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOLK MUSIC DEPARTMENT OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

GRAND HALL MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RUSSIAN EVENING Borodin: Prince Igor – Overture Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 Borodin: Symphony No. 2 in B minor Sergei Beliavsky (piano) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Alim Sakh Tickets: HUF 3 500, 4 000, 4 500 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

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SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER 2017, 15.30

SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

WEDNESDAY 6 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL CONCERTO ARMONICO BUDAPEST

SOLTI HALL HERE AND NOW SZŐLLŐSY–LIGETI RECITAL CONCERT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF ANDRÁS SZŐLLŐSY

GRAND HALL ZUGLÓ PHILHARMONICS BUDAPEST

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SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL SUOMI 100 GALA CONCERT ON THE OCCASION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FINLAND Sibelius: Karelia Suite, Op. 11 – Alla marcia Sibelius: Pohjolan Tytär (Pohjola’s Daughter), Op. 49 Kuula: Suutelo ( The Kiss), Op. 8/1 72

HELENA JUNTUNEN

GÁBOR BOLDOCZKI

SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

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TIBOR MÁRKUS & EQUINOX SEPTET

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GRAND HALL ANGELICA GIRLS' CHOIR

FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL JAZZ IT! TIBOR MÁRKUS & EQUINOX SEPTET TRAP – RECORD RELEASE CONCERT

Page 80 WEDNESDAY 6 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MVM CONCERTS – THE PIANO EVGENI KOROLIOV PIANO RECITAL BACH SERIES 4 Page 80

R. Strauss: Metamorphosen Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 38 (‘Spring’) Balázs Winkler (trumpet) Zugló Philharmonics Budapest Conductor: Pál Makovecz Tickets: HUF 2 300, 2 500, 2 900 Organizer: Zugló Philharmonics Budapest

THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL TALENT OBLIGES MIRA FARKAS HARP RECITAL Page 86

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THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL DANUBIA ORCHESTRA ÓBUDA

GRAND HALL BEYOND THE MUSIC… VÁSÁRY TAMÁS MUSICAL DISCUSSIONS

Nielsen: Helios-Overture, Op. 17 Milhaud: The Creation of the World Ravel: Daphnis and Chloé

Works by Zoltán Kodály Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Zoltán Pad) Conductor, introduction and piano: Tamás Vásáry

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200, 3 800, 4 700 Organizer: Danubia Orchestra Óbuda

MORITZ GNANN

MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

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WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL PARAPHRASES ON KODÁLY – MIHÁLY BORBÉLY & KODÁLY CHOIR DEBRECEN Mihály Borbély (clarinet, saxophone) Kodály Choir Debrecen Conductor: Máté Szabó Sipos

SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL CONCERTO BUDAPEST

Danubia Orchestra Óbuda Conductor: Moritz Gnann

Tickets: HUF 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000 Organizer: Hungarian Radio Music Ensembles

GRAND HALL CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL DAVID FRAY, GÉRARD CAUSSÉ & PAUL MEYER CHAMBER RECITAL

ANNA VINNITSKAYA

SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER 2017, 11.00

SOLTI HALL LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS PIERROT FOR 10-15-YEAR-OLDS

SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 – Pastorale Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in D minor, BWV 1063 Harpsichord Concerto in A major, BWV 1055 Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060 Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1062 Harpsichord Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in C major, BWV 1064 Evgeni Koroliov, Anna Vinnitskaya, Ljupka Hadzigeorgieva (piano) Concerto Budapest Conductor: András Keller Tickets: HUF 2 700, 3 600, 4 400, 5 300, 6 400 Organizer: Concerto Budapest TUESDAY 19 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL KODÁLY 135

GRAND HALL CLOSING CONCERT OF THE 500TH COMMEMORATIVE YEAR OF THE REFORMATION

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SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

SOLTI HALL CHAMBER MUSIC, SO CLOSE MIKLÓS PERÉNYI & MIKLÓS SPÁNYI BACH RECITAL Page 87

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WEDNESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MVM CHRISTMAS CONCERT Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 9 000 Organizers: Besszer Koncert, Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 1 500, 1 800 Organizer: Kodály Philharmonics Debrecen

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MIKLÓS SPÁNYI

WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL AT HOME IN THE LISZT ACADEMY PÉTER FRANKL & KELEMEN QUARTET

THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017, 19.00

SATURDAY 30 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL MÁV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SCHUMANN EVENING

GRAND HALL HAPPY NEW YEAR, VIRTUOSOS

Robert Schumann: Manfred Overture, Op. 115 Violin Concerto in D minor Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61

Tickets: HUF 12 900, 15 900, 24 900 Organizer: Little Virtuosos Foundation

Ilya Gringolts (violin) MÁV Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy Tickets: HUF 3 500, 4 000, 4 500 Organizer: MÁV Symphony Orchestra

GÁBOR PRESSER & AMADINDA

SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017, 22.45

GRAND HALL AMANDINA PERCUSSION GROUP & GÁBOR PRESSER NEW YEAR’S EVE CONCERT GUESTS: SAINT EPHRAIM MALE CHOIR ILYA GRINGOLTS

FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30 GR AND HALL

BACH FOREVER CONCERTO KÖLN & NEDERLANDS KAMERKOOR

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FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER 2017, 19.30

GRAND HALL ONE-OF-A-KIND YEAR-END FOLK MUSIC CONCERT ESSZENCIA WE STARTED ON A GREAT JOURNEY Page 88

Tickets: HUF 9 000, 10 000, 12 500, 15 000, 17 500 Organizer: Unisono

FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER, 19.30

SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER, 19.30

SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER, 19.00

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

ORCHESTRA IN THE CENTRE GÁBOR BOLDOCZKI & PKF – PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA ‘BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’ Benda: Symphony No. 2 in G major Neruda: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major Dvořák: Nocturne in B-flat major, Op. 40 Hummel: Introduction, Theme and Variations, Op. 102 Vaňhal: Symphony in G minor Dvořák: Two Waltzes, Op. 54 Vaňhal: Flugelhorn Concerto in F major Gábor Boldoczki (trumpet) Prague Philharmonia (concertmaster: Jan Fišer) Prague Philharmonia (PKF) look back on a history of more than two decades to their formation on the initiative of Jiří Bělohlávek in 1994. The world-famous conductor has been Conductor Laureate of the ensemble since 2005; the current head is the music director of The Dallas Opera, Frenchman Emmanuel Villaume. The ensemble invited three superb soloists to a concert given in the Prague Rudolfinum in autumn 2016: bassoon player Milan Turkovič as conductor and two globally-renowned trumpet virtuosi, Sergei Nakaryakov and Gábor Boldoczki, as soloists. One of the productions at this gala of the trumpet was a trumpet concerto by the 18 th century Czech composer Jan Křtitel Jiří Neruda (Johann Baptist Georg Neruda). The best known and most frequently performed work by Neruda, who composed several symphonies and concertos, is the magnificent trumpet concerto with which Gábor Boldoczki is set to captivate the audience in this recital at the Liszt Academy. Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

