BFO season booklet 2017–18

discover joy

Budapest Festival Orchestra 2017—2018

Iván Fischer I am glad that the Buda­pest Festival Orchestra became so different from any other orchestras in spirit, attitude and involvement in music. Every concert must have a surprising element that invites the audience to be curious and to join us on a joyful disco­very. Now the whole family – musicians and listeners – are happy to discover new horizons.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Greetings 4 IVÁN FISCHER AND THE ORCHESTRA 6 CONCERTS 13 CHAMBER MUSIC 57 ON TOUR 65 BFO cares 73 SUPPORT 83 SINGLE AND SEASON TICKETS 97 CONCERT CALENDAR 100 3

GREETINGS

Dear Audience Members, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the 2017/2018 season – I believe we have prepared a beautiful programme for you. One underlying theme is to begin concerts with a work by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed on period instruments. For the first time, our baroque ensemble will be part of our symphonic concerts, giving you the chance to experience the difference between the two sounds.

In doing so, we are making use of the exceptional versatility of the Budapest Festival Orchestra; we are probably the only international symphony orchestra which can also perform on baroque instruments. This innovation is part of our long-term strategy to extend the traditional concerts of the symphony orchestra, gradually shaping the more versatile orchestra of the 21st century.

We also have two operas in store for you, the first of which is a revival of our Don Giovanni production, which was received with tremendous enthusiasm in New York a few years ago; this year we’re taking it to the Edinburgh Festival. The latter will be a spring performance of Verdi’s mature masterpiece Falstaff with a wonderful international cast. The orchestra loves to play operas from time to time, and we hope the fact that we exceptionally present two operas this season will please you.

I wish you all many beautiful and uplifting musical experiences.

With best wishes, Iván Fischer 4

GREETINGS

Dear Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, It is a great pleasure to present you the 2017/2018 season of your orchestra. We worked hard on developing a colourful and diverse programme performed by well-known artists and new discoveries.

With the Budapest Festival Orchestra IvĂĄn Fischer created a truly unique ensemble and an unparalleled success story based on excellence and inventiveness. It is distinguished by a strong attitude towards sharing the joy, beauty, excitement and pluralism of music, by permanently making the unexpected tangible. I would like to encourage you to discover with us the magic throughout the next season while experiencing passionate concerts, which will change our perception of music and become an enriching adventure in life.

Your participation in our journey to new horizons is key for achieving the mission of the Festival Orchestra: to connect people through the power of music. Together with you we want to discover the unknown in the known and encounter inspiration.

We will meet people of all kind that gather to experience music whether at MĂźpa Budapest and Liszt Academy or at abandoned synagogues and villages with underprivileged children.

With your support we can make all of it happen! Thank you for staying with us and helping to share the magic.

Yours, Stefan Englert

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The Orchestra

When IVÁN Fischer founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra more than 30 years ago he made a personal dream become true. Core of the philosophy of the orchestra is the total absence of daily routine. It is about taking the risk, the initiative and freedom to do things differently. Every concert is therefore a joyful discovery of uncharted territory, a journey to new horizons in music. It feels unexpected and surprising as if it was played for the very first time.

The Festival Orchestra is driven by an openness towards the new and the unknown, by curiosity and attention to details. It is the innovative approach to music, the musician’s dedication and their permanent strive for excellence that made Budapest Festival Orchestra the youngest of the top 10 ranked ensembles in the world.

The orchestra’s outstanding performances, its inventiveness and the distinct ensemble tone have led to numerous accolades. It has won two Gramophone Awards, the ‘Oscars of classical music’, and has been nominated for a Grammy. Concerts at the world’s most important venues and successes aside, the orchestra’s driving mission is to serve its home audience in over seventy concerts. What is more, BFO is making ever more frequent appearances at altern­ ative venues – in nursing homes, abandoned synagogues, hospitals, child care institutions, prisons and schools – where it can create an intimate connection with the audience.

The innovative concerts include Dancing on the Square, one of the or­ chestra’s priority projects, which is as much about communal creativity, inclusion, tolerance and equal opportunities as it is about music and dance. The Autism-friendly Cocoa Concerts is another major initiative, providing a safe environment for children living with autism and their families alike.

Through the community and musical education programmes, the Budapest Festi­ val Orchestra continuously strives to bring the beauty of classical music to every age group and stratum of society. It connects people, helping to build and strengthen communities with the power and beauty of music.

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Iván Fischer

Iván Fischer is the founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He is also the Music Director of Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Konzerthausorchester. In recent years he has also gained a reputation as a composer, with his works being performed in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, Germany and Austria. What is more, he has directed a num­ber of successful opera productions.

The BFO’s frequent worldwide tours, and a series of critically-acclaimed and fast-selling records released first by Philips Classics and later by Channel Classics, have contributed to Iván Fischer’s reputation as one of the world’s most high-profile music directors.

The Berlin Philharmonic has played more than ten times under Fischer’s baton, and he also spends two weeks every year with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He is also a frequent guest of the leading US symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra.

As a Music Director, he has led the Kent Opera and the Opéra National de Lyon, and was Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC. Many of his recordings have been awarded prestigious international prizes.

He studied piano, violin, and later the cello and composition in Budapest, before continuing his education in Vienna where he studied Conducting under Hans Swarowsky.

Iván Fischer is a founder of the Hungarian Mahler Society and Patron of the British Kodály Academy, Honorary Citizen of Budapest. He has received the Golden Medal Award from the President of the Republic of Hungary, and the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum for his services in promoting international cultural relations. The government of the French Republic made him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2006 he was honoured with the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious arts award. In 2011 he received the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award, Hungary’s Prima Primissima Prize and the Dutch Ovatie Prize. In 2013 he was accorded Honorary Membership to the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2015, he was presented with the Abu Dhabi Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2016 he won the Association of Music Critics of Argentina’s award for Best Foreign Conductor.

