ZEMPLÉNI FESZTIVÁL 2021: NYÁRESTI KLASSZIKUSOK

Our 2020 concert performed as – hopefully – the first of a long series will be continued by the next edition this year: On the day after the Opening Concert, Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra will visit Szerencs, where they will give an open-air summer concert in the courtyard of the atmospheric Rákóczi Castle. This year, the festival’s resident orchestra will treat classical music lovers to one work by each of the two perhaps best-known composers of Baroque and Viennese Classicism.

The concert will open with Mozart’s Divertimento in F major. The word divertimento means: entertaining music. Compared to his first two divertimentos, by the time he wrote this, the young composer had developed a distinctly individual style, skilfully combining what he had learned from the Italian composers and the two Haydns.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons probably needs no introduction: considered to be the first programme music in music literature, it takes us through the seasons with the help of mood-depicting elements. The violin solo of the piece will be played by the concertmaster of the orchestra and of this concert, Gábor Berán.

 

ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL: BARTÓK & JAZZ

This evening we can listen to two arrangements of Bartók’s works at the House of Culture in Sárospatak. We will encounter completely opposite, yet very complementary arrangements of the classical works. Norbert Káel‘s arrangement suggests to play jazz in a traditional way; it formulates themes and musical ideas, improvises on them freely, builds on a basic theme from a single idea to create and weave together the fabric of the work, The Prince Carved in Wood. As the author explains, these jazz adaptations give the work a new aspect, smoothing out Bartók’s music, which is flexible and written with a lot of internal movement, slowing down and speeding up, thereby creating a sense of continuity. We will be able to enjoy a completely new musical composition, built from the Bartók work and elements of jazz and classical music, fused with improvisation.

Peter Sárik‘s approach is based entirely on the original piece, essentially not changing a single note of The Bluebeard’s Castle. In his own words: he comments on the events, he writes parts to amend them. This was a common technique in the history of music: Romantic composers performed many great Baroque works, where they kept every note of the original work, but added new ones in new types of phrasing, thus creating a work that was more plastic, more exciting, more virtuosic and more impressive in its mood and character. The same is done by Peter Sárik. He plays two cadenzas and a lot of counterpoints on the piano. All the notes and rhythms of the singers are performed according to the original work, yet the arrangement puts it in a new light and offers a new approach. In this case the basis is provided by the jazz drum and the jazz bass, which is very exciting, because you end up listening to The Bluebeard’s Castle in its entirety, but you come away from the concert with a very different feeling than if you had heard Bartók’s work in the original.

ZEMPLÉNI FESZTIVÁL 2021: MEGÉRTHETŐ ZENE -SOUND OF MOVIES

Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra closes its 2021 Zemplén Festival concert series with a special concert that has become a trademark of the orchestra. It will take the form of the “Comprehensible Music” series, i.e. playing film soundtracks introduced by conductor’s explanations, thereby combining Gábor Hollerung’s peculiar styled, suggestive and captivating explanations with the magic of film music. In this unique concert, the orchestra will play a selection of music from its recently released Sound of Movies album.

On this occasion, the greatest composers of modern film soundtracks – Erich Wolfgang Korngold, May Steiner and Bernard Hermann – will be featured. Hermann’s Citizen Kane and Steiner’s Casablanca represent the films and soundtracks that defined pre-war cinema, as does Korngold’s brilliant King’s Row, perhaps the greatest film score of the first half of the century, which, according to legend, was also the inspiration for the Star Wars score as requested by George Lucas.

The post-war era is represented by Nino Rota‘s typically Mediterranean music, sometimes grotesque and trivial, sometimes tear-jerkingly lyrical, with the soundtracks of The Godfather.

The praising of John Williams could go on for days on end. For this concert we deliberately didn’t pick one of his most frequently performed works. However, it is surely one that showcases the composer’s mastery, characterisation ability and consistent thematic thinking, as well as his brilliant polyphony.

The concert’s final work, The Witches of Eastwick, is a treasure in universal music history, a work that every major Romantic composer from Berlioz to Richard Strauss would surely have undertaken without hesitation.

ENTRY IS FREE OF CHARGE!

ZEMPLÉN FESTIVAL CARMINA BURANA / WEST SIDE STORY-SUITE

Cheerful, well-known tunes are going to fill the Tokaj Festival „Hollows” (open air theatre) this summer – as BDZ is about to bring you a sense of liberation on 21 August in Tokaj. In putting together the programme, we tried to make the audience – and ourselves – forget the difficult months behind us, and so we chose two well-known pieces to help us do just that.

West Side Story needs no introduction, really: The musical is set in 1950s in the Upper West Side of New York City. The story is inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, centred on two rival families and two street gangs of teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds.