CONCERTO ARMONICO BUDAPEST ANGELICA GIRLS’ CHOIR

Works by Vivaldi & Van Wassenaer/2

Debussy: La Damoiselle élue Lajtha: Magnificat Saint-Saëns: Christmas Oratorio

Concerto Armonico Budapest (artistic director: Miklós Spányi) Concertmaster: Gábor Homoki

Andrea Deák, Anna Molnár (mezzosoprano); Ágoston Tóka (organ); Orsolya Sáfár (soprano); Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz (mezzosoprano) Angelica Girls’ Choir (choirmaster: Zsuzsanna Gráf) Tbilisi Male Choir (choirmaster: Archil Ushveridze) Budapest Strings (concertmaster: János Pilz; artistic director: Károly Botvay) Conductor: Zsuzsanna Gráf In early December, on the eve of the first Sunday in Advent, the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy offers a marvellous opportunity to get into the seasonal spirit with the assistance of several vocal soloists, organist Ágoston Tóka, Budapest Strings, a Georgian male voice choir and Angelica Girls’ Choir. Debussy’s cantata La Damoiselle élue evokes the moment of awakening and the heightening of desire of an ethereal female figure in heaven yearning for her earthbound lover. László Lajtha’s humble Magnificat, written for women’s choir and organ, holds out the hope of redemption. Finally, Saint-Saëns’s Christmas Oratorio tells the story of fulfilment and highlights the significance of the event.

Some critics avow that Vivaldi’s concerto series L’Estro Armonico (‘Harmonic Inspiration’) was perhaps the most influential publication of the 18 th century. What is true is that very little music has ever evoked such explosive success and, at the same time, its own fashion wave than this opus, which contains concertos for one, two or four violins in four trio groups. Although today this fantastic collection is widely known, it appears only very rarely in its entirety. Concerto Armonico undertake this project in two most promising evenings: the orchestra perform all twelve concertos of Vivaldi’s opus 3 series, with solos by members of the ensemble. The Vivaldi collection is joined by works from the six concerto armonicos after which the ensemble is named. The pieces were for many years considered to be by Italian composers – for a while they were ascribed to Pergolesi –, but eventually it transpired that these superb compositions were by the Dutch Count Wilhelm van Wassenaer, who as a nobleman could not publish them under his own name. However, the count was truly a musical, and trained composer: his works are among the finest examples of Italian style concertos.

Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Tickets: HUF 2 500, 3 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 75

FOLKISH… BUT NOT QUITE In its pure form, folk music is hard to come by. Like an unstable chemical, it cycles through numerous permutations as it reacts with something in its current environment. However, it is not only folk music itself that is fleeting and transmutative, the scientific fields seeking to analyse and define it are also in a constant state of flux. Science, teaching and, most recently, performance art itself try – in their own ways, using the tools at their disposal – to define the essence of the term folk music, but precisely because of its volatility, writers are forced into making lengthy circumlocutions on the subject. And let’s not forget that eternal scientific paradox that states that the observer always has an effect on the material being observed, so observation itself can never be totally objective.

The increasingly nationally conscious 19th century willingly exploited the ideal of folk music for its own ends, but the unconscious ‘self-education’ of wide peasant strata suited the culture policy clichés of Hungary in the 1950s. Nowadays, we can recognize those parts that have given us pleasure since the Romantic era in the sparkle of teary glances that frequently turn towards an ‘unspoiled’ golden age of yore. Naturally, we already known that an icon-like world of ideals is the least suitable means to describe the variety of mechanisms of dynamically morphing folk music. What is more, in the current context it is not simply the nature of folk music but far more Hungarian folk music that is important for us, but this in itself raises a torrent of new questions. Precisely which folk music does this expression cover? Folk music of Hungarian-speaking areas? Folk music of people of Hungarian nationality? The folk music played by musicians of Hungarian nationality? Folk music sung in Hungarian? Thus it is evident that we cannot disregard the issue of cross-nationality influences, which is highly complex both in space and time. Therefore, the scientist constructing a definition is well advised to approach this task with particular caution. Our greatest thinkers on this subject were well aware of the complexities of folklore processes, thus their exact – and in some places cautious – responses remain largely valid to this day. According to Zoltán Kodály: “For centuries, the life of the peoples of Europe has been a constant shifting from an illiterate, smallholder culture towards an urban culture of books and manufacturing.” He describes the concept – and its misunderstanding – of folk music by “semi-educated music circles” of the 19 th century in acerbic words: “The significant majority of the nation, feeling themselves to be of the people, thought in terms of songs on the tongues of all, which they lived with each day and everyone knew.” Without doubt, this composed music repertoire had an influence on folk music, and vice versa: it contained traces of folk music elements but was far from being identical to it. Béla Bartók was similarly little enthused by the general taste in music of his age. He found it hard to reconcile the after-effects of the (mis)interpretation of 19th-century folk music, which was virtually ineradicable from the public mind. Writing in a letter about his new plan, the processing of Hungarian folk songs with piano accompaniment, he added: “Of course, such things are not suitable for our good Hungarians. They are repelled by all serious things. The usual Gypsy sloppiness, from which every serious musician and every cultured foreigner flees, is far more to their taste.” The confused muddling of concepts of folk music, folkish-composed songs and Gypsy music is a problem still evident to this very day. According to Bartók, when referring to composers of the 19th century, Bihari, Lavotta, Csermák and others: “The amateur work penned under the influence of Gypsy music by those few foreigners and more or less amateur musicians is not national music, and in it any person with good taste can find no pleasure.” In his own papers, he experiments with outlining different definition boundaries, in some places he emphasizes the lack of influence of urban culture, and in other places he determines folk music as the applied music of the peasant

