Budapest: Palace of the Arts Season Brochure by Rhinegold

2012 2013

Welcome In times of economic recession, culture takes on an increasingly valuable role. Consequently, we must focus greater attention and care on our efforts to ensure that the Palace of Arts (Müpa) continues to offer a heaven to those wishing to escape the worries of their everyday lives. The brochure you are now holding has been produced in the spirit of Müpa’s five-year strategic plan. In the years since its foundation, our institution has grown into a brand, enjoying international recognition. Building on this achievement, one of the most important goals is now to communicate quality culture to the public more openly than ever, and to introduce its inherent values into everyday discourse. This principle is apparent in the manner in which we put together

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our programmes, which we are striving to make more accessible and appealing to the general public. One means of achieving this is to link our productions to a specific common theme each year. I and my colleagues believe it is important for us to envisage a horizon marked out not by fleeting influences but by the commonly shared values that are vital to our lives. This horizon can never be reached or touched; its beauty and mystery lies in the journey that leads us to it. Our programme for the 2012/2013 season is designed for you: we invite you to join us on this exciting journey, one that is essential to us all. Throughout this season, during a time of economic difficulty, the horizon we envisage is one structured thematically and aimed at awakening society to the quality of the culture shaped by Hungarian artists – and its capacity for providing something to cling to in our everyday lives, helping us to look forward and outward. This new brochure aims to convey this message through the p rogrammes presented within it and its revamped design.

The most important change affects the programme guide of the Palace of Arts, which will be published on a seasonal basis from autumn 2012. It will appear in autumn, winter and spring, since publications associated with the seasons are better adapted to the demands of concert audiences and can be filled with more up-to-date content. This structure will be supplemented by the new brochure you are now reading, which presents the core elements of our programme. We have similar plans for the Müpa Magazine, which we would like to see become a part of the everyday lives of cultural consumers, a publication not out of place on any coffee table. We will endeavour to fill this periodical with insightful articles and ideas, and to present the kind of artists within its pages that will provide inspiration to our readers. As another innovation to be launched this year, Müpa will select and appoint an Artist of the Season and an Orchestra of the Season. This artist and orchestra will receive special attention in the communication of our programmes and in the form of concert co-productions, providing another opportunity for us to illuminate the values which we often – but should not – take for granted. Zoltán Kocsis turns sixty this year. Just how much he means to us is obvious, he is a world-famous pianist and conductor, general music director of the Palace of Arts’ resident orchestra, the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, and – especially since his completion of Schoenberg’s unfinished opera Moses and A aron – a composer. This diversity is unparallelled on the international scene, and it is to this versatility we would like to draw the public’s attention. The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra celebrates the 50th anniversary of its foundation in 2013, which in itself justifies its appointment as Orchestra of the Season. The ensemble can look back on a glittering history under the leadership of Frigyes Sándor and János Rolla, creating a lasting legacy in a genre of classical music that requires exceptional concentration and intelligence.

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I hope you enjoy leafing through this brochure, and I trust you will find a great many of the programmes within it to be worthy of your honoured attention. Csaba Káel General Manager

Welcome

ZOLTÁN Kocsis

Artist of the Season

ARTIST

of the Season

Franz LISZT Chamber Orchestra

Orchestra of the Season

EAS

SEASON TICKETs

SON SEASON TICKETs Pages 8–49

Photo: © Mat Hennek MI Classics

Sir Simon Rattle

Helmuth Rilling

Joanne Lunn

Yuri Temirkanov

Béla Horváth

Elena Urioste

Luis Fernando Pérez

Zoltán Kocsis

Miklós Perényi

John Cage

Iván Fischer

Ramón Vargas

Pier Giorgio Morandi

Photo: © Felix Broede

Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Igor Levit

The seasonal approach described in the introduction is not restricted to the timing of the publication of our programme guides. We have also compiled our classical season tickets from the entire range of events on offer during the given season but the task of compilation is not confined to merely ensuring that concert-goers – similarly to the traditional season ticket systems used by other cultural institutions – can book their seats as early as spring for chosen events right up until June of the following year. While the performances of each given season ticket partly follow this traditional principle – offering concerts in a similar genre together in one “package” with varied programmes and outstanding soloists – our range of season tickets also includes entirely mixed packages featuring a wide variety of performers, formats and styles of composition. Here too, however, there are common

János Balázs

Edith Borsos

Emmanuel Pahud

Jean Guillou

Romina Lischka

Dahlkvist Quartet

Daniela Koch

Gergely Bogányi

Ádám Fischer

Parsifal

Lohengrin

Eric F. Halfvarson

Pablo Martín

Goran Filipec

Photo: © Sigi Mueller

Photo: © Marleen Nelen

Photo: © Josef Fischnaller EMI Classics

Paavo Järvi

threads to the selection, for example in the case of season ticket programmes assembled with the cooperation – or on the recommendation – of the Artist of the Season. In other instances, season tickets may mix and match concerts from various longer series – catering to those who wish only to pick from the range of events presented by Müpa in festival form. Season tickets not only provide orientation points through the maze of concerts which the Palace of Arts will present to audiences this season: they also offer an opportunity for members of the public to obtain tickets at favourable prices. Season tickets continue to offer an avarage discount of 15% on normal ticket prices, while holders of Müpa Cards enjoy additional reductions of 5%. In addition, Müpa gift vouchers may still be used for payment under unchanged conditions.

Maestros and Masterpieces

A season ticket that tempts concert-goers with timeless classics, promising some of the heroes of the international music scene. Sir John Eliot Gardiner returns to Hungary at the head of the legendary ensembles he himself founded to perform one of the most supremely challenging works of Beethoven’s ouevre and of the sacred music repertoire. Helmuth Rilling, a similarly renowned maestro and acknowledged expert in his field, will lead the “model ensembles” of early music in Hungary in the now traditional New Year’s Haydn concert at the Palace of Arts. The agreeably unpretentious maestro Sir Simon Rattle is another returning guest to the Palace of Arts conductor’s podium. At the head of the Age of Enlightenment, he will conduct Mozart’s last three symphonies from the year 1788. The fourth concert will again feature a single sublime but deeply humble and moving work, interpreted on this occasion by the Baroque specialist Frieder Bernius and his ensembles.

Tuesday, 1 January 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

NEW YEAR’S CONCERT Sir John Eliot Gardiner Monday, 15 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner Featuring: Lucy Crowe – soprano, Jennifer Johnston – mezzo-soprano, James Gilchrist – tenor, Matthew Rose – bass

Helmuth Rilling • Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra

Artistic director of the ensembles: GYÖRGY VASHEGYI Featuring: Marlis Petersen – soprano, Bernhard Berchtold – tenor, Gábor Bretz – bass Haydn: The Seasons, Hob. XXI:3

Beethoven: Missa solemnis, op. 123 Monday, 28 January 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Sir Simon Rattle and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment W. A. Mozart: Symphony in E flat major, K. 543 Symphony in G minor, K. 550 Symphony in C major (“Jupiter”), K. 551 Sir Simon Rattle Photo: © Mat Hennek EMI Classics Saturday, 16 March 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

The Stuttgart Chamber Choir and the Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra Conductor: Frieder Bernius Featuring: Joanne Lunn – soprano, Tilman Lichdi – tenor, Daniel Taylor – countertenor, Gotthold Schwarz – bass

J. S. Bach: St Matthew Passion, BWV 244

Season tickets: Ft 15,800, Ft 22,600, Ft 32,000, Ft 41,300, Ft 54,100

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Maestros and Masterpieces

Great Cities, Great Orchestras Paris, Ankara and Saint Petersburg – three distinguished cities in the culture of classical music with orchestras that rank among the world’s best. They will be performing in an equally renowned location, namely Budapest’s Palace of Arts. The leading orchestra of the Turkish capital shows a spectecular rising in the international musical life – this time the forever young and inspiring pianist Tamás Vásáry will join them. Russia’s oldest symphony orchestra returns to Budapest to perform under its superb chief conductor Yuri Temirkanov, accompanying by Schumann specialist Georgian pianist Eliso Virsaladze. The season ticket will also see the return of the Orchestre de Paris with a concert featuring both excitingly Gallic and “Nordic” flavours under the baton of its chief music director Paavo Järvi and with wonderful play of violinist Leonidas Kavakos and the creative juxtaposition of works by Ravel, Sibelius and Brahms.

