BDO DAY 2021 – Main Evening Concert – MOZART / MENDELSSOHN

The end of the day will see us return to classical music in the truest sense of the word. The two pieces of music, both of a very pure quality, were written forty years apart and will lead the listener in an uplifting relaxation in complete harmony and lightness. In both works, common Baroque roots can be detected – Bach’s and Handel’s thinking in particular. The evening concert that will close BDO Day, could be seen as a continuation of our concert on 24th September, featuring works by prodigies, just as in our Budafok concert series.

BDO Day 2021 – PERCUSSIONS SHOW

BDO’s percussionists can “compete” with famous Hungarian percussion ensembles. In this colourfully complex, exciting and invigorating half-hour concert, you will hear Renaissance music on two marimbas, Bach, Debussy and Joplin by percussions, many exciting rearranged masterpieces, and a real curiosity: four percussionists will play simultaneously on a single marimba! At the end of the concert, the more adventurous can even try their hand on the different drums.

BDO Day 2021 – Workshop discussion

Gábor Hollerung, BDO’s Executive Music Director and Levente Gyöngyösi, BDO’s Reisdent Composer will have an informal discussion with each other and the audience about important and – to attempt an English version of Gábor Hollerung’s classic phrase – “import-less” issues.

ENTRY IS FREE OF CHARGE!

BDO DAY 2021 – Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals – BDzoO-Faktor – Animal Talent Show

The Carnival of the Animals will be a fun and entertaining, truly unique performance, set in a story specially written for the occasion. It’s about a talent contest in which the lion is the jury president and the contestants are enthusiastic, musically minded animals.

Another great special feature is that the performance will be accompanied by musical excerpts in keeping with the theme. Excerpts from the following works, among others, will be performed: Rimsky Korsakov: The Bumble Bee, John Williams: Jurassic Park, Dan Brown: Wild Symphony.

BDO A’LA CARTE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AT ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL

Zemplén Festival has been more than just a job for Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra for many years now. It is also a way for the members and friends of the orchestra to chill and have fun together: in addition to the unique acoustics of the Sárospatak Castle Court, they can spend more time together in this beautiful countryside than it would be possible on a normal day of the year amidst the many rehearsals and concerts. Small ensembles formed by BDO members also have regular opportunities to perform at the Festival.

BDO a’la cARTe chamber orchestra, formed by Hajnalka Kalla-Tóta and Tünde Bánhegyi (violin), János Markó (viola), Dániel Helecz (cello), Bence Botár (double bass), Dávid Kanyó (flute) and Bence Szepesi (clarinet, saxophone), was founded in 2016. The goal was to create a small ensemble that would combine a full range of string instruments with wind instruments to create a wide and unique repertoire. The string quintet was thus joined by the three most versatile wind instrument families: the flute, clarinet and saxophone. All three wind instruments are prominent representatives not only of classical-romantic music, but also of the worlds of light (pop) music, jazz and Latin music. Their interesting and mouth-watering name is a reflection of the versatility of their repertoire: the audience can enjoy a varied programme in an elegant yet convivial restaurant where they can choose from an a la carte menu of the best dishes.

This year’s Zemplén Festival will feature well-known melodies by Piazzolla and Verdi, as well as a Philip Glass composition originally written for the same arrangement, and the première of a composition by Tamás Pánczél (also a violinist and composer of BDO), written for the ensemble. And why else should you attend their concert? Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra’s BDO A’la cARTe formation is unique in the country and internationally, too: the stylistic diversity of both the saxophone and clarinet, that of the flute/piccolo/alto flute instruments, combined with a string quintet, offers the audience an opportunity for complete relaxation. The icing on the cake is that they are not only colleagues but friends, too – which is always an added bonus for them and the audience.

SWING À LA DJANGO AT ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL

Zemplén Festival has been more than just a job for Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra for many years now. It is also a way for the members and friends of the orchestra to chill and have fun together: in addition to the unique acoustics of the Sárospatak Castle Court, they can spend more time together in this beautiful countryside than it would be possible on a normal day of the year amidst the many rehearsals and concerts. Small ensembles formed by BDO members also have regular opportunities to perform at the Festival.

Swing à la Django is an innovative band consisting of five members who have proven themselves many times in Hungary and abroad. They have created a unique musical blend: in their music they harmonize authentic Hungarian music, French manouche swing and chansons, tango and jazz, resulting in a unique style they call Hungarian django swing. In their concerts they go back to the roots, following in the footsteps of their greatest inspiration Django Reinhardt – the Belgian-born genre-creating gypsy jazz guitarist – and evoke the atmosphere of the 1930s and 1940s.

MYNK QUARTET AT ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL

As they described themselves: four gangsters – four instruments. They are Nikolett Kristó-Varga and Szilvia Nagy (violin), Boglárka Tuza (viola) and Brigitta Mészáros (cello).