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THE BFO’S MUSICIANS

Violin Bence Asztalos Zsuzsanna Berentés Ágnes Bíró Antónia Bodó Balázs Bujtor Csaba Czenke Györgyi Czirók Violetta Eckhardt, leader Mária Gál-Tamási Tibor Gátay Emese Gulyás Giovanni Guzzo, leader Krisztina Haják Hrib Radu Erika Illési Tímea Iván, principal Pál Jász István Kádár Péter Kostyál Eszter Lesták Bedő Zsófia Lezsák Tamás Major, leader Noémi Molnár Anikó Mózes Gyöngyvér Oláh János Pilz, principal Gábor Selmeczi Gábor Sipos Levente Szabó Zsolt Szefcsik Gabriella Takácsné Nagy Zoltán Tuska Viola Miklós Bányai Cecília Bodolai László Bolyki Ágnes Csoma, principal Zoltán Fekete Ferenc Gábor, principal Csaba Gálfi, principal Barna Juhász Péter Lukács, principal István Polónyi István Rajncsák Nikoletta Reinhardt Nao Yamamoto

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Cello László Bánk Lajos Dvorák Éva Eckhardt Péter Háry György Kertész Gabriella Liptai Kousay Mahdi György Markó Orsolya Mód Rita Sovány Péter Szabó, principal Double bass Zsolt Fejérvári, principal Alajos H. Zováthy Károly Kaszás Géza Lajhó László Lévai Csaba Magyar Attila Martos Csaba Sipos Flute Anna Fazekas Anett Jóföldi Zsuzsanna Kovács-Madai Bernadett Nagy Gabriella Pivon, principal Erika Sebők, principal Edit Székely Fruzsina Varga Oboe Márta Berger Nehil Durak Johannes Grosso, principal Eva Neuszerova Clément Noël, principal Philippe Tondre, principal Clarinet Ákos Ács, principal Roland Csalló Rudolf Szitka Bassoon Andrea Bressan, principal Sándor Patkós Dániel Tallián

Horn Dávid Bereczky Miklós Nagy, principal Zsombor Nagy András Szabó Zoltán Szőke, principal Trumpet Zsolt Czeglédi, principal Bence Horváth Tamás Póti Balázs Tóth Zoltán Tóth Trombone Balázs Szakszon, principal Attila Sztán Csaba Wagner Tuba József Bazsinka Harp Ágnes Polónyi Kinga Katinka Szilágyi Júlia Szilvásy Timpani Roland Dénes Percussion Boglárka Fábry László Herboly István Kurcsák Gábor Pusztai Gáspár Szente Keyboards Dávid Báll Soma Dinyés László Adrián Nagy Budapest Festival Orchestra’s academists Joshua Newburger (viola) Theresa Schneider (cello) Brittany Conrad (double bass) Rui Rodrigues (double bass) Zofia Neugebauer (flute) Daniel Roscia (clarinet) Nikolaj Henriques (bassoon) Nikolai Petersen (percussion)

Violetta Eckhardt Playing for one of the best classic ensembles in the world means that we permanently explore the infinite interpretive possibilities a composition has to offer and even though we are a full-size symphony orchestra, we still pay attention and listen carefully to each other as if we would play chamber music.

CONCERTS

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COMMUNITY WEEK CHILD-CARE INSTITUTIONS NURSING HOMES CHURCHES SYNAGOGUES

11–17 September

Three times a year, the Budapest Festival Orchestra embarks upon a journey to take classical music to those who, be it for medical, social, physical or financial reasons, would not normally be able to enjoy our concerts. At these homely chamber concerts, the elderly can discover the healing qualities of music while we take children on an adventure to the realm of instruments.

Every social class and age group is equally important to the orchestra, which is why, during Community Weeks, we visit child-care institutions in the farthest-flung corners of the country, just as we do for the elderly living in nursing homes.

On every occasion, we design programmes to give the greatest joy to each spe­cific audience. We prepare our interactive and playful Music Castle programme for the children. While for the elderly, we play healing, reminiscing, melodic classics, with the same attention to quality we give when we perform in Carnegie Hall.

During Community Weeks we visit children who usually live in difficult circumstances and have often never even seen an instrument in real life, meaning they await every such event with excitement and curiosity. Our job is to give them a lasting gift. Previous Community Weeks have seen us perform at venues such as SOS Children’s Villages, the Real Pearl Foundation in Told, the village of Cserdi in Baranya county and the International Pető Institute.

We always find that residents of nursing homes receive our free concerts with heartfelt affection. They treat these occasions as a celebration. They read up on the compositions, dress up in their best clothes, and listen to the performance with unwavering attention.

Through these concerts, we aim to introduce audiences to the miraculous world of music, removing obstacles and allowing young and old alike to enjoy music in a familiar environment. We go wherever we are needed.

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Mozart Fischer

21+23–24 September Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 21st Thursday 7:00pm Doráti 23rd Saturday 3:30pm Reiner 24th Sunday 7:00pm Solti

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni Christopher Maltman (Don Giovanni) José Fardilha (Leporello) Laura Aikin (Donna Anna) Lucy Crowe (Donna Elvira) Conductor and director: Iván Fischer

As long ago as 2011, The New York Times was describing Iván Fischer’s production of Don Giovanni as “more involving, imaginative and theatrically daring” than many full performances.

This year, a whole new cast will be introducing you to the world’s most notorious womaniser, in one of the greatest compositions ever conceived.

Don Giovanni, Hamlet, and the sea – Flaubert believed that God had created no­ thing more perfect than these three ones. The two-act opera by Mozart, which tells the story of Don Juan, premièred in 1787 and ever since has been bewitching audiences with its timeless tale of tragedy and comedy, musical psychoanalysis, eroticism, games and drama, and fully fleshed-out characters.

Mozart was working to achieve this level of perfection right up until the very last moment; anecdotally, he had been locked in his room for the night to make sure he would finish it. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Casanova himself provided assistance to author Lorenzo Da Ponte during the final retouching of the libretto. Da Ponte lived a scandalous life too; he was an infamous adventurer with countless lovers who therefore had no trouble identifying with the character of Don Giovanni.

There have been numerous stagings of the opera, but the 2011 interpretation by Iván Fischer and the Festival Orchestra managed to fire up and dazzle not only Hungarian audiences, but also those at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.

Seen and Heard International went as far as to write that “this production will stand as a hallmark against which all others will be judged.” To kick off the season, the BFO’s music director is presenting Mozart’s grand opera, with a new cast featuring one of the world’s most popular Don Giovannis, Christopher Maltman, and in the now familiar staged concert format.

The production was originally co-produced by Budapest Festival Orchestra and Müpa Budapest.

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Marin Alsop

Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major (“Leningrad”) Alina Pogostkina (violin) Conductor: Marin Alsop

04–05 October Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 04th Wednesday 7:45pm Doráti 05th Thursday 7:45pm Solti + Midnight Music 11:30pm

Sibelius SHOSTAKOVICH Alsop Pogostkina

The American Marin Alsop was born to be a musician; by the age of ten she already knew she wanted to be a conductor. Even though she’s sometimes shocked by how she, as a woman, can still be making history, that’s just what she did at the 2013 Proms when she conducted the closing concert. She’s now marking another first as she becomes the first woman to direct the BFO. Marin Alsop has chosen the masterful violin concerto in D minor, the only concerto Sibelius ever wrote, as the concert’s opening piece. The Finnish composer dedicated the work to the then 12-year-old Hungarian prodigy Ferenc Vecsey, who played it with breathtaking virtuosity, if not without fault. According to many, the third movement is the greatest concerto segment ever written for violin. British musicologist Donald Tovey compared it to a “polonaise for polar bears”, while others have heard the sounds of a pitched battle. The young Russian-German vio­ linist Alina Pogostkina will be performing this challenging, original, and highly refreshing piece. She gave her first concert when she was five, and won the 2005 International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition with this masterpiece of his.