Friday, 26 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Tamás Vásáry and the Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Erol Erdinç Ulvi Cemal Erkin: Köçekçe Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36

Yuri Temirkanov Friday, 30 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Yuri Temirkanov and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra Featuring: Eliso Virsaladze – piano Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 (“Classical”), op. 25 Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 54 Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major, op. 88 Monday, 29 April 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Paavo Järvi and the Orchestre de Paris Featuring: Leonidas Kavakos – violin Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales Sibelius: Violin concerto, op. 47 Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major, op. 90

Season tickets: Ft 11,600, Ft 16,700, Ft 23,500, Ft 30,300, Ft 39,700

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Great Cities, Great Orchestras

Symphonic Discoveries – European Mosaic

The Palace of Arts has always paid attention to ensuring that all Hungarian symphony orchestras – even those beyond the country’s borders – are given the chance to perform as part of the Symphonic Discoveries series. The Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok programme offers both the pleasure of reacquaintance with familiar music and the chance to get to know the talent of pianist János Balázs. The evening of the Cluj Philharmonics and Edith Borsos opens with György Orbán’s work, followed by Boldizsár Csíky’s songs dedicated to Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and a tone poem by Sibelius, before closing with pieces by Richard Strauss that also featured strongly in the late soprano’s career. The Szeged Symphony Orchestra also promises discoveries with works from French composer and organist Marcel Dupré and a work by László Lajtha linked by many strands to French culture. The evening with the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra will have the audience marvelling at the shining talents of its soloists with a double concerto performed by a pair of young Spanish twins.

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Symphonic Discoveries – European Mosaic

János Balázs Friday, 5 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Russian Centenary János Balázs and the Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok Conductor: GÁBOR HOLLERUNG Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, op. 30 Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade, op. 35

Edith Borsos Saturday, 17 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Vocal Adventures Edith Borsos and the Cluj Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Zsolt Jankó György Orbán: Serenade No. 2 Boldizsár Csíky: Hölderlin Songs Sibelius: Luonnotar, op. 70 R. Strauss: Four Last Songs R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration, op. 24

Saturday, 2 February 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

French Connections Péter Kováts and the Szeged Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Sándor Gyüdi Featuring: Viktor Vaszy Choir (Szeged) Bizet: The Girl from Arles – Suite No. 2 Dupré: Symphony in G minor for organ and orchestra, op. 25 László Lajtha: Mass in Phrygian Mode

Season tickets: Ft 8,500, Ft 10,900, Ft 13,300, Ft 16,700

Tuesday, 9 April 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Portrait of Brahms Pablo & Antonio Martín and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra Conductor: László Kovács J. Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, op. 80 Double Concerto in A minor, op. 102 Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68

Symphonic Discoveries – Outlooks

The at once geographical, chronological and intellectual point of departure for Outlooks is Hungary. The first concert sees outstanding soloists and ensembles take in the century and a half from Liszt’s piano concerto to the work of a contemporary composer. The next stop is Russia, with a concert that includes classics by Tchaikovsky and features the wonderfully talented young violinist Béla Horváth conducted by Kálmán Berkes, also an outstanding clarinettist. The American Elena Urioste, an artist with a Latin temperament derived from her Mexican and Basque roots, will give evidence of her unrivalled instrumental talents as she plays a magnificent violin made by the Neapolitan master Alessandro Gagliano in 1706. This concert inspired by the Mediterranean and Cuba is followed by the sober dignity of works by Brahms and Mussorgsky in the final concert. Soloist will be the Georgianborn Nicolas Namoradze, a 20-year-old pianist educated in Budapest.

Thursday, 17 January 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Russian Masters Béla Horváth and the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra

Goran Filipec Sunday, 28 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Classical Hungarians Goran Filipec and the Kodály Philharmonics Debrecen

Conductor: Kálmán Berkes

Conductor: Dániel Somogyi-Tóth Featuring: Ágnes Rendes – soprano, Marianna Bódi – alto, Péter Balczó – tenor, István Rácz – bass, DÁNIEL SÁROSI – organ, Debrecen Kodály Choir (choirmaster: Zoltán Pad) Gyula Fekete: Cupido Symphony – world première Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major César Franck: Psalm 150 Kodály: Te Deum of Buda Castle

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Symphonic Discoveries – Outlooks

Shostakovich: Festive Overture, op. 96 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake – suite Borodin: Polovec Dances

Thursday, 21 March 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Latin Passion! Elena Urioste and the MÁV Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Péter Csaba Gershwin: Cuban Overture • Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy (on themes from Bizet’s opera), op. 25 Ginastera: Estancia, op. 8 • Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, op. 34

Elena Urioste

Monday, 20 May 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Great Romanticism Nicolas Namoradze and the Savaria Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Gergely Madaras Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, op. 83 • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64

Season tickets: Ft 8,500, Ft 10,900, Ft 13,300, Ft 16,700

World Stars with the Orchestra of the Season The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, celebrating its half-century of existence in 2013, invites outstanding instrumental soloists from the international concert scene to join in the shared experience of making music. The first evening comprises works evoking three stages of Beethoven’s composing career. The Spanish soloist has also studied under a series of Hungarian musicians. The orchestra and its illustrious guest Zoltán Kocsis dedicate the second evening to Mozart: three symphonies and a piano concerto will doubtless make for a stellar concert. The next evening sees Miklós Perényi, another dazzling Hungarian star in the international musical firmament, take to the stage as the orchestra’s partner. Embellished by the presence of the sensational Swiss flutist Emmanuel Pahud, the fourth concert offers an impression of the work of the 20th century Swiss master Frank Martin, as well as the pleasure of discovering the art of Saverio Mercadante, a prolific Romantic composer of operas whose memory has been revived through the rediscovery of his flute concerto.

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket World Stars with the Orchestra of the Season

Saturday, 20 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Beethoven Evening Luis Fernando Pérez and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Great Fugue, op. 133 Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15 Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, op. 60

Luis Fernando Pérez Photo: © Jean Pascal

Wednesday, 21 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Mozart Evening Zoltán Kocsis and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

Symphony in A major, K. 201 • Piano Concerto in A major, K. 414 Symphony in B-flat major, K. 319 • Symphony in D major (“Prague”), K. 504 Sunday, 20 January 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Hungarian-British Variations Miklós Perényi and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Bartók: Divertimento Ferenc Farkas: Trittico concertato; Concertino all’antica Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, op. 10 Monday, 13 May 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

French Impressions Emmanuel Pahud and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Emmanuel Pahud

Janáček: Suite for String Orchestra • Mercadante: Flute Concerto in E minor, op. 57 Frank Martin: Ballade No. 1 for flute, string orchestra and piano Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, op. 10

Photo: © Josef Fischnaller EMI Classics

Season tickets: Ft 11,200, Ft 15,300, Ft 20,100, Ft 23,500, Ft 33,700

Organ-Fantasies

The magnificent organ of the Palace of Arts is perfect for discovering the repertoire of this royal instrument. Organ Land entices on journeys of exploration, something that will become clear from the first concert on. The sprightly octogenarian Jean Guillou invites us all on an expedition through a work that is at once entertaining and educational. For the second concert, Pál Mácsai will tell the stories in the latest instalment of his popular series in collaboration with organist László Fassang. The exciting possibilities presented by this instrument in tandem with other artistic genres will be demonstrated by the dancer and choreographer Attila Kun, founder of the PR-Evolution Dance Company. A “traditional” organ concert lies in store to close the series – albeit with a far-from-traditional programme. Organist and composer Zsigmond Szathmáry plays a selection of pieces by Bach and transcriptions of popular symphonic works, as well as one of his own compositions.

