“GRAND OPENING – JOINING FORCES”

14 concerts of classical music, one hour each, by/in 14 festival cities of Hungary at the first weekend of June.

Interkultur Hungária Non-profit Ltd, the organiser of Zemplén Festival has requested Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the festival to perform at the concert that is being realised in Sárospatak as part of a country-wide initiative to celebrate opening up after the third wave of the pandemic. The venue of the festive concert is SRK Wáberer Sports Centre in Sárospatak.

Entry is free of charge but you need to present your immunity card. Registration tickets are available at: https://artfestivals.jegy.hu/program/grand-opening-sarospatak-122807/717738

Festive Overture by Erkel will be the first piece to be performed. One of the most well-known symbols of Hungarian national identity, Festive Overture was completed for the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Budapest National Theatre. In terms of its genre, it is genuine verbunkos music with the notes of Szózat (Hungary’s “second national anthem” – the tr.) sounding at its climax. The second work we will listen to is Movement 1 of Symphony No. 1 by Levente Gyöngyösi. It well deserves the title “Love” in that it is a serene, momentous, colourful piece. What makes it really special is how after an adorable concert of birds the finale turns into a boisterous folk dance. To close the concert, we are going to play Dances of Galánta by Kodály. Kodály composed a lavish concert piece out of folk music materials he had collected in Upper Hungary (the so-called “Northern Hungarian Highlands”, now part of Slovakia – the tr.). In fact, it is perhaps the most played and most well-known Hungarian music of the 20th century. The special feature of this performance is that the originally collected pieces will also be played just as Kodály must have heard them in the field: four musicians of Dohnányi Orchestra will form as if a folk band just for this occasion.

The concerts will be realised with the support of the Ministry of Human Resources and the joint effort of the members of the Association of Hungarian Art Festivals.

COMPREHENSIBLE MUSIC 2 THE SPIRIT OF PATRIOTISM

In today’s performance, we take a thorough look at Bartók’s Kossuth Symphony, about which Gábor Hollerung once said,

“Bartók’s juvenile work, written in the early 1900s, before Bartók had become acquainted with Hungarian folk music. The choice of subject matter is also romantic, displaying a kind of national commitment. Its orchestration and musical thinking still show the influence of Brahms and Richard Strauss. The structure of the piece is similar to programme music, in which each of the characters in the story are represented by a theme. In our case, Kossuth is symbolised by a verbunk-like music, while the opponents are represented by a distorted version of the imperial anthem written by Haydn. And although the composer did not give it an opus number – and so it is rarely played out of reverence for him – I have to say that it is one of the most brilliant works of Hungarian national romanticism, in the line of Liszt, Erkel, Mosonyi and Goldmark.”

DOHNÁNYI SERIES -1

The first half of the evening is a trumpet concerto by the conductor of the evening, Guido Mancusi. The melodiousness and virtuosity of the piece easily reminds one of Hummel’s trumpet concertos or Arban’s The Carnival of Venice. The final movement is a real bravura for the soloist, accompanied by a light, virtuoso orchestral material.

Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) is an opera by Richard Strauss, based on a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which evokes a bygone era (the time of Maria Theresa) with a touch of nostalgia, a bitter and sometimes impish humour. Strauss was a master of orchestration, and his skillfulness is reflected in the sumptuous colours of the orchestral sound and the virtuosic and enjoyable melodies. This evening, the audience will hear a version of the Rosenkavalier Suite.

The second half of the evening features Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6, which the composer never heard in its entirety in his lifetime, as only the two middle movements were played at the 1883 première, when the Vienna Philharmonic refused to perform the complete work due to its extremely difficult nature. It still remains the least frequently performed piece in the Bruckner repertoire, although Bruckner himself considered it to be his most unpretentious work, its lighter tone and translucent orchestration making it more accessible to the audience.  According to English composer Robert Simpson, “the symphony’s themes are extremely expressive and plastic, its harmonies are refined and sophisticated, and the orchestration is perhaps the most original of all the symphonies. Classical principles of form are smoothly and naturally incorporated into the language of the symphony, and the two Viennese masters – Brahms and Bruckner – have never been so close to each other.”