“Most of my symphonies are tombstones,” said Shostakovich, for whom the sound of battle and the relentless rhythms of war that can be heard in his Seventh Symphony were not mere fantasy. He wrote the piece at the beginning of the siege of Leningrad. The horrors of the invasion, the atrocities committed by the invaders, the tears, the pain, the false nostalgia and the taste of victory all come together to mature into a heavy, characteristic mixture. The story of the symphony’s 1942 Leningrad première is chilling. The musicians were all skin and bones from starvation as they played, the conductor had even had to remove the percussionist from the morgue where he’d been accidentally placed while still being alive, but the symphony was performed. It was broadcast live on radio and at full volume through the city’s PA system, to let the Germans know that Leningrad was alive.

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Bach Mozart TCHAIKOVSKY Fischer Ax

19–20–21 October Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 19th Thursday 7:45pm Solti 20th Friday 7:45pm Doráti 21st Saturday 3:30pm Reiner

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Emanuel Ax (piano) Conductor: Iván Fischer

The Budapest Festival Orchestra is unique amongst the world’s symphony orchestras for having its own baroque ensemble. So it is no coincidence that, this year, the spotlight will fall on the BFO’s early music ensemble and J. S. Bach.

Iván Fischer begins every Festival Orchestra rehearsal with a Bach chorale, an intonation exercise to relax the players upon arrival. This season, our audience will have three opportunities to experience such intimacy when we connect symphony concerts with baroque music-making, by opening with works by Bach on period instruments. “The orchestra of the future resembles a production company; it can stage symphonic, early music and contemporary concerts, not to mention operas. And it can even function as a choir,” says Fischer.

Our autumn concert will feature Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite, the autograph of which was discovered by Mendelssohn. The ‘Air’ movement has become an integral part of our everyday lives; you can hear it in lifts, when you’re on hold during a phone call, at weddings or in romantic film scenes.

Seven-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax would be a perfect complement to the “orchestra of the future”. A devotee of contemporary composers with several world premières in recent years, he is going to be playing a true classic with the BFO, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, a serious, pro­ found, yet popular work.

Tchaikovsky struggles with impending doom in his Fourth Symphony, but ultimately he prescribes happiness as a panacea for all. The composer put a great amount into this piece and he loved it much more than anything he had composed up till then. There were many at the première who doubted the symphony’s power, it was considered a semi-barbarian, unfinished piece. But today it has found its rightful place in the symphonic repertoire.

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Em a n u e l A x

Mozart Haydn Takács-Nagy Anderszewski

28–29 October Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 28th Saturday 7:45pm Ormándy 29th Sunday 3:30pm Reiner A

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony in F Major, K. Anh. 223/19a Joseph Haydn: Piano Concerto in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138 Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 96 in D Major (“Miracle”), Hob. I:96 Piotr Anderszewski (piano) Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy

Last season’s Rising Stars series gave young conductors the chance to introduce themselves. This year, however, we will return to our popular Haydn-Mozart concerts with Gábor TakácsNagy. Let the conductor answer, why. “Their humour, their humanity, their naturalness, their originality,their depth and their honesty make them almost father and son in my eyes.”

Mozart could have been as young as 9 years old when he wrote his symphony in F Major. Obviously, this is not the prodigy’s most mature and unique work, but it’s all the more mysterious as the unnumbered symphony remained undiscovered until 1980 and was presented only afterwards.

Among the piano concertos of Mozart’s good friend Haydn, the ever-popular D Major gives space for the most virtuosity; the final movement is engulfed in fiery Gypsy elements. All of this suits Piotr Anderszewski perfectly. The Polish pianist is a restless traveller, a real ‘punk’, with Hungarian roots and an intense, original and inspiring style. When he’s not playing the piano, he can be found drinking exotic teas and reading the works of his favourite author, Gombrowicz.

Mozart’s Divertimento in F Major is a delightfully lyrical piece seasoned with rapid passages. Its first movement reminds us of the warmth of Italian comic operas, before leading us into intimate dialogues between low and high voices.

A witty, fluid Rondo brings the piece to a conclusion.

The concert’s final piece is a genuine miracle. According to a legend, a chandelier crashed into the auditorium during the première of Haydn’s Symphony No. 96, and the only reason nobody got hurt was that the audience had pressed close towards the orchestra to catch a glimpse of Haydn. This is why the symphony is nicknamed the “Miracle”. But while the latest research suggests that the accident actually happened during the première of Symphony No. 102, No. 96 is undisputedly one of the composer’s most mature London symphonies.

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P i o t r An d e r s z e w s k i

Dm i t r i K i t a y e nko

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini – Symphonic Fantasy after Dante Lilya Zilberstein (piano) Conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko

09–10 + 12 November Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 09th Thursday 7.45pm Széll 10th Friday 7.45pm Ormándy + 12th Saturday

Midnight Music 11.30pm

SHOSTAKOVICH RACHMANINOFF TCHAIKOVSKY KITAYENKO Zilberstein

Dmitri Kitayenko has been living in Western Europe for more than 25 years. These days he goes home only as a visitor, but he’s still an expert interpreter of Russian music. It is with this reputation that he’s returning to lead the BFO as they play Shosta­ kovich’s First Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s rhapsody which he composed in exile, and Tchaikovsky’s romantic fantasy.

Shostakovich, considered one of the most significant symphony composers of the 20th century, was still in his teens when he made his first attempt at the genre, and it made quite a splash. Both witty and dramatic at the same time, the First Symphony (1924–25), his graduation piece, conquered the world almost immediately. Bruno Walter performed it in Berlin, while Stokowski played it in Philadelphia and New York. The work has remained a hit ever since.

While Shostakovich lived his whole life in Russia, Rachmaninoff elected to emi­ grate. The world-famous Russian pianist Lilya Zilberstein, like the conductor Dmitri Kitayenko, lives in Western Europe. It’s a situation which recalls Rachmaninoff’s more than a quarter of a century living and composing in Europe and the USA. The impressive and virtuoso Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) is the last piece he composed for piano and orchestra, and it flirts not only with the “fiddler of the devil” but also with death itself.