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Organ-Fantasies

Wednesday, 10 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Alice in Organ Land Organ Concert by Jean Guillou Featuring: Kátya Tompos – narrator Mozart: Fantasia in F minor, K. 608 Guillou: Alice in Organ Land Mussorgsky–Guillou: Pictures at an Exhibition Guillou: Improvisation on a given theme

Jean Guillou

Attila Kun Sunday, 11 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Organ Stories No. 4 Improvisations László Fassang and Pál Mácsai Sunday, 24 February 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Organ Dance

Organ: László Fassang Choreography: Attila Kun Tuesday, 16 April 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Traditional Novelties Organ concert by Zsigmond Szathmáry J. S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552 Zsigmond Szathmáry: “Strophes” for organ and audio tape Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”), op. 95 – 2nd and 4th movements (transcribed by the performer) Liszt: Orpheus – symphonic poem (transcribed by Alexander Gottschalg) Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain (transcribed by the performer) J. S. Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582

Season tickets: Ft 9,900, Ft 11,900, Ft 15,300, Ft 20,100, Ft 26,900

Rising Stars – String Talents

As of 2010, the Palace of Arts is a member of ECHO (the European Concert Hall Organisation). This allows it to recommend one young artist for the Rising Stars programme. Many previous Rising Stars participants have gone on to become internationally renowned artists, and now we too can bear witness to the moment a star is born.. The series begins with a Secession-themed concert by local talent Ádám Banda, and it continues with Romina Lischka, who has already earned admiration in early music circles. For the third concert, the three Dahlkvist siblings and their Warsaw-born p artner arrive from Sweden. Their Budapest debut promises a personal encounter with a string quartet surely destined for the very top.

Saturday, 10 November 2012, 11 am Festival Theatre

Sounds of Secession Ádám Banda – violin Featuring: Orsolya Soós – piano Dohnányi: Sonata in C-sharp minor, op. 21 Tchaikovsky: Valse-scherzo, op. 34 Bartók: Rhapsody No. 1 for violin and piano Ravel: Tzigane

Saturday, 19 January 2013, 11 am Festival Theatre

Bach Sonatas Romina Lischka – viola da gamba

Featuring: Raphaël Collignon – harpsichord Sonata in G major, BWV 1027 Sonata in D major, BWV 1028 Sonata in G minor, BWV 1029

Romina Lischka Photo: © Marleen Nelen

Saturday, 25 May 2013, 11 am Festival Theatre

Princely String Quartets Dahlkvist Quartet Karol Szymanowski: String Quartet No. 2, op. 56 Beethoven: String Quartet in E flat major, op. 127

Dahlkvist Quartet

Season tickets: Ft 6,400, Ft 8,200, Ft 9,900

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Rising Stars – String Talents

Rising Stars – Soloists on the Horizon Not long ago, Isabelle Druet was still a student attending the master classes of René Jacobs, but she has since developed into one of the favoured collaborators of the illustrious Flemish master of early music. She is also regularly invited to take part in the productions of William Christie and has also collaborated with Le Poème Harmonique, an ensemble that has already staged successful performances at Müpa. The second concert introduces the Austrian Daniela Koch, who has already collected a whole selection of competition victories and played with outstanding conductors like Christian Thielemann, Christoph Eschenbach and Ádám Fischer. Hungarian audiences have already had several opportunities to marvel at the intense and technically brilliant play of virtuoso pianist Igor Levit, who has performed in concert with the likes of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Russian National Orchestra. All eyes and ears on the horizon!

Season ticket Saturday, 8 December 2012, 11 am Rising Stars – Festival Theatre Soloists on the Horizon A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Isabelle Druet – mezzo-soprano Featuring: Anne Le Bozec – piano Berlioz: Summer Nights, op. 7 Chausson: Three Shakespeare Songs, op. 28 Brahms: Five Ophelia Songs Sibelius: Two Melodies, op. 60 Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Shakespeare Songs Rossini: Desdemona’s Aria from Otello

Saturday, 5 January 2013, 11 am Festival Theatre

From Vienna to Paris Daniela Koch – flute Featuring: Oliver Triendl – piano Mozart: Sonata in G major, K. 301 Schubert: Introduction and Variations on Trockne Blumen, D. 802 Enescu: Cantabile et Presto Taffanel: Fantasy on themes from Weber’s opera Der Freischütz

Daniela Koch Photo: © Sigi Mueller

Saturday, 6 April 2013, 11 am Festival Theatre

Beethoven and Shostakovich Igor Levit – piano Beethoven: Sonata in G major, op. 79 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, op. 34 Beethoven: Sonata in C major (“Waldstein”), op. 53

Igor Levit Photo: © Felix Broede

Season tickets: Ft 6,400, Ft 8,200, Ft 9,900

SEASON TICKETs

Music of Today

Subversives, reformers and modern classics line up for this season ticket of contemporary concerts: from John Cage, born 100 years ago, to György Ligeti, who would have celebrated his 90th birthday in 2013. The first concert features Zoltán Kocsis performing with the Amadinda Percussion Group, a formation which can boast not only recordings of Cage’s complete works, but a work the master of the avant-garde composed specifically for the group. The second concert presents a Polish chamber orchestra, founded in 1978 in the Leopoldinum aula of Wrocław University. Whether a 21st century classic will one day emerge from the genre-splicing experiment of Tibor Szemző and András Forgách remains to be seen, but their efforts certainly merit an open mind. György Ligeti’s grotesque cavalcade, in the not-too-distant past, might also have appeared more as a malicious provocation in its proliferation of ideas. Today, however, it has become a repertoire piece which the composer himself referred to as an “opera” only within clearly emphasised quotation marks.

29 SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Music of Today Saturday, 26 January 2013, 7.30 pm Festival Theatre

John Cage Saturday, 20 October 2012, 7.30 pm Festival Theatre

John Cage 100

Featuring: Zoltán Kocsis, Amadinda Percussion Group John Cage: In a Landscape; Imaginary Landscape No. 1; First Construction; Dream; Credo in Us; Imaginary; Landscape No. 2; Second Construction; Amores; Waiting; Imaginary Landscape No. 3; Third Construction

MINI-FESTIVAL Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra Wrocław Conductor: ERNST KOVACIC Zygmunt Krauze: Rhapsod György Ligeti: Ramifications Andrzej Krzanowski: Symphony No. 2 for 13 strings Witold Lutosławski: Preludes and Fugue for 13 strings

György Ligeti

Sunday, 24 February 2013, 7 pm Festival Theatre

Tibor Szemző: The Message – Dr. Kafka’s Last Love Written by: András Forgách Music, film, direction: Tibor Szemző Projection, visual design: Bence Samu Featuring: Barbara Massey (Dora Diamant), Tibor Hegedűs (Robert Klopstock), Cinematic Music Company

Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Hommage à Ligeti

Ligeti: Le grand macabre An opera in two acts Conductor: Gergely Vajda Featuring: Pannon Philharmonic – Pécs, Amadinda Percussion Group

Season tickets: Ft 9,200, Ft 11,400, Ft 14,300

Opera – Milestones

A stern retired admiral yearning for silence, a servant ready for machinations and matrimony, and the angel of death preparing for the apocalypse: these are the main protagonists of the three evenings providing a taste of some two centuries of the history of opera. We thus have the chance to see and hear a comic opera of Mozart that has held sway over audiences in Hungary since 1795, a late work of Richard Strauss which regrettably has not been considered worthy of a Hungarian première until now, and a postmodern anti-opera first staged successfully in this country at the Thália Theatre in 1998. The stamp of artistic quality is assured by impressive names like Zoltán Kocsis in the case of The Silent Woman and Iván Fischer for the production of The Marriage of Figaro. In this knowledge, it would be unwise to miss out on any one of the concerts in this exciting series.