BDO Day

26th September 2021, Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest

A Day with Gábor Hollerung and the BDO

Four concerts – one public rehearsal – informal discussion

 

It is with great joy and excitement that Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra is preparing for the 2021-22 season, hoping to once again enjoy personal encounters, audience experiences and real concerts. The long online concert life, a time period of many changes and unpredictability will hopefully soon come to an end. At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, following the tradition started last year, the orchestra would like to meet and enjoy music and intimacy with its audience again in a BDO DAY, offering an unprecedented connection between stage and audience. During BDO Day, all those interested can gain an insight into the orchestral workshop through small and large-scale concerts and discussions with the artists.

11:00 Comprehensible Music (1st concert in the series) Handel: Messiah

 

In this concert, you will hear the second part, the Passion from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, which is his most popular work until our day and one of the most frequently performed oratorios in the world. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and its ‘triumphal march’ continued with concerts in London the following year. For Handel, it was extremely important that all the texts were performed at the concerts he conducted, as he was perhaps the only composer in the history of music to work exclusively from verbatim quotations from the Bible (the libretto was compiled by his friend and collaborator Charles Jennens). This morning, the audience will hear it interpreted by the Budapest Academic Choral Society, a regular partner of Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra.

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15:00 BDzoO-Faktor – Animal Talent Show

family concert with stories and music quotes

Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals

A fun and entertaining performance of The Carnival of the Animals, complete with appropriate music and a story written for the occasion. Musical excerpts from the following works, among others, will be performed: Rimsky Korsakov: The Bumble Bee, John Williams: Jurassic Park, Dan Brown: Wild Symphony.

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17:00 Workshop Discussion

 

Gábor Hollerung, BDO’s Executive Music Director and Levente Gyöngyösi, BDO’s Resident 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.

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18:30 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.

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20:00 Main Evening Concert

 

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.

Programme:

Mozart: “Linz” Symphony, KV 425
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 1

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ÉLŐ! Megérthető zene RÁADÁS – Bartók: A csodálatos mandarin – szvit – in memoriam Kocsis Zoltán

ÉLŐ KONCERT, KÖZÖNSÉG ELŐTT!

Május 28-án, Kocsis Zoltán születésnapjának megünneplésére készülődve, hosszú idő után először közönség előtt tartható koncertre várjuk közönségünket.

Bartók: A csodálatos mandarin című koncertszvitje szólal csendül fel. A mű a XX-XXI. század örök érvényű, ma is igen aktuális kérdéseit taglalja: Mi a civilizáció és mi a barbárság? Hogyan tudjuk a bűnt és a tisztaságot megkülönböztetni? Hogyan tudunk elevickélni a mindig is létező bűnök és a reményeink szerint szintén mindig létező tisztaság között?

Koncertünkkel A magyar klasszikus zene napja elnevezésű kezdeményezéshez, amelyet a néhai Kocsis Zoltán zongoraművész, karmester születésnapján, május 30-án indítják útjára a szervezők, ezzel a kifejezetten erre az alkalomra összeállított és rögzítendő koncerttel csatlakozik zenekarunk.  A szórakoztatóan ismeretterjesztő, legendásan szuggesztív, karmesteri magyarázatokkal kiegészített és átszőtt Megérthető zene sorozatunkban RÁADÁS koncertként műsorra tűzött Bartók: A csodálatos mandarin – szvittel kívánunk emlékezni és tisztelegni Kocsis Zoltán előtt. Hollerung Gábor sajátos viszonyt ápol a Kocsis Zoltán által is kiemelt kötődéssel kezelt Bartók-életművel. Tudása és Bartók-ismerete közismerten kiemelkedő.

Hangversenyünk a 2021. május 30-án 11:00-kor a BDZ YouTube csatornáján (www.youtube.com/bdzbudapest) követhető koncert nyilvános felvétele. Jegyvásárlás a jobb oldali panelben található “jegyvásárlás” gombra kattintva lehetséges.