Passing from death into Hell: Tchaikovsky spent under three weeks in the autumn of 1876 writing his symphonic fantasy, which betrays signs of Liszt’s influence and took its theme from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Francesca, a noblewoman who falls in love with her husband’s brother, appears in the fifth canto of Inferno. The husband takes a cruel revenge by killing the lovers who, because of their adulterous passions, go to Hell as sinners against love and will never find peace.

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Bach Bartók Brahms Fischer

02–03–04 December Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 02nd Saturday 7:45pm Doráti 03rd Sunday 3:30pm Reiner 04th Monday 7:45pm Solti

Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major Béla Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major Conductor: Iván Fischer

The BFO is so much at home with Brahms’ symphonies, it’s as if they were sitting in a comfortable reading chair. Bartók’s musical language is practically their mother tongue, and playing Bach’s Bran­den­burg concertos brings undiluted joy. Together they make for a perfect combination, with the strings in the spot­light.

There are few baroque pieces that have been performed and recorded more often than Bach’s six Brandenburg concertos. Up alongside Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, this group of concertos is a musical pinnacle of its era. This performance of the Third Brandenburg Concerto, which gives the strings their chance to shine, will be the second concert in the Festival Orchestra’s Bach series that will span the entire season. Our baroque ensemble will be playing the piece, which Bach probably never heard, on period instruments.

Bartók’s Music (1936) also holds a great significance for string players. According to Iván Fischer, the BFO is the best interpreter of this most original 20th century masterpiece, since its musicians are “native speakers of Bartók’s musical language.” The piece is rich with novelties for both rhythm and string players, but because of the two mini-orchestras sitting opposite one another the conductor is of the opinion that it is “rather baroque in style”, which is how he relates it to the Brandenburg concertos.

Only one of Brahms’ four symphonies remains unrecorded by the BFO, but that will be remedied this season when the performance of his Third Symphony (1883) which you’ll be hearing during this concert will be getting the same treatment.

This was the shortest of the composer’s symphonies, although according to music critic Eduard Hanslick it’s also the most perfect. Brahms composed his work as a fifty-year-old bachelor, when he was “free, but happy”. It is a lyrical, passionate and enigmatic passage between the optimistic Second and the gloomy Fourth symphonies.

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I v รกn F i s c h e r

Bach Schumann RACHMANINOFF Fischer Lupu

21–22–23 January

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 21st Sunday 7:45pm Széll 22nd Monday 7:45pm Doráti + Midnight Music 11:30pm 23rd Tuesday 7:45pm Solti

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor

Radu Lupu (piano) Conductor: Iván Fischer

We will be opening with the flautists’ favourite, Bach’s Orchestral Suite in B minor, before hearing two stunning works born through considerable labour pains: Schumann’s only piano concerto and Rachmaninoff’s movie soundtrack-evoking Sym­ phony No. 2.

“This is a sacred piece for flautists,” says Iván Fischer about the BFO’s final piece

by Bach this season, his Orchestral Suite No. 2, which Fischer will be conducting.

The fast-moving, glimmering work gives soloists the perfect opportunity to display their technical brilliance, while retaining its grace, delicacy, and charm.

Bach did not think much of music as entertainment, but he found inspiration in dance music as can best be seen in his orchestral suites.

Robert Schumann originally studied to become a virtuoso of the piano, but too much practising and the alleged use of a device to lengthen his fingers left him with a paralysed digit, so he had to content himself with ‘just’ composition. He wrote plenty of pieces for the piano, yet completed only one of several piano con­ certos. That concerto, premièred by Schumann’s wife Clara and performed at this BFO concert by the Grammy Award winning pianist Radu Lupu, has had an eventful afterlife. Grieg drew from it for his own piano concerto (also in A minor), which in turn would become a model for Rachmaninoff’s first.

One of the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s most successful CDs contains the latter composer’s Symphony No. 2 (1906–7), a piece also conceived under trying circumstances. Following the poor reviews of his First symphony, the composer fell into a depression which only the success of his Second would heal. While ‘talkie’ films were far from established at the time this romantic piece premièred, it is wide­ly regarded as having the impact of a movie soundtrack.

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Radu Lupu

L e on a r d B e r n s t e i n

A joint event by Müpa and the BFO Artistic director: Iván Fischer

04 February Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre 04th Sunday, 10:30am–10:00pm

BERNSTEIN MARATHON Fischer

Spend another day with the works of a giant of composition.

It’ll be a red-letter day, with concerts performed by the biggest names from the Hungarian music scene. Symphony orchestras, iconic soloists, chamber ensembles all speaking the same language - that of Leonard Bernstein. Another marathon with Müpa Budapest and the BFO! “I can’t live one day without hearing music, playing it, studying it, or thinking about it” said the American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, whose infinitely rich and popular legacy will be our source of joy for an entire day. This will be the eleventh music marathon jointly put on by the Festival Orchestra and Müpa Budapest, and this time around we’re celebrating Leonard Bernstein, having previously paid homage to Tchaikovsky, Bach, Beethoven, Bartók, Mozart, Schubert, Dvořák, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Schumann, and Brahms.

Leonard Bernstein was one of Iván Fischer’s most important mentors. “He was versatile,” Fisher says. “He was a composer, a conductor, an educator, a humanist, and a genuinely deep thinker. From him, I learned that music is not a competitive arena of single-minded people. I’ll never forget what he said: ‘I love music, but I love people even more’.”

Bernstein’s eclectic compositions mix jazz, Jewish tunes and music for the theatre. But no matter what he wrote, communication was always his highest priority. So it’s no accident that, in his most popular work West Side Story, he successfully bridged the gap between classical and pop music. Bernstein rued the little time he’d had for composition, but still produced an oeuvre of many genres: from symphonic works and ballet, to opera, chamber music, incidental music for the theatre or choruses and solo pieces.

As his brother Burton put it, “Lenny” made history as the first American to be taken seriously in the concert hall. His voice became iconic to his era.

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Korngold R. Strauss Janowski Steinbacher

12–13–14 February Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 12th Monday 7:45pm Reiner 13th Tuesday 7:45pm Solti 14th Wednesday 7:45pm Doráti

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin concerto Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Eine Alpensinfonie) Arabella Steinbacher (violin) Conductor: Marek Janowski

“A surgeon with a conductor’s baton” was how Revizor referred to Marek Janowski in 2015. The Polish-born German Maestro is no showman, but while he conducts without frills he also takes bold risks and releases a flood of emotions. As he did last time, he’s bringing us a Richard Strauss piece which, on this occasion, he’ll match with a romantic violin concerto composed by one of the founders of incidental music for films.

