For years, Zemplén Festival has been traditionally started by a concert by Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra.

This year’s edition of the opening concert will showcase the typical characters of 20th century music, all of which draw on elements of folklore. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is 100 years old this year. The piece has nothing to do with the colour blue: the word blue in the English title refers to the genre of blues, a characteristically gloomy version of jazz. Rhapsody in Blue is in fact a piano concerto, an enjoyable, highly effective composition with varied, almost whimsical character changes, built up from elements of jazz and blues.

After the interval, an excerpt from a suite by Leó Weiner will follow. In Weiner’s drifting, impressive orchestral work, we can clearly recognise the original Hungarian folklore.

Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite is a concert piece compiled from the movements of the ballet by the same title. The firebird is a mythical creature of Russian fairy tales, whose character is combined with the story of the Russian folk hero, the immortal Khashey – and that is how one of the most important ballet scores of the 20th century was written. The concert will feature the suite, which preserves the imagery of the ballet’s concept, its most important characters and the musical phrasing of its scenes. A number of the elements of the work also emanate a sense of the melancholy, soaring and boisterous character of Russian folklore.

Tickets: HUF 4,900  HUF 5,900

In case of unfavourable weather conditions, the venue will change to the theatre hall of the local cultural centre (“Művelődés Háza”).

With the support of the Municipality of Sárospatak