strata. In a broader sense, he considers the entirety of melodies used by human communities as “a quite spontaneous expression of their musical instincts.” In the final analysis, however, he considered the shaping of style strata as a determining aspect, the condition of which is the use of melodies in small communities over a long period. Finally, from the several representatives of this science it is worth quoting László Dobszay’s extremely elegant and thoughtful description. If we wish to apply “any member of the concept pair” to any earlier music history period, then because of the mutual relationship of folk music and composed music, “it will be all the more difficult to draw a boundary line.” He continued, “Comparing folk music with composed music or even popular music of the new age, on the one hand the characteristic differences of folk music will become apparent, and on the other hand, those correlations and continuous transitions that hamper the drawing of these boundaries, or at least make the differences clear only at the extremes.” It appears that our search for a concise and easily comprehensible definition is doomed to failure. But it is precisely this fact that makes our quest so beautiful. As a consequence of its incredible vitality, folk music outgrew the boundaries of science. After undergoing a sort of transmutation, it succeeded in conquering urban culture, initially as a new form of entertainment offered by the dance house movement, then later in the field of art education and teacher training. Today, in the Folk Music Department of the Liszt Academy, it is completely natural for students to deal not only with the music of Hungarian-speaking areas but also the music of the nationalities living in the Carpathian Basin. Indeed in experimental terms, the Kodály suggestion has also come true: music history sources that survive only in written form are to be reconstructed with the help of folk music performance techniques. Trends apparent in performance art show that ever more artists are increasingly willing to draw on forms of folk music that have been polished to perfection over centuries. One can expect these perfected musical miniatures to bring rapid success, particularly if their users are unsuited to establishing a music concept of similar aesthetic. In such a case, a fondness for folk music may be more an excuse in orchestral communication. No genuine synthesis will develop; stylistic elements of folk music or music references appear mosaic-like, stretched between bonding agents of questionable value. It is obvious that folk music is a specific language, knowledge of which does not equate to repetition of a few of its stock phrases. True freedom is where, having acquired a language, one is able to compose a poem in the given language. Naturally, there are good examples as well where musical dominoes placed next to each other merge into a beautiful image, and a new aesthetic quality is born. So, one wonders in what proportion these examples represent compared to cheap and superficial solutions? Experience shows that the number of those creating genuinely new quality, based on a profound understanding of folk music, is infinitesimally small. But let us not despair. After all, the history of music has taught us that it was always so. Authentic creations are there to be discovered on the far right of the Gauss bell curve … Mátyás Bolya

LISZTEN!

LISZT ACADEMY CONCERTS WITH STUDENT TICKET Whip out your student card and for just HUF 500 (less than â&#x201A;Ź2) you can buy a student ticket for vacant seats in the auditorium or for standing places in the 2nd floor student upper circle of the Grand Hall one hour before the concert. Only one student ticket available for each student card per performance.

TUESDAY 5 DECEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 6 DECEMBER, 19.00

WEDNESDAY 6 DECEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

HERE AND NOW SZŐLLŐSY–LIGETI RECITAL CONCERT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF ANDRÁS SZŐLLŐSY

MVM CONCERTS – THE PIANO EVGENI KOROLIOV PIANO RECITAL BACH SERIES 4

ACOUSTIC, AUTHENTIC 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOLK MUSIC DEPARTMENT OF THE LISZT ACADEMY Featuring teachers and students of the Folk Music Department Is it possible to base a theatre performance concept on the latest findings of folk music research? Are entertainment and scientific rigour irreconcilable partners? The Liszt Academy’s Folk Music Department has already proven that both questions can be answered in the affirmative with an evening two years ago entitled Forgotten Székler Land, which provided audiences with both an unforgettable concert expe rience and a picture – authentic in terms of folk music – of this archaic musical world. This ambitious concert spans the entire Hungarian-speaking territory, using the Hungarian Folk Music Anthology as the backbone for the production. Launched at the initiative and as the brainchild of György Martin, the anthology presented the music of the Magyars region by region in a total of seven albums. Despite its troubled fate, the authori tative series ranks to this day as the most complete audio recording encompassing the entire spectrum of folk music. Following the structure of the anthology this concert reveals in seven parts the Hungarian folk music dialects, and the characteristic genres, song types and customs of the different regions, all performed by the best singers and instrumentalists of the department. Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 80

Szőllősy: Night in Kolozsvár Ligeti: Cello Sonata Szőllősy: Fragments Ligeti: Piano Etudes Volume 1 (selection) Szőllősy: Addio in Memory of György Kroó Ligeti: Piano Etudes Volume 3 (selection) Barnabás Baranyai (cello) Bernadett Fodor (mezzosoprano) Kata Scheuring (flute) Fülöp Görbicz (viola) Zoltán Fejérvári (piano) Featuring students of the Liszt Academy “Is it possible that a composer – in all his verbal manifestations going back decades – who considers life to be a tragedy, the world to be inexplicable and oppressive chaos, who speaks about mourning and transience in nearly every single note, is still able to radiate a sense of beauty, purity, ascension and consolation through his works?” This is the question music historian János Kárpáti poses in his essay on András Szőllősy, in which he also notes that Szőllősy “is one of the most significant representatives of post-Bartók Hungarian composition, the ‘third’ master alongside György Ligeti and György Kurtág.” The concert evokes the composer and musicologist, who died ten years ago. It begins with one of the few compositions of Szőllősy surviving from his earlier period, Night in Kolozsvár (1955), and winds up with the last piece he completed, Addio in Memory of György Kroó. Tickets: HUF 1 200 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations ons BWV 988 Evgeni Koroliov (piano) Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and Bach’s Goldberg Variations may be considered the most ambitious keyboard variation series in the history of music. The thirty variations written for the bass part of the Aria are a brilliant intellectual achievement: not only are they masterpieces of the variation technique, but of the canon form, too, since every third variation was written in a strict canon. This work, which places extraordinary demands on technique and intellectual approach, has been well known since the rediscovery of Bach in the early 19th century, although its true popularity was established by the legendary recordings of Glenn Gould in 1955 (and again in 1981). Though there are very few selfrespecting pianists who would not at least attempt to take on the Goldberg Variations, the several hundred commercially available recordings suggest that the work shakes off those who approach it in the same way Mount Everest does with summiteers of different abilities and levels of dedication. Evgeni Koroliov is one of few pianists who has successfully scaled this work: both the profession and general public consider his recording among the benchmark readings of this giant piece. Tickets: HUF 3 000, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 8 000, 10 000 Organizer: Besszer Concert, Liszt Academy Concert Centre

THE POLYMATH OF MUSIC Like his fellow composers György Kurtág and György Ligeti, András Szőllősy was born in Transylvania. He lived in Orăștie (Szászváros) until the age of five, then in 1926 his family moved to Cluj-Napoca. He began his higher education studies in Budapest at the Academy of Music in 1939, and at the same time attended the Hungarian-French faculty at Péter Pázmány University of Sciences. This duality of approach was another sign that he would follow in the footsteps of Kodály, although not in an artistic or aesthetic sense; rather, the Kodály example primarily sparked in him a desire to seek a broad education and solid foundation. The intellectual grounding acquired during his years at university provided a clear-sightedness that accompanied him throughout his life. His career as a composer took off relatively late, from the second half of the 1960s, but it is astonishing to see what a prescient vision Szőllősy had even then of the delusions, problems and pitfalls of composition over the following four decades, and with what elegance he avoided them. In happier times, in the period 1947–48, he won a scholarship in Rome, where he attended the master school of Goffredo Petrassi. “Rome had a huge impact on me. It was there that I received a lesson in true democracy. I’m not talking about political democracy now but rather the relationship between one person and another, living together, the rules of respect for one another exercised over millennia,” he once said in an interview. Beside his knowledge, his culture and demanding approach to composition, this sanguine and wise attitude to the hysteria of political systems was the basis of the respect he garnered. Szőllősy created two totally authentic oeuvres: like Bartók and Kodály, he also made lasting contributions in the field of science. His humanities doctoral dissertation of 1943 was entitled ‘The Art of Kodály’ and was full of new insights; it remained a seminal work for many decades. His research, bibliographies, commentaries and essays after 1948 formed the foundation of the Bartók and Kodály philology over the next half century. If we were to count the number of pieces catalogued with the rigour so typical of Szőllősy (and ignore the over 60 musical accompaniments written for film, theatre and radio), the number would barely top 30: a dozen closely pruned orchestral works of cathartic power, fewer than ten chamber works and a similar number of vocal compositions. But with these ‘few’ works Szőllősy leaves posterity a worthy lesson: never get into a situation where only one work can be chosen above the others. Today it appears indeed true what at one time – partly in good humour – was said about him: “Szőllősy is a composer who writes only great works.” Szabolcs Molnár

FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER, 19.00

SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER, 11.00

SOLTI HALL

JAZZ IT! TIBOR MÁRKUS & EQUINOX SEPTET TRAP – RECORD RELEASE CONCERT Linda Kovács (vocals, percussion, synthesizer); Viktória Eszes (vocals, percussion); Tibor Márkus (piano, synthesizer); András Jász (alto-saxophone); Zoltán Zana (tenor-saxophone, EWI saxophone-synthesizer); Barna Tibor Csuhaj (double bass); György Jeszenszky (drums) Modern mainstream jazz combo Equinox have appeared at dozens of jazz festivals and in cities across Hungary and abroad. Their repertoire is shaped by the works of Tibor Márkus, Erkel Ferenc Prize composer and concertmaster, and which, alongside utilizing modern compositional elements, is characterized by the retention of melodiousness and acceptability. His compositions, which are extremely varied in instrumentation and style, ‘proclaim the indivisibility of music’. Márkus Tibor released four albums under the name of his former quartet; he has appeared on a further four composer discs along with the cream of jazz. “Everything comes together on the album TRAP for the most expert performance of my music. Georgina Kanizsa’s literary-like lyrics crown my songs. Performers are the Equinox Septet. Excellent artists, strong characters, great people, very good friends.” These are the words of Tibor Márkus in connection with his latest album. Tickets: HUF 1 900, 2 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 82

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY – HEROES, FAIRIES, CLOWNS PIERROT FOR 10–15-YEAR-OLDS Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Op. 21 Anna Molnár (mezzosoprano) Weiner Ensemble Conductor and narrator: János Bali Heroes, fairies and clowns take centre stage in the Liszt Kidz concert series this autumn for 10–15-year-olds (not to mention their parents and grandparents). The heroes and heroines of ancient myths were always favourite figures in classical music, being evoked in countless operas, cantatas and even instrumental pieces. Composers were inspired, however, not only by heroes like the Greek Hercules, but also boastful figures such as János Háry or bittersweet clowns like Pierrot. The final concert in this series features Pierrot lunaire, written by Arnold Schoenberg in 1912 and instrumentalized for voice and small chamber orchestra. This magically colourful work recounts the figure of Pierrot and his dialogue with the Moon, while introducing children to the music language of the early 20th century. And contrary to popular belief, the language of Schoenberg is no more complicated than that of Bach or Brahms, it just requires interpretation. Happily, we have much help at hand in the form of János Bali, Weiner Ensemble and mezzosoprano Anna Molnár, who graduated from the Liszt Academy this year. Tickets: HUF 1 400 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: National Cultural Fund of Hungary

MONDAY 11 DECEMBER, 19.30

WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

CHAMBER MUSIC – TUNED FOR GRAND HALL DAVID FRAY, GÉRARD CAUSSÉ & PAUL MEYER CHAMBER RECITAL

AT HOME IN THE LISZT ACADEMY PÉTER FRANKL & KELEMEN QUARTET

J. S. Bach: Trio Sonata No. 5 in C major, BWV 529 Brahms: Sonata No. 1 for Clarinet and Piano in F minor, Op. 120/1 Bruch: Trio No 2,5,8,4 Mozart: Piano Trio in E-flat major, K. 498 (‘Kegelstatt’) David Fray (piano) Gérard Caussé (viola) Paul Meyer (clarinet) “We should be grateful to Mozart because the history of the viola really only started with him.” This quote regarding Mozart is by French violist Gérard Caussé, and there can be no better proof of the attraction the composer felt towards the viola than the fact that he wrote not the piano part but the viola part for himself in the iconic Kegelstatt Trio. At the closing concert of the Liszt Academy series Chamber Music – Tuned for Grand Hall, Gérard Caussé takes the viola part, and he is joined by Paul Meyer, renowned the world over both as a clarinettist and conductor, as well as star pianist David Fray, a familiar face to Hungarian audiences and praised for his sensitive, lyrical play. Their programme opens with Bach’s dynamic Trio Sonata (C major) so extraordinarily rich in ambience and tone, followed by the sonata of Brahms equally popular in clarinet and viola transcriptions. Tickets: HUF 2 900, 4 100, 5 200, 6 500 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

Ernő Dohnányi: Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 Piano Quintet No. 2 in E-flat minor, Op. 26 Sextet in C major, Op. 37 Péter Frankl (piano) Ákos Ács (clarinet); Zoltán Szőke (horn) Kelemen Quartet: Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas (violin); Gábor Homoki (viola); László Fenyő (cello) Internationally renowned figures from several generations pay their respects to one of the defining personalities of 20th-century Hungarian music, the conductor, composer and pianist Ernő Dohnányi, on the 140th anniversary of his birth. The programme, which can be viewed as both a celebration of chamber music and the art of Dohnányi, opens with a momentous composition about which Brahms himself is reported to have said: “I could not have written it better myself.” The other piano quintet, in E-flat minor (1914), is similarly a masterpiece; it fills both performers and those seated in the auditorium with the same sense of joy. The 1935 sextet instrumental line-up is unusual: two wind instruments join the string trio and piano. The clarinet and horn parts are played by Ákos Ács and Zoltán Szőke, outstanding principal instrumentalists with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900, 5 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre 83

MOSES, LUTHER, ESTERHÁZY The Reformation Memorial Committee commissioned a ‘Bach cantata’ from Zoltán Jeney on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The new work is performed at the closing concert of the commemorative year, in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy on 19 December 2017. Zoltán Jeney spoke to us about the composition.