Richard Strauss loved nature and the mountains, and he condensed his admiration into An Alpine Symphony which many regard as the pinnacle of symphonic programme music. Employing a gigantic orchestra, the piece draws on a childhood experience of his in which, as part of a hiking group, the composer was caught in a storm in the Alps. The symphony sweeps through forest springs, waterfalls, meadows in full bloom and glaring glaciers, the fog settles in and a storm breaks out, eventually to calm down. This was the first instance of naturalism being employed in music. Strauss used a wind machine, a thunder machine and a heckelphone, which is pitched an octave lower than a regular oboe, while he also conjured up the weeping of a child. In 1983, the Alpine Symphony was one of the first CDs ever to be sold in record shops.

The concert’s other main character was the recipient of two Oscars; Erich Wolfgang Korngold was one of the fathers of film music, someone whom Gustav Mahler called a musical genius on the back of a composition he’d written at the age of nine. Korngold reached the peak of his success in Hollywood, where he composed for Paramount and Warner Brothers. However, the start of his journey had not been of his own volition; his Jewish ancestry meant he was forced out of his native Austria and he would never overcome the homesickness he felt for his homeland. After the fall of Hitler he gave up film music and focused again on the concert hall, composing his late romantic Violin concerto which, in this instance, will be performed by Arabella Steinbacher, a regular partner of Janowski.

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A r a b e l l a S t e i nb a c h e r

Wassenaer Avison HANDEL Albinoni Cohen Christensson T’Hooft

26–27 February Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 26th Monday 7:45pm Széll 27th Tuesday 7:45pm Ormándy

Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer: Concerto No. 4 in G major Charles Avison: Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D minor Georg Friedrich Handel: Silete venti, HWV 242 Tomaso Albinoni: Oboe concerto in D minor, Op. 9 No. 2 Georg Friedrich Handel: Concerto Grosso No. 3 in E minor Piangerò la sorte mia Da tempeste il legno infranto Malin Christensson (soprano) Artistic director: Jonathan Cohen Baroque gestures: Sigrid T’Hooft

The young conductor Jonathan Cohen is passionate about chamber music. His second baroque concert of the season will feature Italian vibrations, beautiful and energetic passages, and a wonderful soprano voice from Sweden.

“Some of them are tolerable, some middling, others wretched.” Today’s audiences have rather differing opinions to those of the composer Wassenaer about his compositions, especially his beautiful Concerti Armonici series. The influential Dutch diplomat forbade the publication of his works under his own name, which is why, up to 1980, they had been attributed to both Pergolesi and Carlo Ricciotti.

Charles Avison is credited as having written the first piece of musical criticism in English; he also became the hero of a play, and had an orchestra and a library named after him. His best-known pieces are his concerti grossi, which took from the compositions of the Italian Domenico Scarlatti. Our concerts will feature the special atmosphere of his Concerto Grosso No. 5 – the moment the violins come in reminds audiences of a passionate Italian film.

The first part of the concert ends in a 1707 motet by Handel; Sweden’s Malin Christensson will be providing the virtuoso soprano voice required for his Silete venti.

In the second part she’ll be singing two of Cleopatra’s dramatic arias from Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, utilising baroque gestures, make-up and costumes.

While we’ve touched upon the Italianate influences of Avison and Wassenaer, Tomaso Albinoni’s oeuvre is peculiar in that this Italian musician composed for pleasure and was out of touch with his contemporaries. Of his concerti, his Oboe concerto No. 2 is the best-known piece, especially its slow movement.

The happy passages lead us on to Handel’s Concerto Grosso No. 3, which brings a dark melancholy to the programme without departing from the influences of Italy.

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J on a t h a n Co h e n

Giuseppe Verdi: Falstaff Nicola Alaimo (Falstaff) Tassis Christoyannis (Ford) Eva Mei (Alice) Yvonne Naef (Mrs. Quickly) Conductor and director: Iván Fischer

04 + 06–07 March

Verdi Fischer

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 04th Sunday 7:00pm Ormándy 06th Tuesday 7:00pm Doráti 07th Wednesday 7:00pm Solti

Iván Fischer is stepping away from his world-famous Mozart cycle to direct a work by Verdi. The next major enterprise on the BFO’s schedule is Falstaff, the Italian genius Verdi’s last opera, with which he bid a cheerful farewell to this world.

Rossini’s remark about being unable to compose a comic opera hung over Verdi for decades. The critical quip disturbed him even as he approached eighty, after half a century occupied with composition and with 27 operas to his credit, which is when he took the plunge and decided to write his three-act comedy Falstaff (1893). Having completed Othello he was yearning for a change of genres and, as he said, “I have mercilessly slaughtered a large number of heroes and heroines, it is high time I had some laughs too.”

Verdi was anxious about not being able to finish the work, but his librettist Arrigo Boito fortunately had the power to convince him to take up the task. The composer respected and loved Shakespeare, keeping volumes of the Bard’s work on his bedside table, while Boito had compiled a unique libretto from The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV that Verdi was unable to resist. With no deadline he composed freely and at his leisure to create a brand new genre, the lyric comedy. On stage, in an opera set in a rich and inventive melodic world, the character of the pot-bellied, greedy, farcical seducer Falstaff appears delicately nuanced and wisely self-ironic.

Over the past decades, many famous conductors have worked hard to retain Falstaff within the operatic canon. Now, following in the footsteps of Toscanini, Karajan, Solti and Bernstein, Iván Fischer has the same goal. In this concert, the conductor-director will be joined on stage by some superstar Italian singers. Falstaff will be performed by Nicola Alaimo, who previously played the role at the Metropoli­ tan Opera in New York as well as La Scala in Milan.

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COMMUNITY WEEK CHILD-CARE INSTITUTIONS NURSING HOMES CHURCHES SYNAGOGUES

09–14 April

Community building is extremely important to the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Over the past thirty-something years the orchestra and their audience have grown into a huge, musicloving family which keeps on growing and sets out every year on a journey of musical exploration.

The aim of our Community Weeks is to help this family grow, to rebuild the ties between existing communities and forge new ones through the power of music.

There are many people in this country who are open to music, but distance and a lack of time prevent them from enjoying the BFO’s performances. We help them by bringing our free concerts to local churches.

Our musicians are constantly on the lookout for new challenges, beyond the spectrum of orchestral performances. Five years ago we founded our baroque ensemble, which plays on authentic period instruments. Their performances play a key role in both our regular season and our community work. And what could be more fitting in baroque music than the spirituality, atmosphere and acoustics of a church?

We started our church concert series in the summer of 2014, since when we have visited Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran communities. The first of these concerts was at the Lutheran church in Budapest’s Deák square, and our subsequent nationwide tour has taken us from Pannonhalma to Soltvadkert to Sellye, and even to the tiny Transylvanian village of Kaplony.