Thursday, 4 October 2012, 6 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Richard Strauss: The Silent Woman

Kurt Rydl

A comic opera in three acts A joint production of the National Philharmonic and the Palace of Arts Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis In the main roles: Kurt Rydl, Mária Temesi, Paul Armin Edelmann, BERNHARD BERCHTOLD, Julia Bauer Director: Ferenc Anger Set design: Éva Szendrényi Costumes: Gergely Z. Zöldy Featuring: Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Mátyás Antal)

Wednesday, 13 February 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Iván Fischer

Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro A comic opera in four acts, K. 492 A joint production of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Palace of Arts In the main roles: Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Miah Persson, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Robert Lloyd, Matteo Peirone, Rodolphe Briand, Ann Murray, Norma Nahoun Conductor: Iván Fischer Featuring: BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Hommage à Ligeti

Ligeti: Le grand macabre An opera in two acts Conductor: Gergely Vajda Featuring: Pannon Philharmonic – Pécs, Amadinda Percussion Group

Season tickets: Ft 8,600, Ft 10,800, Ft 12,600, Ft 16,000, Ft 23,600

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Opera – Milestones

Opera – Then and now

Having come a long way and continuing to look far into the future, the performers and composers in this series represent both the full-bloodedly Romantic and excitingly modern. And who better to open than the tenor Ramón Vargas, arriving from distant Mexico and blessed with a sensually beautiful voice and exceptional power of expression? A “memorial of film and music” is the description offered for the unusual production which follows as a contemporary polar opposite of the aria evening. The collaboration of Tibor Szemző and András Forgách is as forward-looking and unclassifiable as Szemző’s earlier work Csoma. Despite the cult of Verdi in Hungary, Attila was first staged in Budapest only in 1972 and is at least as much about the Italians fighting for their homeland as it is about the formidable Hun. The Ligeti work offers a similar parade of colourful key figures featuring in the composer’s masterfully malicious dance of death.

Season ticket Opera – Then and now Wednesday, 28 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Ramón Vargas

Arias by Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Cilea, Boito, Ponchielli and Massenet, as well as some Mexican surprises Conductor: Srboljub Dinić Featuring: Mariachi Los Caballeros ensemble, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Sunday, 24 February 2013, 7 pm Festival Theatre

Tibor Szemző

Sunday, 28 April 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Verdi: Attila

An opera in three acts In the title role: Giacomo Prestia Conductor: Pier Giorgio Morandi Featuring: Orchestra and Choir of the Hungarian Opera Cluj (choirmaster: Szabolcs Kulcsár) Director: Csaba Káel Set design: GYÖRGY BÁTORI • Costumes: ANIKÓ NÉMETH MANIER Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Hommage à Ligeti

Ligeti: Le grand macabre An opera in two acts Conductor: Gergely Vajda Featuring: Pannon Philharmonic – Pécs, Amadinda Percussion Group

Season tickets: Ft 10,900, Ft 13,100, Ft 17,700, Ft 22,600, Ft 28,600

SEASON TICKETs

Opera – 19th–20th centuries

The first and second productions promise to be a genuine revelation for the Budapest audience, as the Palace of Arts maintains its bold tradition of filling gaps in the repertoire by programming two rare works from Richard Strauss. The comic opera The Silent Woman has been enjoyed by a local audience just once so far, courtesy of a guest performance by the Dresden Semperoper in 1977, while the Capriccio may be remembered here only from our Met screenings. For the remaining two evenings, two works that fall very far apart in terms of both period and style will demonstrate the diversity and unquenchable vitality of the genre. First off, marking the bicentennial of the composer’s birth in 2013, will be Verdi’s passionately patriotic opera Attila, which premièred in 1846. Its antithesis follows in the shape of György Ligeti’s Le grand macabre, an “anti-opera” first performed in Stockholm in 1978, which extends its tongue at the traditions of Western classical music and opera.

Thursday, 4 October 2012, 6 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Richard Strauss: The Silent Woman A comic opera in three acts A joint production of the National Philharmonic and the Palace of Arts Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis In the main roles: Kurt Rydl, Mária Temesi, Paul Armin Edelmann, BERNHARD BERCHTOLD, Julia Bauer Director: Ferenc Anger Set design: Éva Szendrényi Costumes: Gergely Z. Zöldy Featuring: Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Mátyás Antal)

Julia Bauer Photo: © Neda Navaee

Thursday, 14 March 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Richard Strauss: Capriccio A conversation piece for music in one act A joint production of the National Philharmonic and the Palace of Arts In the main roles: ANDREA ROST, FRANZ HAWLATA Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis Featuring: Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Mátyás Antal)

Sunday, 28 April 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Verdi: Attila

An opera in three acts In the title role: Giacomo Prestia • Conductor: Pier Giorgio Morandi Featuring: Orchestra and Choir of the Hungarian Opera Cluj (choirmaster: Szabolcs Kulcsár) • Director: Csaba Káel Set design: GYÖRGY BÁTORI • Costumes: ANIKÓ NÉMETH MANIER

Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Hommage à Ligeti

Ligeti: Le grand macabre Gergely Vajda

Season tickets: Ft 10,200, Ft 12,700, Ft 16,600, Ft 20,000, Ft 27,700

An opera in two acts Conductor: Gergely Vajda Featuring: Pannon Philharmonic – Pécs, Amadinda Percussion Group

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Opera – 19th–20th centuries

A Day with Gergely Bogányi – Liszt and Bach The 201st birthday of Franz Liszt will be marked with an event at least as special as anything in the year honouring his jubilee: three recitals by Gergely Bogányi in the space of a single day. Not only will the day’s offering be generous, it also promises to be enlightening and uplifting. The pianist pays special attention to Liszt’s devotional works striving towards the higher spheres, but – acknowledging the almost perpetual wanderings of his life – will also include the composer’s artistic interpretations of his defining experiences in Italy. The influence of Bach, reflected as an underlying motif in Liszt’s art, will be rendered still more perceptible to the audience by the conceptual pairing of their works. Moreover, the inclusion of Bach’s preludes, toccatas and fugues will focus our attention on the exceptional empathy of Gergely Bogányi, not only as a performer but also as a transcriber of other’s works.

Monday, 22 October 2012 Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

3.30 pm Bach: Short preludes, inventions for two and three voices (selection) Bach: Prelude and Fugue for Organ in A major, BWV 536 (transcribed by the performer) Liszt: Scherzo and March Liszt: Petrarch Sonnet No. 123 Liszt: Venice and Naples

6 pm Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor (“Dorian”), BWV 538 (transcribed by the performer) Bach: Short preludes, inventions for two and three voices (selection) Liszt: Ave Maria (Poetic and Religious Harmonies No. 2) Liszt: Alleluia

8 pm Liszt: Weinen, Klagen Variations Liszt: Sposalizio Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552 (transcribed by the performer) Liszt: Two Legends Liszt: Dante Sonata

Daily tickets: Ft 5,100, Ft 6,300, Ft 7,800, Ft 9,900

SEASON TICKETs

A Day with Gergely Bogányi – Liszt and Bach

Artist of the Season – Zoltán Kocsis at 60

It would seem surprising, that Zoltán Kocsis turns 60 in 2012 if his impressively multi-faceted activities failed to fill us with greater amazement still. This Season Ticket offers only a representative sample of the musician’s continuous exploration of new perspectives from Mozart to John Cage, from Tchaikovsky to Richard Strauss, and from the piano to the conductor’s podium. Kocsis joins forces with the Amadinda Percussion Group in honour of the centenary of the birth of the eternally avant-garde John Cage, followed by a considerabe leap back in time for an evening of music by Mozart with master musicians of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. Not for the first time, a production of The Nutcracker features among the Christmas programmes of Kocsis and the Palace of Arts. Kocsis has naturally taken on the main burden of fashioning the Hungarian première of Capriccio, a challenging task he is perfectly suited to as the most ambitious and unswervingly imaginative on the Hungarian music scene.