When today a composer sets off writing a cantata along the lines of Bach, right at the outset the compilation of the libretto raises questions. What sort of libretto can be compiled for a modern ‘Bach cantata’? Salamon Kamp came to my assistance and gave me the structural description of the evangelical service of worship. I decided to follow this because it provides sufficient room for manoeuvre. I am retaining the trinity – Old Testament readings, Epistles and the Gospel – of Biblical passages known from the Catholic liturgy, but I have given myself some leeway in the selection of the Biblical passages. Luther posted his Ninetyfive Theses to the door of Wittenburg church in 1517. If I think about this time, the closest Hungarian parallel I can come up with is the peasant revolt led by Dózsa, and the Battle of Mohács. The Biblical passages of Bach’s cantatas reflected contemporary realities; Bach also used the poetry of his own age. When talking of Dózsa, what comes to my mind is Ferenc Juhász’s The Prodigal Country – which is by György Spiró’s reckoning one of Hungarian literature’s greatest poems – from which I selected a couple of phrases. From here it wasn’t difficult to link to other texts. When I received the request it was around the time that Péter Esterházy died. Although I had read all his books, still the few sentences that László Dés quoted in his necrology stuck in my mind: “Who are You, My Lord God, and who am I? […] I look at my homeland and a stranger looks back at me.” This could equally have been voiced at the time of György Dózsa as today. One likes to select a text so as not only to have a historical context. In addition, I used two or three sentences from Oratorium Balbulum by Péter Eötvös, those that Eötvös did not set to music. So, not only are liturgical elements and Biblical extracts given a significant role in the libretto, but contemporary Hungarian literature as well, and the chorales represent a further layer. In my cantata, even the Old Testament and New Testament passages are commentaries on each other. I selected those texts that speak of reception and rejection. The Bible is full of them. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus says: “I was a stranger and ye took me not in.” I quote Moses in the preaching: “Moreover, thou shalt not do injury to a stranger, […], for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” This links to the Esterházy text as a commentary on the words of Moses. The lines of Moses are sung, but Esterházy’s are in prose, in place of ‘preaching’.

Going through the libretto, it is clear that this work is in several languages, just like Funeral Rite. Was this done for reasons of the music or the intellectual aura given by different tongues? The language of the Old Testament is Hebrew, while the New Testament is inevitably in Greek and Latin. The Reformation opened up the Bible to mother tongues, in Luther’s case German. However, Luther did not ban the use of Latin or Greek in services; the important thing was for people to understand. Preaching explained everything. The German language is unavoidable because of the chorales. Where the original text is Hungarian, then naturally Hungarian is heard. It may be that this will prove an obstacle to the work’s performance abroad, but even then I refuse to put to music Hungarian text in another language. It has a lengthy Reformation-period verse; in effect, the 16 stanzas run simultaneously in the eight parts. Here, musically speaking, I deliberately want to achieve the effect of tumult. The idea came from the scene in the churchyard from the Hungarian film Szindbád. There it is impossible to understand everything, at best one or two words, but that is sufficient. What attracts you to the simple, four-part Bach chorales, and how do your works composed in their image compare to the original Bach patterns? I composed the first such chorale, Ach, Gott und Herr, on the death of Reinhardt Oehlschlägel, founder and editor-in-chiefof the contemporary music periodical MusikTexte. The basic idea was for the chorale soprano part to continuously descend chromatically: every line drops by a semitone, while all the chords still preserve the Bach harmony transposed for soprano. The result is remarkably familiar music that still manages to resemble nothing else. Bach’s declamation is preserved, even on the string quartet. Of all my works this was perhaps the most surprising I have done. The feeling is that one has already heard everything of this music and, still, it is as though one has never heard it before. The next chorale, Was hast du verbrochen, was in memory of Ildikó Vékony, who died in 2009. It was a tragedy I have still not come to terms with. Here, I made up a modern melody in soprano and then transposed the Bach harmonies onto the sounds of this. How far do the musical structures or style of the new work resemble Funeral Rite? The scale of the two works is completely dissimilar. Music history, however, was present throughout. In the German edition, the beginning of one of the epigrams ‘Mensch, glaube dies gewiss’ is perhaps the most elementary Silesius sentence: “Without God you are dead, however long you live.” The word ‘Mensch’ invariably brings to my mind the alto solo of Mahler’s third symphony. Whether this makes it a Mahler homage, I don’t know. At the end of the work there is a part from the apostle Paul’s hymn of love, but I still don’t know if this will be the closing movement. After all, until the work is complete, the planned structure itself can always change. Zoltán Farkas 85

THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER, 19.00

SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

KODÁLY 135 TALENT OBLIGES MIRA FARKAS HARP RECITAL Händel: Prelude and Toccata (arrangement by Marcel Grandjany) Hasselmans: The Wellspring, Op. 44 Albéniz: España, Op. 165 – 5. Malagueña Kreisler: Old Viennese Dances – 2. Love’s Sorrow Sarasate: Spanish Dances, Op. 21 – 2. Habañera Walter-Kühne: Fantasia on Themes of Tchaikovsky’s Opera Onegin Pierné: Konzertstück, Op. 39 Ravel: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 46 Mira Farkas (harp) László Nyári, Oszkár Varga (violin); Dániel Krähling (viola); Eszter Karasszon (cello); Kata Scheuring (flute); György Puha (clarinet)

Of all eras, the Age of Romanticism, with its passion and its extremes, best matches the personality of Mira Farkas, an artist who frequently writes the arrangements she performs. The Junior Prima Prize-winning harpist graduated summa cum laude in 2014 under the direction of Andrea Vigh. Farkas’s career is evenly divided between orchestral and solo work, together with chamber music; her great versatility is evident in this very varied programme. During the evening, German, French, Catalan, Navarrian, Austrian, Walloon and Russian colours, moods and sensations mix. The superb harpist is joined by musician friends who enrich a programme showcasing the wonders of harp chamber music. Tickets: HUF 1 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre Sponsor: E.ON Hungary

Selection from Zoltán Kodály’s choir works New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir Nyíregyháza Cantemus Children’s Choir Cantate Mixed Choir Angelica Girls’ Choir Alma Mater Choir of the Liszt Academy Conductors: László Norbert Nemes, Dénes Szabó, Ferenc Sapszon, Zsuzsanna Gráf, Csaba Somos, István Párkai It is a rare occasion indeed when some of the best choirs in Hungary perform under the batons of outstanding conductors, including three Kossuth Prize winners, on a single evening. However, this is exactly what this concert serves up on the 135th anniver sary (to the day) of the birth of one of the most significant composers, educators, folk music researchers and musicologists of the 20th century. At this event representing one of the highpoints of the 2017 Kodály Year, we receive a special selection of the finest and most fascinating a cappella choral works written by Zoltán Kodály. The ensembles of Zsuzsanna Gráf, Ferenc Sapszon and Dénes Szabó have won several of the most important choral competitions in the world and are ranked among the vanguard of choral groups in international terms. The Alma Mater Choir, made up of Liszt Academy students, are the university’s music formation with the longest unbroken history, while the New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir, led by László Norbert Nemes, continue the tradition set down by professor emeritus István Párkai, who founded the chamber choir in 1963. Tickets: HUF 1 600 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER, 19.00

TUESDAY 19 DECEMBER, 19.30

SOLTI HALL

GRAND HALL

CHAMBER MUSIC, SO CLOSE MIKLÓS PERÉNYI & MIKLÓS SPÁNYI BACH RECITAL Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 885 Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in G minor, BWV 1029 Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in G major, BWV 1027 Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874 Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in D major, BWV 1028 Miklós Perényi (cello); Miklós Spányi (harpsichord)