We based the first year and a half of our series around Bach’s cantatas, but we’re now broadening our repertoire with other baroque composers and different genres.

The Festival Orchestra is glad to be preserving this musical tradition, and would be delighted to share it with anyone open to it.

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Mozart Haydn Takács-Nagy Tokar

20–21 April Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 20th Friday 7:45pm Ormándy 21th Saturday 3:30pm Reiner B

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, K. 16 Ch’io mi scordi di te?, K. 505 Bella mia fiamma, addio, K. 528 Un moto di gioia, K. 579 Joseph Haydn: Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon), Hob. XXVIII:7 – overture Symphony No. 60 in C major (“Il distratto”), Hob. I:60 Olena Tokar (soprano) Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy

What is the funniest symphony ever composed? Did Mozart com­pose while confined to his room? The truth will be revealed at the second Haydn–Mozart concert of the season, when Gábor Takács-Nagy continues healing with his music and enthusiasm.

“The music of Haydn and Mozart is a genuine spiritual medicine to all those who play or listen to it. I’m happy and proud to be part of this phenomenal ensemble as we engage in the ‘spiritual healing process’ brought about by the music of these two geniuses.” You don’t need a more inspiring introduction to the world of Haydn and Mozart than Gábor Takács-Nagy’s words. It’s a world we’ll be entering through Mozart’s very first symphony, which he composed at the age of eight.

That will be followed by three of his concert arias, performed by the promising 31-year-old Ukrainian soprano Olena Tokar. According to many, Ch’io mi scordi di te? is Mozart’s finest example of the genre, while Bella mia fiamma, addio can boast of a most peculiar genesis. Legend has it that Mozart’s friend Josepha Duschek locked him up, only releasing the composer on condition that he wrote an aria for her. Mozart took revenge by producing a very challenging aria. He composed the third concert aria, Un moto di gioia, for Lorenzo da Ponte’s mistress during the Vienna revival of Le nozze di Figaro.

From the tangle of legends and lovers we come to the other medicine man, Haydn, through the overture to his comic opera about love, Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon). While the composer’s one hundred-plus symphonies display an inexhaustible variety, No. 60, composed originally for the stage as incidental music to a comedy, stands out even from that set. According to American conductor Kenneth Woods this is the funniest and most modern symphony ever written. It anticipates many of the ‘isms’ of the 20th century, including surrealism, the absurd, and modernism.

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O l e n a Tok a r

J u kk a - P e kk a S a r a s t e

Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor Conductor: Jukka-Pekka Saraste

28–29–30 April

Bruckner Saraste

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 28th Saturday 7:45pm Doráti 29th Sunday 3:30pm Reiner 30th Monday 7:45pm Solti

Apocalyptic, dark, and sometimes shocking, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 is enthralling and infinitely rich. The conductor for this concert will be that favourite of Finnish audiences, JukkaPekka Saraste.

At the age of nine, Saraste was conducting with his mother’s knitting needles.

While he first took up the piano and later switched to playing violin, he would eventually settle back into conducting. The superstar Finnish conductor JukkaPekka Saraste last led the Festival Orchestra in January 2016, in a programme of works from his homeland. This time around he’ll be conducting Bruckner’s dra­ ma­t ic Eighth, a work he once recorded alongside the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (WDR).

“Symphony No. 8 is special to me for its rich atmosphere,” said Saraste about the last symphony the composer ever actually finished. And it was not a simple process; Bruckner rewrote the piece several times and had to wait years before someone ventured out to conduct it. The Festival Orchestra will be playing the second rewrite, the ‘Haas’ version from 1890 which, according to the conductor, best reflects the personality of the composer.

Brought up in a village in a puritanical and rigorous family, it was only after he’d gathered plenty of knowledge that Bruckner, at over forty years old, started composing. His monumental symphony, which is almost ninety minutes long, is dedicated to Emperor Franz Joseph and still divides audiences to this day. Listening to the work forces us to face demons, fears and doubts as the composer’s imagination sweeps us away to shockingly dark places. However, the splendour and monumentality of the symphony is breathtaking, and in it one can also find inno­cence, fragility and beauty. Hugo Wolf, Bruckner’s friend and the composer of Lieder, wrote this about the work: “This symphony is the creation of a giant and surpasses all the master’s other symphonies in spiritual dimension, richness and greatness.”

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Mahler Fischer Karg Kulman

11–12–13 May Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 11st Friday 7:45pm Doráti 12nd Saturday 7:45pm Solti + Midnight Music 11:30pm 13rd Sunday 3:30pm Reiner

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”) Christiane Karg (soprano) Elisabeth Kulman (alto) Czech Philharmonic Choir, Brno Conductor: Iván Fischer

Iván Fischer’s life is interwoven with the uninhibited, honest music of Mahler. As one of those conductors who best understands his music, in this season Fischer has picked a series of works that lend a crucial role to the human voice. Hungarian audiences will be able to hear Mahler’s grandiose Resurrection symphony, their recording of which won the BFO a Gramophone Award, the Oscar of classical music, in 2007.

“In the life of an orchestra you get one chance a decade to play Mahler’s Second,” says Iván Fischer. In the life of the Festival Orchestra, this moment has come around again. Their 2006 performance left a lasting impression. As the Washington Post wrote at the time, it was “majestic yet intimate, overwhelming yet tender, meticulously planned and brilliantly executed. One of the best recordings ever made of the Resurrection symphony”.

Mahler’s music is overwrought, full of powerful emotions and magnificent contrasts. The composer continuously pushed at the boundaries of the symphony.

As he said, “a symphony must be like the world: it must embrace everything,” which is something this ninety-minute opus went a long way towards achieving.

The Second is grandiose in its musicality, duration and theme as well as in the sheer number of musicians it employs. Consider the ten trumpets, the ten French horns, seven percussionists, the “largest set of strings possible,” and a mixed choir, all on the stage at the same time.

The composer sets out with the gravity of a funeral procession. He leads the audience towards light and happier reminiscences, only for clattering timpani rolls to tear them away into melancholic brooding about meaninglessness of life.

The fourth movement encapsulates yearning for another world, while the fifth fluctuates between hope and utter desolation for more than half an hour.

Following the 1895 première of this symphony, Mahler rushed to his room and collapsed. The audience erupted in thunderous applause while many were weeping.