39 SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Artist of the Season – Zoltán Kocsis at 60 Saturday, 20 October 2012, 7.30 pm Festival Theatre

John Cage 100

Mozart Evening Zoltán Kocsis and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

Symphony in A major, K. 201 • Piano Concerto in A major, K. 414 • Symphony in B flat major, K. 319 • Symphony in D major (“Prague”), K. 504

Saturday, 22 December 2012, 6 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker – a play with puppets A joint production of the National Philharmonic and the Palace of Arts Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, artists of the Kolibri Theatre Concept and direction: JÁNOS NOVÁK Concept and adaptation for puppet theatre: ÁGNES TÖRÖK, KÁROLY SZÍVÓS

Thursday, 14 March 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Season tickets: Ft 9,900, Ft 12,600, Ft 16,600, Ft 19,200, Ft 25,100

Andrea Rost

The life of Debussy in six movements

Claude Achille Debussy, the most influential French composer of the turn of the previous century, was born 150 years ago this year. In a Müpa series of six evenings under the spiritual guidance of Zoltán Kocsis, musicians and actors collaborate in bringing to life defining episodes in the extraordinary career of this “musicien français”: from the years of Bohemian existence under the spell of Wagner, through his many-layered relationship with Symbolist poets, to the storms of his private life and the nationalism of his final years that turned to France’s distant past. Was he a prophet in his own land? He did not have the temperament of a preacher, and was neither apostle nor saint. First and foremost, he was a musician whose example showed the way for generations to follow. As Zoltán Kodály himself wrote in an obituary in the pages of the literary journal Nyugat: “Debussy’s compass points towards a more purified, higher order of art.”

41 SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket The life of Debussy in six movements Zoltán Kocsis

Festival Theatre, 7.00 pm

A prophet in his own homeland? Friday, 21 September 2012

Friday, 18 January 2013

Bohemian Dances

Among Nymphs and Gods

Friday, 2 November 2012

Saturday, 23 Februry 2013

Debussy and symbolism

Debussy in love

From salon music to Wagner

Forgotten Romances

Pierre Louÿs and Debussy

Gallant festivities

Friday, 30 November 2012

Saturdy, 11 May 2013

Debussy and Mallarmé

Debussy and war

Afternoons of a Faun

Christmas Carol for Homeless Children

Performances supported by the National Cultural Fund of Hungary.

Season tickets: Ft 14,800, Ft 17,900, Ft 23,000

in Budapest

Season Ticket WAGNER

Opera Festival 2013

Wagner Artistic director: Ádám Fischer In 2006, the Palace of Arts launched the Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival on the path to international success with the aim of bringing the works of Richard Wagner to life to an extraordinarily high standard through the emphatic articulation of their essence as embodied in the medium of the music itself, achieving this by employing visual elements which help, rather than obscure, the music’s self-expression. The initial production of Parsifal was followed by an unparalleled staging of the Ring of the Nibelung tetralogy over four consecutive days. Tristan und Isolde came next, then Lohengrin a year later, to be followed by Tannhäuser in 2012. The series continues in 2013 with Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. As one new musical drama is added each year, the repertoire is slowly expanding to include the whole of Wagner’s unrivalled life’s work. Three productions from this ample repertoire make up the programme of the 2013 Wagner in B udapest Opera Festival. (The performances are in German, with projections of the libretto in Hungarian.)

43 SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Wagner: Parsifal Wagner

Friday, 14 June 2013, 4 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

A musical drama in three acts Conductor: ÁDÁM FISCHER In the main roles: ISTVÁN KOVÁCSHÁZI, Matti Salminen, Petra Lang, Lauri Vasar Director, set designer: Magdolna Parditka and Alexandra Szemerédi Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos), Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Mátyás Antal)

Saturday, 15 June 2013, 4 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg An opera in three acts Conductor: ÁDÁM FISCHER In the main roles: James Rutherford, Eric F. Halfvarson, Bo Skovhus, Klaus Florian Vogt, Annette Dasch Director: Michael Schulz Set design: DIRK BECKER Costumes: RENÉE LISTERDAL Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos), Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House (choirmaster: Máté Szabó Sipos) Eric F. Halfvarson

Sunday, 16 June 2013, 4 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Wagner: Lohengrin A musical drama in three acts In the main roles: ISTVÁN KOVÁCSHÁZI, RICARDA MERBETH, LINDA WATSON, BÉLA PERENCZ Director: László Marton Set design: Péter Horgas Costumes: MARI BENEDEK Choir and Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera House (choirmaster: Máté Szabó Sipos), Hungarian Radio Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos) Artistic director: ÁDÁM FISCHER

Season tickets: Ft 14,000, Ft 20,100, Ft 27,800, Ft 38,000, Ft 50,700

Season Ticket Festival The Palace of Arts has established an increasing number of festivals, which audiences have grown to love. The biggest of these is the Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival, a series of opera performances – we dare say on the same level as the festival-icon Bayreuth. Adopting the role of a patron of contemporary music, the Palace of Arts also hosts the Mini-Festival, which celebrates its first quarter century in 2013 with works by composers of today and the recent past performed by the best musicians on the Hungarian and international scenes. Among Müpa’s greatest successes among audiences are its special one-day programmes connected to the life’s work of an individual composer. In 2012, Gergely Bogányi will demonstrate the spiritual arc that links Bach and Liszt in a series of recitals from the afternoon until late in the evening on the Hungarian composer’s birthday. (This season ticket includes the final recital of the series.)

Season ticket Festival Monday, 22 October 2012, 8 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

SEASON TICKETs

A Day with Gergely Bogányi

Liszt and Bach

Franz Liszt

Liszt: Weinen, Klagen Variations Liszt: Sposalizio Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552 (transcribed by the performer) Liszt: Two Legends Liszt: Dante Sonata

Saturday, 26 January 2013, 7.30 pm Festival Theatre

Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Klaus Florian Vogt Photo: © Alex Lipp

An opera in three acts Conductor: ÁDÁM FISCHER In the main roles: James Rutherford, Eric F. Halfvarson, Bo Skovhus, Klaus Florian Vogt, Annette Dasch Director: Michael Schulz Set design: Dirk Becker • Costumes: RENÉE LISTERDAL Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos), Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House (choirmaster: Máté Szabó Sipos)

Season tickets: Ft 9,600, Ft 12,200, Ft 16,100, Ft 21,500

Zoltán Kocsis Recommends

“Vocal Adventures” is worthy of special attention for several reasons: not merely for the phenomenal voice of Edith Borsos, but also for the very rarely performed works to be heard in the first half of the concert. Those with spare time on their hands can read the verses of Hermann Hesse, as well as the no less beautiful Eichendorff poem which Richard Strauss set to music as his farewell to the world. The performance of these two Strauss works side by side gives us an interesting opportunity to observe how much more truth is apparent in the motif of the symphonic poem Death and Transfiguration through its quotation at the end of Im Abendrot from the Four Last Songs. No less interesting is the programme of the second concert. Every appearance of Miklós Perényi is a celebration; we are highly fortunate to have an artist who is a “wolrd star” in the best sense, who never loses his appetite for experimentation and who is continually enticing his audience to share in fresh discoveries. For him, authentic simplicity is not a pose but a fundamental musical need drawn from the very depths of his being. For me, the third concert is perhaps the most interesting. Though mixing popular repertoire pieces with some relatively seldom-heard compositions, the evening may well prove a very exciting prospect indeed in the hands of a performer who also happens to be a composer. The title of the concert is spot on. We have come to expect „Traditional Novelties” from Zsigmond Szathmáry, a man who has a constant, active and creative relationship with sounds and tones, and for whom giving these sounds order and shape is simply a way of life. For this concert, he will oversee a performance of the works of Bach, Liszt, Dvořák and Mussorgsky that takes a very different approach to that we are accustomed to experiencing from performers of a more conventional outlook. The fact that Zsigmond Szathmáry will also perform one of his own pieces this evening, is just the icing on the cake – or a “traditional novelty”. The Grim Reaper who features in the fourth concert of the series, besides making many impressions in many different contexts, also has a place in my own personal memories, for it was the composer himself who showed me the complete opera at a time when I still had no means of seeing it in performance. I clearly remember him simultaneously playing the Hamburg and Stockholm concerts to me on a tape recorder while singing along to the main roles. We spoke at length about the aesthetics of opera and about this work in particular, which Ligeti undoubtedly regarded as the best thing he had written yet, moreover the most personal and closest to the “real Ligeti”. (This was before he had written the études for piano and his late concerti.) If Ligeti held this opinion about his own opera, then we must try to follow him in this respect – while naturally not ignoring our critical faculties.