“Playing Bach doesn’t bother me in the least.” This is apparently what Miklós Perényi said after a concert when an acquaintance asked him whether he was exhausted having played, unaccompanied, Bach’s cello suites for a full ninety minutes in the Liszt Academy Grand Hall. Miklós Spányi shares these feelings towards Bach, so harmony between these two is built on firm ground, even if the two performers have rather different stylistic approaches. While Spányi brings historically informed performance experience to the concert, Perényi’s unique cello playing sounds as though it has remained totally untouched by the achievements of the early music movement. Of course, Miklós Spányi is what might be called an ‘unorthodox’ early music instrumentalist, which will make it all the more interesting to see how – irrespective of stylistic issues – these two particular musicians resonate within the framework imposed by Bach. Tickets: HUF 3 400, 4 100 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

CLOSING CONCERT OF THE 500TH COMMEMORATIVE YEAR OF THE REFORMATION J. S. Bach–György Kurtág: Seven Bach Chorales György Kurtág: The Sayings of Péter Bornemisza, Op. 7 Zoltán Jeney: Hilf uns, Herr, unser Gott – cantata (world premiere) J. S. Bach: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir – cantata, BWV 38 Tony Arnold, Andrea Brassói-Jőrös (soprano); Atala Schöck (alto); Zoltán Megyesi (tenor) Gábor Csalog, András Kemenes (piano) Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Zoltán Pad) Conductor: Salamon Kamp The closing concert of the 500th Commemorative Year of the Reformation sees 20th–21st-century Hungarian works inspired by the Reformation in dialogue with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Orgelbüchlein is a collection of chorale preludes by Bach, most of which derive from Weimar; György Kurtág selected seven from this volume in order to make four-hand arrangements illuminating the polyphonic structure. This is the first time in years that Kurtág’s monumental solo cantata The Sayings of Péter Bornemisza, his first true major work, can be heard in Hungary. Zoltán Jeney, the greatest creator of church music of the past several decades, composer of the Funeral Rite, wrote his cantata at the request of the Reformation Memorial Committee. The Aus tiefer Not chorale creates a bridge between the Jeney and Bach cantatas. Tickets: HUF 500, 1 517 Organizers: Reformation Memorial Committee, Liszt Academy Concert Centre 87

FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER, 19.30

FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER, 19.30

GRAND HALL

BACH FOREVER CONCERTO KÖLN & NEDERLANDS KAMERKOOR J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 Louise Kemény (soprano); Maarten Engeltjes (countertenor); James Gilchrist (tenor); Andreas Wolf (bass) Concerto Köln and Nederlands Kamerkoor

Nederlands Kamerkoor celebrate the birth of the Saviour every year with a performance of the Christmas Oratorio. The distinguished choir, with a history stretching over 75 years, have for decades been considered one of the leading ensembles in global concert life. Critics in the world’s press often commend them for their astonishingly homogenous sound and the incredible quality of the singers, who often undertake solo roles. The choir come to the Liszt Academy in the company of Concerto Köln, a leading formation in early music performance. Over the past 30 years this German orchestra have appeared alongside the elite of soloists and conductors. They have put together over 70 studio, concert and opera recordings, in the process winning dozens of top European record prizes. Most recently, a hugely positive response greeted an opera rarity DVD recording (Leonardo Vinci: Artaserse), in which the greatest countertenor singers of our day appear Philippe Jaroussky, France Fagioli, Max Emanuel Cencic and Valer Sabadus. Tickets: HUF 4 900, 6 300, 7 600, 9 900 Organizer: Liszt Academy Concert Centre

ONE-OF-A-KIND YEAR-END FOLK MUSIC CONCERT ESSZENCIA WE STARTED ON A GREAT JOURNEY János Csík (vocals, violin) Róbert Lakatos (classical viola, violin) Kálmán Balogh (cimbalom) Borbála Kacsó Hanga (vocals) Tamás Kunos (folk viola) Gergő Kováts (saxophone, clarinet, flute) András Bognár (double bass) Esszencia are a very special formation in Hungarian music life. Members are noted performance and music artists respected in their own rights in the worlds of folk music, jazz and classical music. Esszencia should not be compared to other orchestras playing traditional folk music, since they blend classical and jazz genres with Hungary’s own totally unique folk music treasury. The ensemble initiate audiences into their combination of three different musical styles through relaxed listening. At their concerts, excerpts are played of works by, for instance, Bach or Bartók, which complement authentic folk music of different peoples in the Carpathian Basin: to this, folk music-based jazz adds judicious seasoning. Esszencia concerts always have a special ‘feel’. Their music makes one think; it relaxes and liberates. Tickets: HUF 1 400, 2 100, 3 500, 4 900 Organizer: Esszencia, Liszt Academy Concert Centre

80 YEARS OF SINGING The impact of the oeuvre of Johann Sebastian Bach is so mighty that the literature on the subject would almost certainly fill an entire library. However, while it is well documented that Bach shaped the thinking of generations of composers, it is less well known that Bach has also often been the catalyst behind the formation of musical ensembles, even centuries after his passing. For instance, the 80-year-old Nederlands Kammerkoor, which hails from Utrech, can thank Bach for their foundation, albeit indirectly.

In 1937 Roger Schoute, a member of the socialist Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs (Workers’ Association of Radio Amateurs) charged the youthful conductor Felix de Nobel with assembling a choir that would be involved in performing radio broadcasts of Bach cantatas. For one season the ensemble, Chorus Pro Musica, featured solely in studio concerts. They gave their first public concert in Haarlem in 1939, by then under the name they are known today, Nederlands Kammerkoor (Netherlands Chamber Choir). Originally, the choir were composed of the best young Dutch singers of the day – from among them several went on to pursue impressive solo careers – but De Nobel was soon forced to realize that he would never be able to create a homogenous-sounding vocal ensemble out of opera and oratorio singers who constantly and stridently “all tried to roar the loudest”. After weathering the Second World War, in 1946 De Nobel appeared once again with a newly structured choir put together on the basis of different principles. The choir gained permanent members and they rehearsed several times a week; the changes not only impacted the singers but De Nobel’s leadership methods, too: he now directed the choir with a stronger, frequently autocratic hand. They operated for one year in the service of the state radio and were then forced to stand on their own feet. This did not stop De Nobel from shaping a repertoire for the choir that spanned five centuries of music. The investment in time and effort paid dividends, with concert successes and regular invitations to appear abroad, including the famous Edinburgh Festival (1951); then from 1953 the Dutch state began supporting the ensemble with a regular subsidy which allowed singers to be employed full time. From this moment there were very few changes in the makeup of the choir. Their first golden era lasted until the late 1960s. During this period they collaborated in opera productions at the Holland Festival, not to mention making multiple tours of North America. The ensemble commissioned or inspired numerous new works from the pens of local composers, as well as from the likes of Frank Martin and Francis Poulenc. They also established close relations with Luigi Dallapiccola and Zoltán Kodály. The 1970s posed serious challenges for the choir: artistic directors came and went while they rejuvenated themselves, formulating new artistic objectives. The declining state of health of De Nobel meant he had to quit in 1972, but choir members were unprepared for changes in leadership or membership as there had been no precedent for these in previous decades. Selection of a new leader was further complicated by the fact that the days of similarly hard-line authoritarian conductors was over. After De Nobel, Hans van den Hombergh (1972–1976) and then Kerry Woodward (1977–1980) took over. The Netherlands Chamber Choir had built a reputation primarily in Renaissance and Baroque music, but they were seriously challenged in this area by the then nascent early music movement, to which they had to react in some way.