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Gustav Mahler

MOZART WIDMANN MCFadden

01 June Budapest Music Center 01st Friday 7:45pm Széll

Jörg Widmann: Icarian Lament (Ikarische Klage) Sirens’ Island (Insel der Sirenen) Three Shadow Dances (Drei Schattentänze) for clarinet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546 Jörg Widmann: Experiment on the Fugue (Versuch über die Fuge) for soprano, oboe and chamber orchestra Claron McFadden (soprano) Conductor and clarinet: Jörg Widmann

“You play the clarinet so beautifully, so why do you compose such horrible music?” Jörg Widmann is happy to recount the first time someone hit him with this question, adding that there are others for whom his music is “too beautiful”. We are in a privileged position to decide who is right.

Imagine a single, enchanting note of a horn cutting the heavy air of a dimmed concert hall. It sounds all alone, evoking a multitude of moods and colours. But as time goes on you start to grow suspicious; the sound thickens and the trick is eventually unveiled – the horn is not playing a solo, it is resonating with the depressed pedal of an open-lidded piano. His Aria for Solo Horn was the peak of the Festival Orchestra’s 2016 Widmann concert, and maybe even topped off the entire season. We’ll be repeating that extraordinary encounter when the brilliant, versatile German musical polymath visits us again.

The opening piece of the concert sees Widmann’s transposition into music of the timelessness of Baudelaire’s poem, Icarian Lament. His Sirens’ Island, meanwhile, takes us up close to the simultaneously alluring and devastating company of muses of the underworld, only to reveal that their silence is even more lethal than their voices. The virtuoso musician’s clarinet playing will take centre stage for his happy and playful Three Shadow Dances, which are full of echoing sounds, water dances, and African motifs.

Originality is paramount to Widmann; not just does he evoke nostalgia, he also endeavours to create something new in classical music. You can taste this new flavour in Mozart’s passionate and agitated Adagio and Fugue in C minor, a piece that even grabbed Beethoven’s attention.

Following on from Mozart’s fugue, it will be interesting to hear Widmann’s own, 21st century Experiment on the Fugue.

46

J รถ r g W i d m a nn

J o r d i SA v a l l

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069 Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Boréades Suite Georg Muffat: Impatientia Suite (Florilegium Primum, Fasciculus IV) Georg Friedrich Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351

02–03 June Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music 02nd Saturday 3:30pm Reiner A 03rd Sunday 3:30pm Reiner B

BACH RAMEAU MUFFAT HANDEL Savall

Conductor: Jordi Savall

From this season’s turbulent baroque selection, one of the greatest experiences promises to be the two concerts by Grammy Award-winning early music conductor, composer and gambist, Jordi Savall. It’s a must for fans of trumpets and horns.

Bach left us four orchestral suites which he named overtures after the widely-used German baroque form that he employed in their first movements, the French overture. At the time, only the aristocracy could afford to maintain even a small string orchestra, so it was something quite out of the ordinary to hear the trumpets, timpani and horns which we consider characteristic of the genre. The Suite in D Major gives the lead to the trumpets and timpani.

The sounds of the horn then lead us into Rameau’s Suite, which the French composer took from the orchestral parts of his opera, Les Boréades. Success came rather late to Rameau, when he was in his 50s. The opera he wrote at the age of 80 would vanish and only be resurrected 200 years after his death. Its revival was well worth the effort, however, as the composer was a master of inventive rhythmical games and effects, of bold harmonies and of charming, powerful dance tunes.

Florilegium arrives to us like a lush bunch of flowers from the cosmopolitan composer Muffat, who summarised the three great musical cultures of France, Germany and Italy during his lifetime. He hated war and believed in the power of music to create peace, a theme which can be found in all of his works.

The concert draws to a close with the robust trumpets of Handel’s bright and sweeping Fireworks Suite. The piece was composed for the fireworks display to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The original score features an astonishing extravaganza of wind and brass: 24 oboes, 12 bassoons, 9 trumpets and 9 horns. The 12,000 people who gathered to watch the public dress rehearsal in Vauxhall held up the traffic in London for 3 hours. The première in Green Park was neither without incident; the grand pavilion constructed for the celebration caught fire and burned down after the overture.

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COMMUNITY WEEK CHILD-CARE INSTITUTIONS NURSING HOMES CHURCHES SYNAGOGUES

04–10 June

Each season, the Budapest Festival Orchestra makes every ef­ fort to take our music out of the confines of the concert hall. In order to make music at even more unusual places, we have developed unique forms of concerts through which we can forge new relationships between ourselves and our audiences.

Since the summer of 2014, our Community Weeks have seen us perform in provincial synagogues which have been abandoned or no longer serve their original purposes. We found our concerts in Bonyhád, Karcag, and Apostag to be hugely significant experiences. Our goal is to fill synagogues that were laid bare by the Holocaust, with life, music and culture once again. Tunes, stories and flavours can introduce local communities to the one-time diversity and tolerance that used to be so typical of Hungary. Our concerts will be featuring works by compo­ sers with Jewish connections, as well as klezmer tunes.

As Iván Fischer summarised the essence of the concert series: “Synagogues still stand in many villages and small towns which have not had Jewish inhabitants for a long time. Some places are in ruins, while others have been turned into furniture stores or a gym. We visit these places, and give free concerts. People are curious, and the music entices them in. The orchestra plays, and afterwards a rabbi speaks about how things used to be, about how cohabitation with the Jewish community looked. With the beauty of our music and those stories we hope to bring the memories of the former Jewish community closer to those who now live near the building.”

The Synagogue Concerts are a joint production by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation and the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities.

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DANCING ON THE SQUARE PROJECT FISCHER

JUNE HEROES’ SQUARE

Creative experience is founded on the realisation that we are able to build something out of nothing. It is the ability to become something more. Communal creation is uplifting because it blurs borders. Accepting ourselves and others is all about experiencing our oneness while not being ashamed of our differences. Kriszta Bódis, CEO of the You have a Place Foundation, Ambassador for the Dancing on the Square project Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra launched their Dancing on the Square project in 2015. This initiative is concerned not only with music and dance, but also with mutual acceptance, tolerance, respect, and the exploration of common values and experiences.

The children are the most important participants in the project; they become real heroes for the day when they dance together in Heroes’ Square to the music of the Festival Orchestra. They work for months towards a common goal, getting ever closer to each other, and they enjoy the fruits of being part of a real creative community.

In 2018, we will be organising the fourth of our free grand open-air concerts, to the delight of the community that has grown up around the concerts and the children. The participating schools are with us in wanting to make the mixture of those dancing together as wide as possible. By including many Roma and non-Roma, disadvantaged and better-off children, we enable them to feel accepted through their common experiences.

Besides the weekly dance rehearsals, we organise regional meetings and cooperate with the Foundation for Democratic Youth to strengthen community bonds and social skills. We also give the children the opportunity to meet the BFO’s musicians and thus bring them even closer to classical music.