Zemplén Festival has been more than just a job for Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra for many years now. It is also a way for the members and friends of the orchestra to chill and have fun together: in addition to the unique acoustics of the Sárospatak Castle Court, they can spend more time together in this beautiful countryside than it would be possible on a normal day of the year amidst the many rehearsals and concerts. Small ensembles formed by BDO members also have regular opportunities to perform at the Festival.

MYNK Quartet has continued to expand its repertoire during the pandemic with newly completed arrangements that will be performed in their usual musical styles. Many people believe that string players can or like to play classical music only. MYNK’s mission is to introduce audiences to enjoyable light/pop music transcribed for string instruments. They have adventured into the world of funky, ragtime, swing, rock, pop music and even Latin jazz. Those who come to their concert will also find out where their journey takes them this year.

CORPUS TROMBONE QUARTET AT ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL

Zemplén Festival has been more than just a job for Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra for many years now. It is also a way for the members and friends of the orchestra to chill and have fun together: in addition to the unique acoustics of the Sárospatak Castle Court, they can spend more time together in this beautiful countryside than it would be possible on a normal day of the year amidst the many rehearsals and concerts. Small ensembles formed by BDO members also have regular opportunities to perform at the Festival.

The ensemble was formed in 2001 upon entering an international brass competition in Passau. The corpus is a funnel for brass instruments, so the name almost lent itself. The ensemble is composed of the members of the trombone section of Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra (or as they call themselves, the Dark Side): András András Sütő, Péter Pálinkás, Gábor Hegyi and Olivér Gáspár. The young men are preparing for the Festival with some entertaining music from their vast repertoire, ranging from old music to contemporary.

And what makes them look forward to the Festival? After the madness of the capital, the tranquil countryside of beautiful Zemplén region offers a relaxing way for them to recharge their batteries. They also enjoy visiting the renovated castles and young wineries on their days off.

Corpus Trombone Quartet celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Twenty years of international competition victories and world tours have been a formative time together for the members and the group as a whole. They are looking forward to entertaining the audience of Zemplén Festival on 16th August 2021.

TRÜFFEL QUARTET AT ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL

Zemplén Festival has been more than just a job for Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra for many years now. It is also a way for the members and friends of the orchestra to chill and have fun together: in addition to the unique acoustics of the Sárospatak Castle Court, they can spend more time together in this beautiful countryside than it would be possible on a normal day of the year amidst the many rehearsals and concerts. Small ensembles formed by BDO members also have regular opportunities to perform at the Festival.

Trüffel (Truffle) Quartet was founded in 2015 at the request of composer Péter Sárik. Members had already had the pleasure of working together with Péter in BDO and in other productions. In spring 2015, however, he requested a string quartet to be set up from the orchestra for a studio work of his entitled “The Naked Clown”. In the heat of the immediately felt harmony between the members and good-humoured music-making together, the idea of forming an ensemble was born that very day. After that, one invitation was followed by the other: from church concerts to various events, they have also given solo concerts taking up the whole evening.

Trüffel Quartet’s light-hearted, well-known and popular programme promises the audience not only entertainment, but also a rewarding experience and thus a quality time of relaxation. The quartet will perform songs from famous film soundtracks, waltzes and special tango tunes on 15 August at the Szirmay-Waldbott Castle in Tolcsva.

ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL OPENING CONCERT

Just as in previous years, and celebrating its 30-year anniversary, Zemplén Festival will be opened by its resident orchestra, Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra.

The first piece to be performed at the Opening Concert will be Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, one of the most popular and difficult violin concertos in music literature, and one of the “great” concertos written for violin. The composer dedicated the piece to Lipót Auer, but he thought it unplayable, so it was first performed by the young Adolf Brodsky. Eventually, Auer, too, changed his mind and played it several times, what’s more, the edition of the score that is known today was also arranged by him. The composer did an excellent job of reconciling the Russian folkloric character with Western European concerto literature. The solo in the piece is played by the internationally renowned violinist József Lendvay. Lendvay has been playing the violin since he was four years old, and his first teacher was his father, József Lendvay Csócsi, the well-known primas (gypsy orchestra leader and soloist – the tr.). He started performing at a young age, and was a student of the special talents class at the Liszt Academy, Budapest.

In the second half of the concert, the audience will hear Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 2. Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy, composing at the age of seven and giving public concerts at the age of ten. He was a young man when he had already won the friendship of Gounod, Rossini and Berlioz, and his qualities as a composer and pianist were praised by Franz Liszt, who called him the best organist of his time. He left behind a varied oeuvre, and from this rich harvest we have chosen his Symphony No. 2 for our summer concert programme. The work is a unique blend of Romantic values and rigorous Classicist ideas: the lush, joyful, playful characters of Viennese Classicism are just as noticeable in the piece as the typical stylistic traits of Saint-Saëns’ music.