The transformation was completed by 1980. The membership was rejuvenated, and from then on the choir were led not by a strong principal conductor but instead by guest conductors who were invited for specific projects. At this time the choir also re-joined the early music movement. Alongside this they worked with new music specialists and major ‘all-round’ conductors. By the mid-1980s the choir had regained their former lustre and – after a seven-year interregnum – the time was right to engage a new leader. Uwe Gronostay was appointed in 1987 and was tasked to preserve the choir’s homogenous sound. He did this mainly by revitalizing the late Romantic repertoire so beloved by members. In 1997 the Dane Ivar Munk became the new artistic director, thereby splitting the functions of artistic director and principal conductor. One year later they elected the Estonian Tõnu Kaljuste to be the first non-Dutch principal conductor of the choir; he was replaced by Englishman Stephen Layton in 2002. They introduced important changes to the repertoire: the choir are now increasingly engaged with works by contemporary composers like Tavener and Pärt, and 20th-century figures less known as choral composers, such as Milhaud, Martinů and Taneyev. Their most recent undertaking is Project 14–18, in which modern-day composers have been asked to set to music poems written during the First World War. Between 2005 and 2011, like in the early 1980s, they functioned without a principal conductor, before Risto Joost was appointed to the position (2011–2015), who was followed by Peter Dijkstra (2015–). Today, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, justly celebrated for their remarkably homogenous sound, are one of the leading vocal ensembles on the international concert scene who are not tied to either radio stations or opera houses. Membership of the chamber choir is shaken up with auditions that are held each year, and singers starting out on a career receive professional work experience with the ensemble. Besides appearing as partners of the world’s top ensembles (as they are in the case of the concert at the Liszt Academy), the Netherlands Chamber Choir have for decades offered their own a cappella subscription series. Their album count now exceeds 60, and they recently established their own popular YouTube channel, on which recordings can be searched by century. Zsombor Németh

CONCERTS AT THE OLD MUSIC ACADEMY LISZT MUSEUM MATINÉE AND EVENING CONCERTS 2 SEPTEMBER 9 SEPTEMBER 16 SEPTEMBER 23 SEPTEMBER 30 SEPTEMBER 7 OCTOBER 14 OCTOBER 21 OCTOBER 21 OCTOBER 21 OCTOBER 28 OCTOBER 4 NOVEMBER 11 NOVEMBER 18 NOVEMBER 25 NOVEMBER 2 DECEMBER 9 DECEMBER 16 DECEMBER 30 DECEMBER

11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 16.00 19.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00

Veronika Király-Lugosi (violin) & Apolka Bonnyai (piano) Viktória Szilvásy (violin) & András Rudolf (viola) József Eötvös (guitar) & Péter Kubina (double bass) Anastasia Razvalyaeva (harp) Hungarian Piano Trio László Borbély (piano) Mario Angionelli (piano) István Gulyás (piano) Yohei Wakioka (piano) Jenő Jandó (piano) Katalin Frideczky (piano) & Mátyás Büky (violin) Gergely Devich (cello) & Mária Kovalszki (piano) John & Sing Rose (vocals) István Lajkó (piano) Ferenc János Szabó Chamber Music Recital Students of the Liszt Academy Harp Department New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir Márton Takáts (piano) & Krisztina Baksa (cello) Dániel Lebhardt (piano)

Location: Old Liszt Academy of Music, tickets: HUF 1 500 Ft (students and concessions tickets: HUF 750)

ENCOUNTERS WITH FERENC LISZT JOINT CONCERT SERIES OF THE FERENC LISZT SOCIETY 29 NOVEMBER 13 DECEMBER

18.00 J. S. BACH’S IMPACT ON FERENC LISZT 18.00 LISZT FERENC & CIMBALOM

Location: Old Liszt Academy of Music; Tickets: HUF 1 800 (students and concessions tickets: HUF 900)

LISZT ACADEMY SOLTI HALL

KUSS QUARTET UNSPOKEN WORDS Jana Kuss, Oliver Wille (violin) William Coleman (viola) Mikayel Hakhnazaryan (cello)

18.02.2018.

LISZT KIDZ ACADEMY Every child is born with music in them. There is not a single infant who would not be stirred by the music of Mozart or Bach. Or maybe WellHello, depending on what they hear at home. Understandably, the youth programmes of the Liszt Academy are not intended to acquaint young and old with the values of pop culture, but instead with the three worlds of music that define the academy’s teaching and concert life: classical music, folk music and jazz.

We are now into the fifth ‘school year’ of the Liszt Kidz Academy and this is the moment to say a quick thank you to everybody who came here and then spread the word about us, and give ourselves a pat on our (increasingly sturdy) backs! Since reopening, we at the Liszt Academy have hosted more than 60 group activities and nearly 30 informative concerts in the Sir Georg Solti Chamber Hall and the Grand Hall; we have organized a Grand Liszt Kidz Day and constructed the Liszt Academy out of 20,000 LEGO bricks (the end result can be viewed in the buffet of the building on Liszt Ferenc Square). We have gradually broadened our repertoire inasmuch as we now have Jazz Playgrounds for primary school pupils, who are also given a guided tour of the building, and we have launched a music drama teaching programme for high school students (details: http://zeneakademia.hu/junior). Group activities are designed for 6–10–year-olds, while heroes, fairies and clowns take centre stage this autumn in the Liszt Kidz concert series for 10–15-year-olds: we get to know the water nymph (15 October), Hercules (5 November), János Háry (26 November) and Pierrot, the bittersweet clown (10 December). Details can be found on previous pages of Concert Magazine. What hasn’t changed is our creed. We continue to believe that music is not purely for entertainment but that it has something to teach us about the essence of our being, which is why it can never be too young to start finding out about it. As Shakespeare put it: The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved by concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; the motions of his spirit are dull as night, and his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music. (The Merchant of Venice). Between 16 September and 16 December 2017 we will be holding group Liszt Kidz events in the Liszt Academy building on Liszt Ferenc Square from 10 am every Saturday. These programmes are for children aged 6–10 years. Parents cannot take part in the programmes; however, they are welcome to attend the dress rehearsal for that evening’s concert (subject to the approval of the artists) Further details: http://zeneakademia.hu/junior Tickets: HUF 900

MUSIC LABYRINTH

GUIDED TOURS AT THE LISZT ACADEMY FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSES 30-minute tour around the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most magical building. Nooks and crannies, mini concert, LEGO Liszt Academy.