Photo: © Judit Marjai

Saturday, 17 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

SYMPHONIC DISCOVERIES

Vocal Adventures Edith Borsos and the Cluj Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: ZSOLT JANKÓ György Orbán: Serenade No. 2 • Boldizsár Csíky: Hölderlin Songs • Sibelius: Luonnotar, op. 70 • R. Strauss: Four Last Songs; Death and Transfiguration, op. 24

Sunday, 20 January 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

WORLD STARS WITH THE ORCHESTRA OF THE SEASON

Hungarian-British Variations Miklós Perényi and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra

Bartók: Divertimento • Ferenc Farkas: Trittico concertato; Concertino all’antica Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, op. 10 Tuesday, 16 April 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Traditional Novelties Organ concert by Zsigmond Szathmáry J. S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552 • Zsigmond Szathmáry: “Strophes” for organ and audio tape Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, op. 95 – 2nd and 4th movements (transcribed by the performer) Liszt: Orpheus – symphonic poem (transcribed by Alexander Gottschalg) • Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain (transcribed by the performer) • J. S. Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 7 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Hommage à Ligeti

Ligeti: Le grand macabre An opera in two acts Conductor: Gergely Vajda Featuring: Pannon Philharmonic – Pécs, Amadinda Percussion Group

Season tickets: Ft 9,500, Ft 11,600, Ft 14,900, Ft 18,400, Ft 23,500

SEASON TICKETs

Season ticket Zoltán Kocsis Recommends

Season tickets Matinée Concerts FLAVOURS OF EurOPE 30 September 2012

Scandinavian Savouries Sibelius, Grieg, Alfvén

14 October 2012

French Delicacies Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel

THE CLASS OF VIENNA 18 November 2012

Russian Feast Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich

10 February 2013

4 Bows, 8 Hands, 16 Strings Haydn and Schoenberg

16 December 2012

Italian Specialites Rossini, Respighi, Morricone

3 March 2013

Small Orchestra – Great Mastery Mozart and Webern

Season ticket: Ft 5,100 14 April 2013

Hammers and Strings Beethoven and Berg

12 May 2013

Talking Music Schubert and Toch

Season ticket: Ft 5,100

MatinĂŠe Concerts

SEASON TICKETs

Festival Theatre, Sundays 11 am and 3 pm The season ticket entitled Flavours of Europe takes us to the four points of the compass in Europe on an adventure of distinctive flavours and varied moods. The title of the series and those of the individual concerts within it all have gastronomic associations: overtures represent the hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oeuvres and larger-scale symphonic works the main course, which the audience can hear excerpts of in the first half of each concert, and in their entirety at the beginning of the second half. The programme closes with a lighter, more popular piece as dessert. Vienna might deservedly be described as the capital of music. From the second half of the 18th century onwards, a series of literally epoch-making, genre-defining musical geniuses lived and worked here. At the start of the 20th century, it was the representatives of the Second Viennese School who revolutionised the musical order of their predecessors at its root and branch. The concerts in the season ticket The Class of Vienna bring old and new together on stage, as embodied in the music of two periods of Viennese music.

SER Fes

SERIEs, FESTIVALs

RIEs stiv SERIEs, Festivals Pages 50-57

Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival

Ă dĂĄm Fischer

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Oper

Saturday, 8 & 15 June; Sunday, 23 June 2013, 4 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg An opera in three acts Conductor: ÁDÁM FISCHER In the main roles: James Rutherford, Eric F. Halfvarson, Bo Skovhus, Klaus Florian Vogt, Annette Dasch Director: Michael Schulz Set design: DIRK BECKER Costumes: RENÉE LISTERDAL Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos), Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House (choirmaster: Máté Szabó Sipos)

Sunday, 9 & 16 June 2013, 4 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Lohengrin

A musical drama in three acts In the main roles: ISTVÁN KOVÁCSHÁZI, RICARDA MERBETH, LINDA WATSON, BÉLA PERENCZ Director: László Marton Set design: Péter Horgas Costumes: MARI BENEDEK Choir and Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera House (choirmaster: Máté Szabó Sipos), Hungarian Radio Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos) Artistic director: ÁDÁM FISCHER

Friday, 14 June & Saturday, 22 June 2013, 4 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Parsifal

A musical drama in three acts Conductor: ÁDÁM FISCHER In the main roles: ISTVÁN KOVÁCSHÁZI (on 14th), BURKHARD FRITZ (on 22nd), Matti Salminen, Petra Lang, Lauri Vasar Director, set designer: Magdolna Parditka and Alexandra Szemerédi Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos), Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Mátyás Antal)

53 SERIEs, FESTIVALs

Artistic director: ÁDÁM FISCHER The programme of the eighth Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival features the Palace of Arts’ new production of the opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, together with the performances of Lohengrin and Parsifal that have already been staged in earlier years with great success, earning Müpa a significant international reputation. The soloists on this occasion are again star singers who can be relied upon to hold their own through the particular technical and performing requirements of Wagner’s operas. At the same time, the focus in these Budapest productions has always been exclusively on the works themselves, not on the soloists. We are thus happy to recommend the performances of the Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival to all those who would like to hear and see Wagner in all his compelling purity.

The Metropolitan Opera at the Palace of Arts Live in HD Festival Theatre, Lecture Hall

Saturday, 13 October 2012, 6.55 pm

Donizetti: L’Elisir d’Amore

Met’s new production Anna Netrebko (Adina), Matthew Polenzani (Nemorino), Mariusz Kwiecien (Belcore), Ambrogio Maestri (Dulcamara) Conductor: Maurizio Benini Production: Bartlett Sher Saturday, 27 October 2012, 6.55 pm

Verdi: Otello

Renée Fleming (Desdemona), Johan Botha (Otello), Michael Fabiano (Cassio), Falk Struckmann (Iago) Conductor: Semyon Bychkov Production: Elijah Moshinsky Saturday, 10 November 2012, 6.55 pm

Thomas Adès: The Tempest Libretto: Meredith Oakes Met première Audrey Luna (Ariel), Isabel Leonard (Miranda), Iestyn Davies (Trinculo), Alek Shrader (Ferdinand), Alan Oke (Caliban), William Burden (King of Naples), Toby Spence (Antonio), Simon Kennlyside (Prospero) Conductor: Thomas Adès Production: Robert Lepage

L’Elisir d’Amore – Anna Netrebko Saturday, 1 December 2012, 6.55 pm

Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito Lucy Crowe (Servilia), Barbara Frittoli (Vitellia), Elīna Garanča (Sesto), Kate Lindsey (Annio), Giuseppe Filianoti (Tito) Conductor: Harry Bicket Production: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Saturday, 8 December 2012, 6.55 pm

Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera Met’s new production Karita Mattila (Amelia), Kathleen Kim (Oscar), Stephanie Blythe (Ulrica), Marcelo Álvarez (Gustavo III), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Anckarström) Conductor: Fabio Luisi Production: David Alden Saturday, 15 December 2012, 6.55 pm

Verdi: Aida

Liudmyla Monastyrska (Aida), Olga Borodina (Amneris), Roberto Alagna (Radames), George Gagnidze (Amonasro), Štefan Kocán (Ramfis), Miklós Sebestyén (King of Egypt) Conductor: Fabio Luisi Production: Sonja Frisell

Maria Stuarda – Joyce DiDonato

Berlioz: Les Troyens Deborah Voigt (Cassandra), Susan Graham (Dido), Marcello Giordani (Aeneas), Dwayne Croft (Coroebus), Kwangchul Youn (Narbal) Conductor: Fabio Luisi • Production: Francesca Zambello

SERIEs, FESTIVALs

Saturday, 5 January 2013 6 pm

Saturday, 19 January 2013, 6.55 pm

Donizetti: Maria Stuarda Met première Joyce DiDonato (Mary Stuart), Elza van den Heever (Queen Elizabeth), Francesco Meli (Leicester), Joshua Hopkins (Cecil), Matthew Rose (Talbot) Conductor: Maurizio Benini • Production: David McVicar Saturday, 16 February 2013, 6.55 pm

Verdi: Rigoletto

Met’s new production Diana Damrau (Gilda), Oksana Volkova (Maddalena), Piotr Beczala (Duke of Mantua), Želko Lučić (Rigoletto), Štefan Kocán (Sparafucile) Conductor: Michele Mariotti • Production: Michael Mayer