A törvényi előírásoknak megfelelően csak azokat a jeggyel rendelkező látogatókat tudjuk beengedni a közönség soraiba, akik felmutatják narancs-zöld színű védettségi kártyájukat és személyi igazolványukat. Megértésüket és együttműködésüket köszönjük!

Bővebb információ a biztonsági intézkedésekről: https://bdz.hu/ujra-szemelyesen/

VADIM REPIN AND BUDAFOK DOHNANYI ORCHESTRA

This concert will see Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra welcoming a superstar: world famous violinist Vadim Repin who has been a celebrated performer of the grandest concert halls since he was 14 and is still the youngest winner of the Queen Elizabeth Competition of Brussels, which is considered one of the most prominent musical competitions. Our orchestra first performed with him in February 2020 at the Cziffra Festival and had a raving success.

Given the chance to welcome a Russian guest performer on stage, BDO prepared a careful selection of the masterpieces of Russian music for the programme. The first one our audience will be able to listen to is the Overture of Kabalevsky’s (1904-1987) opera, which was based on the short story by Romain Rolland. Then Violin Concerto No. 1 by Shostakovich will be performed, in which the composer broke up with the traditional 3-movement structure of the genre and articulated his concerto in four movements instead: Nocturne, evoking the atmospheres and thoughts of the night is followed by a demonic Scherzo, then a tribute to Baroque music in a Passacaglia, ending the violin concerto by a whirl wind like Burlesque. The last work to be performed at the concert is a bravura piece by Tchaikovsky, the widely popular Symphony No. 4. The composer himself described its construction in ample detail. He calls the introduction of the first movement the core of the entire work where “fate…the fatal power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness” is expressed in music. The meek melancholy characterising the grand melody of the second movement is described in terms of a sentimental Weltschmerz (a deep sadness about the inadequacy or imperfection of the world – the tr.) by the composer. The scherzo is not specifically mentioned by Tchaikovsky in terms of a content description, although this is the most exciting part of the symphony: all string instruments are played without the bow, just being plucked, and in the trio, woodwinds create a humorous genre picture of an unbridled folk feast. A great summary of the finale (and the entire concert) is provided in Tchaikovsky’s own words: “Rejoice in the rejoicing of others – to live is still possible”.

ONLINE: A MAGYAR KLASSZIKUS ZENE NAPJA – In memoriam Kocsis Zoltán – Hangverseny karmesteri magyarázattal

Hagyományteremtő szándékkal május 30-án, a néhai Kocsis Zoltán zongoraművész, karmester születésnapján indítja útjára A magyar klasszikus zene napja elnevezésű programsorozatát a Zeneakadémia és a Nemzeti Filharmonikusok, bevonva az ország számos együttesét és oktatási intézményét. Idén öt éve annak, hogy elhunyt Kocsis Zoltán kétszeres Kossuth- és Liszt Ferenc-díjas zongoraművész, karmester és zeneszerző, a Nemzeti Filharmonikusok főzeneigazgatója, az elmúlt fél évszázad egyik legnagyobb hatású magyar művésze.

A kezdeményezéshez egy kifejezetten erre az alkalomra összeállított és rögzített online koncerttel csatlakozik a zenekarunk. A szórakoztatóan ismeretterjesztő, legendásan szuggesztív, karmesteri magyarázatokkal kiegészített és átszőtt Megérthető zene sorozatunkban ráadás koncertként felvett Bartók: A csodálatos mandarin – szvittel kívánunk emlékezni és tisztelegni Kocsis Zoltán előtt. Hollerung Gábor sajátos viszonyt ápol a Kocsis Zoltán által is kiemelt kötődéssel kezelt Bartók-életművel. Tudása és Bartók-ismerete közismerten kiemelkedő.