The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story is a virtuoso orchestral work, and therefore a widely popular repertoire piece for symphony orchestras. The music of the suite incorporates all the musical layers of the original work, from cool jazz through Latin American ballroom dancing to classical music almost reminiscent of Stravinsky.

Carmina Burana is considered one of the most popular works in choral literature for good reason: its melodies reach to the heart and transport you to dreams of the past. It is timeless music that manages to capture an ever-changing world. The most characteristic features of Orff‘s music are its primitive melodies, powerful dynamics and magical repetition of motifs – evoking the pulsating, intoxicating magic, instinctive and erotic passion of ancient tribal songs accompanied by drums. Carmina Burana has no plot; it focuses on the force that keeps the world in eternal motion, the joy of life. It is a work about love, spring, youth, about the experience of the renewal of nature. This evening, our audience will be able to enjoy this popular piece accompanied by spectacular visual effects.

LET THE COUNTRY SING 2021.

Faith was important to Dvořák, a devout Catholic, but at the same time he was also quite tolerant of others’ beliefs; he wrote his violin concerto for the great Jewish violinist Joseph Joachim, and was a longtime friend of the composer Johannes Brahms, a Lutheran-turned-agnostic. Of Brahms’ lack of faith he once famously wrote, “Such a man, such a fine soul—and he believes in nothing! He believes in nothing!”

Perhaps more important for understanding the Te Deum is a story from Dvořák’s youth. Once during family prayers he memorably exclaimed, “I pray best over there at the window, looking out at the greenery and the sky!” Dvořák’s faith was colored by his love of nature, and the music he wrote for his Te Deum has an earthiness not usually found in the ethereal world of sacred music.

The other major influence on the Te Deum is operatic. Like Verdi’s Requiem of 1874, the music has a theatricality and drama more common in the opera house than the choir stalls. It also calls for two outstanding operatic soloists, a soprano and bass (the same solo voice types Brahms used in his German Requiem). The soloists also help clarify the structure of the twenty-minute work, making its sections easy to follow. (https://houstonsymphony.org/dvoraks-te-deum/)

Beethoven composed only three pieces of church music, one of which is the Mass in C major. However, it cannot be called a regular work of church music. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to Haydn’s or Mozart’s masses, but is clearly modelled on Haydn’s late masses. By composing the five traditional mass movements as five large units, Beethoven broke new ground in this genre, too, departing from the earlier practice of dividing each movement into longer and shorter inner sections. Its characteristic feature is that it is dominantly vocal rather than instrumental, in line with a later statement by the composer that ‘with the exception of the Gloria and one or two similar passages, all true church music should really be sung only.’ A soft, contemplative mood prevails in the composition, the most elevated parts of which are the Kyrie and the Credo.

Beethoven wrote this work at the request of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, who commissioned the mass for his wife’s name day. In earlier years, Joseph Haydn had composed such surprise works for the noble family, but by then he was too old to undertake the writing of the traditional name-day mass. It was first performed in Kismarton, Hungary, in 1807. After the première, the prince is said to have turned to the composer with the following words: “Aber lieber Beethoven, was haben Sie denn da wieder gemacht?” – “But dear Beethoven, what have you done again?”

BUDAFOK CONCERT NIGHTS 8

This evening, our principal guest conductor Guido Mancusi will lead the orchestra.

The first piece to be performed is Hindemith’s Konzertmusik (op. 50), a two-movement work written for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was premièred in 1931 by the orchestra.

The next work is one of Mozart‘s best-known piano concertos, Piano Concerto in C minor, which he began writing in 1785 and which was premièred a year later. It is one of Mozart’s most passionate, dark-toned concertos, considered to be the most perfect of his works in terms of both orchestration and musicality. The piano soloist this evening is Mitra Kotte, who is a young musician, in her early twenties.

The third work of the evening is Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, inspired by the composer’s travels in Italy. The symphony was written in 1833 in response to an invitation to conduct from the Royal Philharmonic Society (London). The work was premièred that same year with Mendelssohn conducting, but he revised it a year later, and the score was not published until much later, after the composer’s death.

BUDAFOKI HANGVERSENYESTÉK 7.

István Dénes, conductor, composer and pianist, has put together a special programme for tonight’s concert of Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra. Among the works to be performed this evening there will be several special numbers: first of all, a transcription of Beethoven’s Overture to King Stephen by István Dénes, which he has adapted to the technical level of a modern orchestra as regards the orchestration and bells. Then comes Liszt‘s Dante Sonata, originally written for piano, also in an orchestral transcription by István Dénes, which he wrote for the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante, the poet of the Divine Comedy. The second half of the evening will feature a contemporary work written for violin, piano or orchestral accompaniment by Chinese composer Chen Gang (1935-). After conducting it in China, István Dénes is now bringing this work to be performed in Hungary. The concert will conclude with a composition by István Dénes to be heard by the audience for the first time. In the work entitled Himnikus szózatok (“Hymnic Anthems”), both Ferenc Erkel’s and Béni Egressy’s “Szózat” will be performed woven together into a single piece by the author.