Details and applications: zeneakademia.hu/en/junior

TICKET MAP GRAND HALL

CHOIR LEFT 10 – 19

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

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4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 6

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CENTRE-LEFT CENTRE-RIGHT 1–7 1– 7

CENTRE BALCONY

6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5 4 3 2 1

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RIGHT 1–9

12 – 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

BALCONY RIGHT

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

24 – 13

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

ONSTAGE SEATS: 80 SEATS

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

STAGE

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

V VI III II I

BALCONY LEFT

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

1 – 12

30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

13 – 24

Information on seating arrangements in the auditorium and ticket prices for the given performance can be obtained from the box office and online ticketing.

RIGHT 19 – 10

TICKET MAP SOLTI HALL

CONTACT, VISITOR INFORMATION LISZT FERENC ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 8. Central phone number: (+36 1) 462 4600

A Customers can address their inquiries to kozonsegkapcsolat@zeneakademia.hu ZENEAKADÉMIA and we are also available at (+36 1) 462-4680. KONCERTKÖZPONT SAJÁT SZERVEZÉSÉBEN. TICKETING The ticket office of the Liszt Academy Concert Centre operates adjacent to the main entrance of the restored Liszt Academy at Liszt Ferenc tér 8. Ticket office general opening times: 10 am–6 pm Monday–Sunday. Besides these general opening times the ticket office will also be open during concerts, from the hour preceding the start of the performance until the end of the first interval. In the case of afternoon or matinee concerts the ticket office also opens half an hour before the performance.

STAGE A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

III

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

III

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

VII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

VII

VIII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

VIII

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

XII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

XII

XIII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1

XIV

Ticket office contact details: Tel.: (+36 1) 321 0690 / E-mail: jegy@zeneakademia.hu The staff of the ticket office will be pleased to help if you have any questions concerning Liszt Academy Concert Centre tickets. Further information on ticket purchases is available on the website of the Liszt Academy. Tickets are sold for HUF 500 one hour before concerts organized in the Grand Hall and Solti Hall with a valid student card.

LISZT ACADEMY OPENING HOURS, GUIDED TOURS The main building of the Liszt Academy can be visited via guided tours lasting approx. 50 minutes. Guides speaking Hungarian, English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Chinese or Japanese are provided by the Liszt Academy. Participants can enter the ground floor and first floor foyers, the Grand Hall and the Solti Hall. Tour dates and further information at zeneakademia.hu/en/guided-tours; registration for groups at turizmus@zeneakademia.hu. Tickets: Guided tour in Hungarian: HUF 1 500 students/concessions: HUF 750 Guided tour in a foreign language: HUF 2 900 students/concessions: HUF 1450

XIII XIV

M3 M2 M1

M1 M2 M3 LEFT 1–7

R G T 7–1

STALLS

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

8 7 6 5 4 3

2 1

8 7 6 5 4 3 LEFT 1–7

R G T –1

BALCONY

In order to ensure undisturbed teaching conditions, the building is closed to the general public during the day and opens 1 hour prior to the start of concerts.

ACCESS When visiting the building, guests should use the main entrance on Liszt Ferenc Square. The entrance for disabled guests and their companions can be accessed from Király Street. From here it is possible to gain mobility access by lift to the concert halls. 97

LISZT ACADEMY GRAND HALL

JAZZ IT!

STACEY KENT 28.04.2018.

LISZT ACADEMY GRAND HALL

GRAUSCHUMACHER PIANO DUO Andreas Grau, Götz Schumacher (piano) Works by Mozart, Beethoven, Messiaen, Debussy and B. A. Zimmermann

05.05.2018.

IMPRESSUM

PUBLISHER: dr. Andrea Vigh, President of the Liszt Academy

MANAGING EDITOR: Gergely Fazekas

ENGLISH PROOFREADER: Andrew Symons

PUBLISHING MANAGER: Ágnes Varga

AUTHORS OF THE CONCERT MAGAZINE: Minka Benkő – student at the Liszt Academy’s Musicology Department Mátyás Bolya – folk musician, ethnomusicologist, lecturer of the Liszt Academy Anna Dalos – musicologist, senior research fellow at the Archives and Research Group for 20th–21st Century Hungarian Music at the Institute of Musicology of the Research Centre for the Humanities of HAS Zoltán Farkas – musicologist, music critic Levente Gyöngyösi – Bartók-Pásztory prize winner composer Zsófia Hózsa – student at the Liszt Academy’s Musicology Department Zsuzsanna Könyves-Tóth – musicologist, member of staff of the Communications Directorate Ferenc László – historian, music critic Péter Merényi – student at the Liszt Academy’s Musicology Department Szabolcs Molnár – musicologist, music critic Dániel Mona – musicologist, music critic Zsombor Németh – musicologist, doctoral student at Liszt Academy Judit Rácz – cultural journalist Anna Unger – member of staff of the Communications Directorate Tamás Vajna – cultural journalist

LAYOUT: Allison Advertising Ltd. Gergő Cuba

Concert reviews by: Anna Belinszky, Minka Benkő, Gergely Fazekas, Zsófia Hózsa, Zsuzsanna Lakatos, Szabolcs Molnár, Viktória Ozsvárt, Tamás Várkonyi

PRINT PRODUCTION:: High Voltage Ltd.

TRANSLATOR: James Stewart

PRINTING: Keskeny és Társai 2001 Ltd.

PHOTOS AND ARTWORKS:

Published by the Communications Directorate of the Liszt Academy in 2 000 copies.

ARCHIVE AND CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY, ARTISTS PORTRAITS:

The organizer retains the right to modify programmes.

FINALIZED: 21 June 2017 100

Zsolt Fekete, Péter Korniss, Julianna Nyíri, Stuart Richardson, Ábel Szalontai

Zoltán Adrián, Giorgia Bertazzi, Marco Borggreve, Dániel Borovi, Felix Broede, Alexandre Cabrita, Agnès Chanut, Szilvia Csibi, László Emmer, Andrea Felvégi, Maike Helbig, Harald Hoffmann, Luca Kende, Lisa Kohler, Misi Kondella, Gela Megrelidze, Jean-Baptiste Millot, Paul Mitchell, Koichi Miura, László Mudra, Simon Pauly, Heikki Saukkomaa, Gerrit Schreurs, Lenke Szilágyi, Tomasz Trzebiatowski, Zoltán Tuba, Gábor Valuska, Julia Wesely, Sophie Zhai

SUPPORTER OF THE LISZT ACADEMY

Ministry of Human Capacities

PARTNERS OF THE UNIVERSITY