Május 30-án, Kocsis Zoltán születésnapján Bartókkal várjuk tehát közönségünket a Megérthető zene koncerten. A Bartók által írt A csodálatos mandarin koncertszvitje szólal meg, amely a hajszával záródik. A mű a XX-XXI. század örök érvényű, ma is igen aktuális kérdéseit taglalja: Mi a civilizáció és mi a barbárság? Hogyan tudjuk a bűnt és a tisztaságot megkülönböztetni? Hogyan tudunk elevickélni a mindig is létező bűnök és a reményeink szerint szintén mindig létező tisztaság között?

FREE ONLINE CONCERT! Conductor and soloist: Barnabás Kelemen

The concert can be watched on BDO’s YouTube channel free of charge!

BDO’s YouTube channel

The special twist to our concert is that the audience will be entertained not only by master violinist Barnabás Kelemen’s virtuosic play, but witness a demonstration of his conducting talent as well.

To open the concert, Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture will be played, a piece inspired by the overwhelming experience of the composer upon visiting the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In 1832 he writes in a letter: “Die Hebriden…I can’t release here, because I still regard it as unfinished… The middle part in D major marked forte is rather ridiculous, and the so-called working out smells more of counterpoint than of train-oil and seagulls and salted cod – it  should be just the other way round.” Mendelssohn’s intention was to hide his “learning” as a student raised on the music of Bach and Mozart in terms of structure, and to showcase the depiction of the scenery and the atmosphere instead.

After this the moment will come for our conductor to grab his violin and take the lead in performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. The work is from the last creative period of the composer. However, the glistening surface, the almost protest-like simple thematic and the “Midsummer Night-ish” mood of the finale is somewhat misleading: in this work of his, Mendelssohn opened the way to a number of formal innovations that may have been quite surprising to his audience – unlike the unsuspecting crowds today for whom it is “the violin concerto”, an ever valid point of reference in music.

To close our online concert we will be playing Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. This is one of the few works by Schubert the première of which has been documented with very certain data: it was first performed in 1816 – the year it was written – by an amateur orchestra. Schubert’s earlier symphonies followed in the footsteps of Haydn in terms of technical solutions and – at least as regards the intention – Beethoven in terms of forms of expression. This time, however, the composer set out on the track beaten by the nineteen-year-old Mozart. And managed to complete the track, too.

HAYDN: Megváltónk utolsó hét szava a keresztfán – Lackfi János nagypénteki gondolataival

Különleges alkotás Joseph Haydn szerzeménye, a Megváltónk utolsó hét szava a keresztfán. Már komponálásának körülményei is jelentősen eltértek a megszokottól. A bibliai tárgyú zeneművet a cádizi érsek rendelte a nevezetes Santa Cueva barlangtemplomban zajló nagypénteki szertartásra. A megrendelő részletes leírást adott a templomról a helyszínt nem ismerő komponistának, és a ceremóniához fűzött egyéb kéréseivel pontosan meghatározta a mű főbb vázlatait.
A zenetörténet egyik legérdekesebb módon, 1787-ben keletkezett oratóriumát maga a szerző is egyik legsikerültebb alkotásának tekintette.
A premier sem volt szokványosnak mondható. Vizuális elemekkel, elsötétítéssel, a stilizált vihar okozta függönyszaggatással fokozták a zene és a tételekhez kapcsolt érseki elmélkedések összművészeti hatását.
A Budafoki Dohnányi Zenekar interpretációja is segítségül hívja a szavakat, képeket, hangulatokat. A zenekar által felkért ismert és elismert költő, gondolkodó, Lackfi János osztja meg a közönséggel a húsvéthoz és Haydn művéhez kapcsolódó gondolatait minden tétel elején, megteremtve ezzel annak lehetőségét, hogy a hallgató még közelebbről, még mélyebben találkozhasson a felcsendülő tétel zeneiségével. A BDZ a katartikus záró Vihar-tétel után Haydn: C-dúr (No. 69) szimfóniájának 1. tételével készíti elő közönségét a boldogságot hozó feltámadásra.

MADARÁSZ 70

Ünnepi hangverseny Madarász Iván 70. születésnapja alkalmából