“Szózat” or anthem/hymn is an emblematic 19th century literary genre expressing (and meant to evoke) patriotic feelings. The above composers both set Mihály Vörösmarty’s poem of the same title to music answering a call of the National Theatre in 1843. Egressy’s version won the competition and since then it has become the “second national anthem” of Hungary, while Erkel’s rendering is much less known today. (- the tr.)

BUDAFOK CONCERT NIGHTS 6

True to the spirit of this time of the year, BDO’s seasonal treat to the audience is a carnival-themed performance. The first number of the programme is Carnival Overture by Antonin Dvořák, one of the best-known composers of Czech music. The work was written in 1891, in one of the composer’s most prolific periods, a time when his works were widely performed and acclaimed. He was offered the post of Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, which he was very delighted to accept. The Carnival Overture was the last piece before his departure and it was premiered in Prague in 1892. Dvořák originally composed three overtures entitled Nature, Life and Love, which formed a symphonic poem. Only later, when the scores were published in 1894, were they given a separate opus number and a new title: In Nature’s Realm (op. 91), Carneval (op. 92) and Othello (op. 93). Dvořák also added a programme description to the works: a lonely wanderer steps into the city’s carnival atmosphere at dusk. The work features folk melodies reminiscent of the Slavic dance music so dear to the composer, the carnival crowd’s cheers of joy and the merrymakers’ high spirits, which is well counterpointed by the lonely wanderer’s musings in the middle of the piece, while at the end we return to the noisy carnival atmosphere and can rejoice at the joyful conclusion.

It is well known that BDO regularly performs works by contemporary Hungarian composers in order to make contemporary music known and loved as widely as possible. Tonight, a work by Rezső Ott will be played. Rezső Ott graduated from the Academy of Music with a degree in bassoon and later in composition. And although he graduated as a “classical musician”, pop music has been an integral part of his life since his youth; he even founded a rock band. Accordingly, in addition to composing, he often takes on orchestration tasks for well-known pop music groups and artists. His work as a classical musician and composer has also been recognised by several awards. Tonight you will hear the composer’s Bassoon Concerto performed by bassoon artist Szabolcs Kotroczó.

The final work of the evening will be Symphony No. 6 by the Czech contemporary composer Bohuslav Jan Martinů. Originally a violinist, he also studied composition in his youth. He is regarded as a prolific composer, with operas, ballets, orchestral and chamber music, vocal and instrumental works in his oeuvre. Martinů began as a Romantic composer and emigrated to France in 1923, where he was introduced to new musical styles in Paris and later composed in the Neoclassical style. In 1941 he emigrated to America, where he began writing his symphonies. Tonight’s Symphony No. 6, which he began to compose in 1951, was not completed until three years later. He dedicated the work to Charles Munch, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, on the 75th anniversary of the orchestra’s founding, under the title “Fantaisies symphoniques”. The work, in three movements, is a departure from his earlier symphonies, which the composer himself described as “a symphony without form”.

SOLD OUT! BUDAFOK CONCERT NIGHTS 5 – NEW YEAR’S CONCERT

Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra’s traditional New Year concert with lots of surprises and musical sparkles.

BUDAFOK CONCERT NIGHTS 4

During his short life, Mozart wrote 41 symphonies, as traditional records show. Symphony in A major is the 29th in this series, composed when Mozart was just 18 years old, in 1774. He had just returned from a trip to Vienna, where he was visiting his father. It was probably here that he heard Haydn’s latest works, which made a great impression on him, which led to the composition of several pieces. Symphony in A major is one of these, with a youthful momentum and charm. The first movement is an allegro moderato, opening the symphony with a theme full of tension, followed by a wonderfully melodic andante movement. The third movement is a minuet, and the work is concluded by a brilliant finale.

Born into a family of Venetian merchants, Tomaso Albinoni initially composed music just for pleasure. When his carefree life was ended by the financial ruin of his family, he continued to compose – but this time in order to make a living. His rich oeuvre includes operas, concertos, symphonies, sonatas and solo cantatas. Albinoni was one of the firsts to write works for oboe, including several concertos, of which BDO will perform the C major concerto for two oboes tonight.

The final piece of the evening is Debussy‘s only string quartet, the Quartet in G minor. Written in 1893, by the then 31 year-old composer, it is a traditional four-movement string quartet: sonata, scherzo, slow movement and then a fast finale, but the musical sounding is entirely new. Exotic runs, unusual chords, unique harmonies and a cyclically recurring main theme make the piece really exciting. The work was a great success, so much so that it inspired Ravel to compose his own string quartet.