Otello – Reneé Fleming, Johan Botha

Saturday, 2 March 2013, 6 pm

Wagner: Parsifal Met’s new production Katarina Dalayman (Kundry), Jonas Kaufmann (Parsifal), Peter Mattei (Amfortas), Evgeny Nikitin (Klingsor), René Pape (Gurnemanz) Conductor: Daniele Gatti Production: FranÇois GIRARD Saturday, 16 March 2013, 6 pm

Zandonai: Francesca da Rimini Eva-Maria Westbroek (Francesca), Marcello Giordani (Paolo), Robert Brubaker (Malatestino), Mark Delavan (Gianciotto) Conductor: Marco Armiliato Production: Piero Faggioni Saturday, 27 April 2013, 6 pm

Handel: Giulio Cesare Met’s new production Natalie Dessay (Cleopatra), Alice Coote (Sesto), Patricia Bardon (Cornelia), David Daniels (Giulio Cesare), Christophe Dumaux (Tolomeo), Guido Loconsolo (Achilla) Conductor: Harry Bicket Production: David McVicar

Bartók-

Marathon Artistic director: Iván Fischer Sunday, 3 February 2013, 10.30 am–10 pm Every February since 2008, an all-day marathon event organised by the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Palace of Arts has presented the very best of the works of an individual composer in a series of concerts following one another from morning until late evening in the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall and the Festival Theatre. The concerts are complemented by parallel screenings in the Lecture Hall of memorable performances from the past, while the range of CDs on offer is also focused on the featured composer. Following marathons celebrating the works of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart in previous years, Béla Bartók is the chosen composer for the 2013 marathon. The event offers the chance for the audience to gain greater familiarity with the unsurpassed richness of Bartók’s life’s work.

MINI-

Festival

Friday, 25 January 2013, 7.30 pm Saturday, 26 January 2013, 5 pm and 7.30 pm Sunday, 27 January 2013, 7.30 pm In keeping with its traditions, this series of chamber and orchestral concerts of contemporary music celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013 presents stylistic developments in Hungarian music in the late 20th century and the early part of the new millennium through the works of outstanding composers of the present and recent past. The scheduled programme contains a dozen world premières, while on the Saturday evening the Palace of Arts once again welcomes a performance by one of the most highly regarded contemporary music ensembles from abroad, on this occasion the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra Wrocław. The concerts will feature works by Attila Bozay, János Decsényi, László Dubrovay, Péter Durkó, Zsolt Durkó, Gyula Fekete, Máté Hollós, Lajos Huszár, László Király, Miklós Kocsár, István Láng, László Lajtha, Iván Madarász, Krisztina Megyeri, Jenő Pertis, József Sári, Zsolt Serei, Árpád Solti, Miklós Sugár, Zygmunt Krauze, György Ligeti, Andrzej Krzanowski and Witold Lutosławski.

Literarium

Glass Hall, Mondays 8 pm Presenter-hostess: Nóra Winkler Director: Eszter Novák, László Harsányi Sulyom Literary evenings with music 24 September 2012 Sándor Kányádi 22 October 2012 Krisztina Tóth 19 November 2012 Endre Kukorelly 17 December 2012 István Csukás 21 January 2013 Ádám Bodor 18 February 2013 István Kemény 18 March 2013 György Dragomán 15 April 2013 András Ferenc Kovács 13 May 2013 Gábor Németh 10 June 2013 László Krasznahorkai

MÜPACINEMA

Photo: © MaNDA

SERIEs, FESTIVALs

Contemporary writers at the Palace of Arts

Retrospective Károly Makk Lecture Hall, Mondays 7 pm Host: András Réz 17 September 2012 Liliomfi (1954) 1 October 2012 The House Under the Rocks (1958) 15 October 2012 The Fanatics (1961) 29 October 2012 The Lost Paradise (1962) 12 November 2012 His Majesty’s Dates (1964) 26 November 2012 Love (1970) 10 December 2012 Catsplay (1974) 14 January 2013 A Very Moral Night (1977) 28 January 2013 Another Way (1983) Through the collaboration of the Palace of Arts and the Hungarian National Digital Archive and Film Institute (MaNDA), this series presenting the finest works of legendary film directors, which began in January 2012 and has already met with great success, continues in the second half of the year with a retrospective of the work of Kossuth and Béla Balázs Prize-winner Károly Makk. This next series under the Müpacinema banner comprises ten films from the Hungarian great who matured as a director under the influence of Géza Radványi, Viktor Gertler, Frigyes Bán, Imre Apáthi and Félix Máriássy. Your host for the screenings is András Réz, the well-known film critic, who has spent decades surfing through the history of film seeking answers to cinema’s decline and studying cult films and the phenomenon of series. With its excellent technical facilities, the Lecture Hall provides a fitting venue for the Müpacinema series.

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Further recommended programmes

her mme Further recommended programmes Pages 58-65

Thursday, 25 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Sunday, 30 September 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

UNIKO – Kronos Quartet, Kimmo Pohjonen & Samuli Kosminen After exploring musical paths on a dozen recordings and a whole string of performances, the Kronos Quartet got together with the Finnish accordionist and composer Kimmo Pohjonen, regarded as the Hendrix of his chosen instrument, to form Uniko, one of the most captivating, lively and pulsating formations of a career spanning over 30 years. Uniko consists of seven pieces written for accordion and string quartet with underlying electronics by Samuli Kosminen. It was premièred in Europe in 2004 and in the United States three years later. The work has an irresistible, sublime and almost hypnotic power.

Jorge and Nelida Pose

Tango Azul Tango Azul is a dance project which tells a story. Three pairs of dancers and a singer meet in the Milonga tango bar in Buenos Aires, where together they shape moments from their lives. Episodes from the past and snapshots of the present are brought to life in the scenes portrayed. The quintet led by the noted bandoneón player Luciano Jungman plays to the most popular melodies of the genre. Besides Jungman, the “band” comprises guitar, violin, clarinet, piano and double bass, producing music of the highest order. Susanne Landua and one-time Béjart pupil Philippe Lizon provide the choreography and dramaturgy.

Saturday, 27 October 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix Tribute Band of Gypsys Reincarnation feat. Eddie Gomez & Steve Gadd (USA) László Halper – guitar, Eddie Gomez – double bass, Steve Gadd – drums Featuring: Miklós Lukács – cimbalom, István Fekete – trumpet, Tibor Tátrai – guitar The king is dead, long live the king! Jimi Hendrix, the blues-rock icon whom Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed as the greatest guitarist of all time, passed away in 1970. To mark the 40th anniversary of his death, the Band of Gypsys Reincarnation, led by guitarist László Halper, recorded an album of rare magnitude which was received favourably by both the general public and the most prestigious sections of the music press. For this occasion, Halper has arranged more of Hendrix’s classics while maintaining the greatest respect for the originals, creating an uncompromising brand of jazz in the process.

Further recommended programmes

Buena Vista Social Club™ presents: Omara Portuondo In the present and continuing golden age of Cuban music which began some 15 years ago, the decisive role was unquestionably played by the Grammy Award-winning album Buena Vista Social Club, which has sold more than five million copies since its release in 1997. Not only did this become the most spectacular success story in world music, even inspiring the film director Wim Wenders, but it proved to be the launch platform for a whole series of solo albums, tours and various side projects. One of the high points of the original album was the bolero sung by Omara Portuondo, who went on to record solo albums including Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo in 2000, and Flor de Amor in 2004. In 2008, she surprised even her most knowledgeable followers with the unusually intimate Latin Grammy-winning album Gracias. The essence of Buena Vista naturally remains untouched: urbane elderly musicians performing classic Cuban songs in the way they were played – or might have been played – decades earlier.

Further recommended programmes

63 “I find nothing more inspiring than the music making of my very great colleague Subramaniam. Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment,” Yehudi Menuhin once said of the Paganini of Indian classical music, known also as the God of the Indian Violin, who combines the serenity of an Indian musician with the magnetism of a star as understood in the Western sense. Dr. L. Subramaniam is the only musician to perform both southern Indian and Western classical music both with and without an orchestra, with composing and conducting as additional strings to his bow. He has performed with the most outstanding musicians in the widest variety of genres.

Thursday, 22 November 2012, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

L. Subramaniam (India)

Tuesday, 5 March 2013, 7.30 pm Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Kurt Elling

A four-octave baritone voice, breathtaking virtuosity and the broadest spectrum of emotions: this is what the Grammy Award-winning Kurt Elling brings to the Palace of Arts, in collaboration with his own quintet and the Modern Art Orchestra led by Kornél Fekete-Kovács. Voted on innumerable occasions by various juries, among them the Jazz Journalists Association and critics of DownBeat magazine, as male voice of the year, Elling presents material from his latest album Songs from the Brill Building. What comes out of the Brill Building? Compositions by the most popular writers of the big band and swing era, and the songs of Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon and Johnny Mercer – as only Elling can conjure them.

The Kurt Elling Quintet and the Modern Art Orchestra

FAMILY and Youth Programmes Zoltán Kodály’s timeless observation that a child’s musical upbringing should begin nine months before birth has perhaps never been as topical as it is today. From the moment of its conception, the Palace of Arts recognised that in order to achieve its longterm goals it would need to take on a role in the education of future generations of concert-goers. Over the years, Müpa has significantly expanded the range of regular programming aimed at young people, thus creating a broad spectrum of events to appeal to every age group. Baby Concerts can be enjoyed by children almost from the moment of birth; from a few months of age, they can join

Family and Youth Programmes

outh

in at the Sing-Along Baby events; Mini Matinées are recommended for children of kindergarten age, while school kids are encouraged to attend the Matinée Concerts; meanwhile, young and old alike always have a good time at events in the Palace of Delights series on Sundays. From the autumn of 2012, within the framework of various series gathered under the umbrella title of CsIP, Müpa patrons will find not only children’s concerts but all kinds of activities built on interactive participation in a variety of genres and geared to a range of different age groups. Children will also have numerous other opportunities and occasions to visit the Palace of Arts to get close to the world of sounds, rhythms, musical instruments and genres – whether accompanied by their parents, grandparents or in school groups.

Pala of A

Palace of Arts

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Pages 66-75

of Possibilities

The Palace

The Palace of Possibilities

The opening of the Palace of Arts was one of the most important cultural developments of the past century in Hungary. Since March 2005, all disciplines of the arts have found a home in the building designed by Zoboki, Demeter and Associates Archistects. Hermetically sealed from the noise of the outside world and resting on rubber springs, the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall was built according to the “box within a box” principle, with acoustics both experts and the general public agree are among the finest in the world. The colourful plaster reliefs of György Jovánovics, moveable reinforced concrete resonance chambers and a dramatically shaped suspended sound canopy, built according to the plans of the world-renowned Russell Johnson, all contributed to the creation of a flexible acoustic environment. The pride of the four-level concert auditorium, with its total capacity of nearly 1,700, is Europe’s largest concert hall organ. Primarily hosting spectacular musical and dance productions on its large stage equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the Festival Theatre auditorium seats appr. 460. In addition to productions of the National Dance Theatre, it serves as an outstanding venue for chamber operas, musical and theatrical performances and concerts. Ludwig Museum, Hungary’s first such institution dedicated solely to collecting contemporary art, is situated on the side of the building facing the Danube. Operating according to the most modern requirements of museum technology, the institution offers a permanent exhibition of a portion of its collection alongside temporary shows, and related artistic and educational programmes.

The building’s spacious foyer hosts business events, exhibitions and meetings. T he technical solutions, operation and functionality of the Palace of Arts have been recognised in the form of the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence in 2006, the Superbrands Award, and membership of both ISPA and ECHO, while the building has also earned the title of Best Cultural Development of the Year.

Kiri Te Kanawa KeithJarrett

Sir SimonRattle

CesariaEvora

CeciliaBartoli

JessyeNorman BrynTerfel

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Sir JohnEliot GardineR JanGarbarek

Blood, Sweat & Tears

DianneReeves Sir NevilleMarriner

Interesting facts

Who would have thought that the field of science, with its precise focus on numbers, would share so many strong common threads with art, which relies upon elusive aesthetic methods to get its message across? When attempts are made to popularise science, writers and lecturers endeavour to create an audio-visual experience to bring the material in question to life. When the Palace of Arts condenses into a few sentences everything which goes on in both its spacious and more intimate rooms, it relies on the capacity of numbers to speak for themselves. At the same time, it’s also true that not even the most exact of statistics can paint a picture of just how many – and how often – people leave for home with their spirits lifted through the catharsis of performance.

Interesting facts

almost 1000 programmes annually

500 IN-HOUSE productions

3.7 MILLION visitors in 7 years Every tenth visitor a FOREIGNER, every fifth a STUDENT FIABCI and Superbrands awards ISPA and ECHO membership

tickets At the Palace of Arts box offices 1095 Budapest IX., Komor Marcell u. 1. Tel.: (+36-1) 555-3300, (+36-1) 555-3301 E-mail: jegypenztar@mupa.hu Open: daily 10 am–6 pm, on performance days 10 am–9.30 pm 1061 Budapest VI., Andrássy út 28. Tel.: (+36-1) 555-3310, (+36-1) 555-3311 Open: Monday–Friday 10 am–6 pm, Saturday, Sunday 11 am–7 pm online at www.mupa.hu without commission and at well-known ticket offices.

Müpa season tickets can be purchased at the season ticket prices listed in this brochure, which on average provide an avarage discount of 15% on regular ticket prices for individual performances. Holders of Müpa Cards also benefit from an additional 5% discount. When making purchases in person at Palace of Arts box offices, Müpa season tickets may be bought in exchange for vacation cheques, Edenred Ticket Culture vouchers, Sodexho Pass Culture and Gift Tokens, and Palace of Arts gift vouchers, as well as by using SZÉP Card credits available for leisure activities.

DISCOUNTS • M üpa Élmény (Experience) and Müpa Ínyenc (Gourmet) club cards may be purchased for Ft 14,000 and Ft 100,000 respectively. For a period of one year, the cards offer club members priority booking and price discounts for programmes organised by the Palace of Arts, as well as exclusive events and other benefits. Further information on Müpa cards is available at www.mupa.hu.

Buying tickets

• Students may purchase standing tickets for all programmes held in the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall and the Festival Theatre for the discount price of Ft 1,000, by showing their student identity card one hour before the given event starts. • Wheelchair patrons may request a ticket for free entry, subject to availability of wheelchair spaces, in advance (at the latest one week before the given performance) at our box office or by calling 555-3300. Those escorting them – provided the available space permits – may purchase a ticket for an extra seat in the lowest price category for the given concert. Wheelchair guests must report to the ground floor information desk prior to the performance, from where our staff will accompany them to their places. • Our newsletter providing weekly information on performances organised by the Palace of Arts can be received by providing your e-mail address under the REGISTER menu on the mupa.hu homepage.

GIFT VOUCHERS Gift vouchers for programmes organised by Müpa in denominations of Ft 1,000, Ft 5,000 and Ft 10,000 may be purchased at our box offices, and may be used within six months for the purchase of tickets or season tickets.

Contact

Opening hours

Palace of Arts 1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1. Central information: Tel.: (+36-1) 555-3001 E-mail: info@mupa.hu www.mupa.hu

Palace of Arts: Daily, 10 am–8 pm, or until the end of the last performance

Ludwig Museum Tel.: (+36-1) 555-3444 E-mail: info@ludwigmuseum.hu www.ludwigmuseum.hu

Ludwig Museum: Tuesday–Sunday, 10 am–8 pm (closed Mondays)

Contact / Opening hours

Published by Palace of Arts Nonprofit Ltd. Publisher: Csaba Káel, general manager Completion of editing: 3 April 2012 Text: Ferenc László, Anna Tóth Editor: Péter Várnai Palace of Arts photographs by Szilvia Csibi and Zsuzsa Pető. Design, implementation: Mátai & Végh Creative Workshop. The Palace of Arts reserves the right to make changes to programmes, prices and performers!