We believe that music can build special relationships among people regardless of gender, social status, ethnic background or linguistic differences. Besides that, it teaches us to cooperate, to be open and to pay attention to one another.

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Ákos Ács This orchestra is different in a way that we create an intellectual and emotional experience being very much uplifting and thought-provoking.

We advance to the essence of the music and let it shine for the people.

And if this expe­rience might remain in their memory for only a few days, it is all worth it.

CHAMBER MUSIC

57

CHAMBER MUSIC

Sunday Chamber Music

2017

2018

19th November

17th December

18th February

Enescu, Mozart, Bax, Dvořák

Shostakovich, Boutros, Takemitsu, Emler, Tchaikovsky

Mais, Becker, Ravel, Beethoven

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

George Enescu: Concertstück in F major for viola and piano Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet quintet in A major, K. 581 Arnold Bax: Elegiac Trio Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 51 Antónia Bodó, violin Erika Illési, violin Noémi Molnár, violin Gabriella Nagy, violin Csaba Gálfi, viola Barna Juhász, viola Nao Yamamoto, viola György Kertész, cello Orsolya Mód, cello Anett Jóföldi, flute Rudolf Szitka, clarinet Ágnes Polónyi, harp Brigitta Taraszova, piano

58

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

Dmitri Shostakovich: Adagio (from the ballet The Limpid Stream) Laurent Boutros: Amasia Toru Takemitsu: Toward the Sea (I. The Night, II. Moby Dick, III. Cape Cod) Andy Emler: Tuba Stone Piotr Tchaikovsky: String sextet in D minor (“Souvenir de Florence”) Op. 70 Ágnes Bíró, violin Zoltán Tuska, violin Péter Kostyál, viola Gábor Sipos, viola György Kertész, cello Rita Sovány, cello Anett Jóföldi, alto flute József Bazsinka, tuba Ágnes Polónyi, harp Irina Ivanitskaya, piano

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

John Mais: Three stories for double-bass and piano Bob Becker: Mudra Maurice Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin (arr. by Aurél Holló) Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata in A major (“Kreutzer”), Op. 47 (arr. for string quintet) Tibor Gátay, violin János Pilz, violin Ágnes Csoma, viola Kousay Mahdi, cello Orsolya Mód, cello Attila Martos, double-bass Boglárka Fábry, percussion György Halmschlager, percussion László Herboly, percussion Dániel Janca, percussion István Kurcsák, percussion Ádám Maros, percussion László Adrián Nagy, piano

CHAMBER MUSIC Sunday Chamber Music

2018 25th March

15th April

06th May

Sinding, Shostakovich, Mozart, Mendelssohn

Schubert, Brahms, Martinů, Janáček

Beethoven, Shostakovich Bruch, Constantinescu

Christian Sinding: Suite in A minor for violin and piano, Op. 10 Dmitri Shostakovich: String quartet No. 8 in C minor (“To the victims of fascism and the war”), Op. 110 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Duo No. 2 in B-flat major for violin and viola, K. 424 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49

Franz Schubert: Notturno in E flat major, Op. 148, D. 897 Ständchen (Serenade) from Schwanengesang, D. 957, No. 4 Johannes Brahms: Three Songs; Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 Bohuslav Martinů: La revue de cuisine Leoš Janáček: Concertino

Ludwig van Beethoven: Serenade in D major, Op. 25 Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 Max Bruch: String Octet in B flat major, Op. posth.

Paul Constantinescu: Concerto for string orchestra

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

Zsuzsanna Berentés, violin Tímea Iván, violin István Kádár, violin Csaba Gálfi, viola Barna Juhász, viola Kousay Mahdi, cello Rita Sovány, cello Gábor Gyülvészi, piano András Kemenes, piano

60

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

Bence Asztalos, violin Violetta Eckhardt, violin Anikó Mózes, violin János Pilz, violin István Rajncsák, viola Kousay Mahdi, cello Péter Szabó, cello Ákos Ács, clarinet Rudolf Szitka, clarinet Dániel Tallián, bassoon András Szabó, horn Tamás Póti, trumpet Dávid Báll, piano Irina Ivanitskaya, piano István Lajkó, piano

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

Antónia Bodó, violin Mária Gál-Tamási, violin Emese Gulyás, violin Giovanni Guzzo, violin Noémi Molnár, violin Anikó Mózes, violin Levente Szabó, violin Zsolt Szefcsik, violin László Bolyki, viola Ágnes Csoma, viola Csaba Gálfi, viola Gábor Sipos, viola Péter Háry, cello Gabriella Liptai, cello Csaba Sipos, doublebass Gabriella Pivon, flute Zoltán Fejérvári, piano

CHAMBER MUSIC Back to Nature – chamber music on period instruments

Contemporary Chamber Music

2017

2018

2018

26th November

07th January

25th February

Biber, Bach, Morel, Pachelbel

Falconieri, Fontana, Cima, Storace, Rossi, Castello, Buonamente, Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Vivaldi, A. Scarlatti

COHEN, BOULEZ, ORBÁN, KURTÁG, USTVOLSKAYA, GLASS

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Sonata in E minor, C. 142 J. S. Bach: Sonata in D major for viola da gamba, BWV 1028; Trio Sonata in G minor, BWV 1029 Jacques Morel: Chaconne en Trio Johann Pachelbel: Partita in C minor J. S. Bach: Trio Sonata in C major, BWV 1037; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050 Eszter Lesták Bedő, violin and baroque violin János Pilz, violin and Baroque violin István Rajncsák, baroque viola Kousay Mahdi, cello and baroque cello Rita Sovány, viola da gamba and baroque cello Attila Martos, violone Gabriella Pivon, baroque flute Angelika Csizmadia, harpsichord Soma Dinyés, positive organ and harpsichord Judit Varga, harpsichord

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00pm

Andrea Falconieri: Passacaglia Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata No. 16 for three violins Giovanni Paolo Cima: Sonata Bernardo Storace: Ciaccona Salamone Rossi: Sonata No. 12 (“sopra la Bergamasca”) Dario Castello: Sonata No. 10 Giovanni Battista Buonamente: Sonata for three violins Andrea Falconieri: Batalla de Barabaso yerno de Satanas – canzone Claudio Monteverdi: “Chiome d’oro, bel tesoro” – madrigal, SV 143 Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonata No. 21 for three violins, Ch. 214 Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in C minor, RV 441 Alessandro Scarlatti: Su le sponde del Tebro – cantata, H. 705 Éva Bodrogi, soprano Gabriella Szili, soprano Emese Gulyás, baroque violin Gabriella Nagy, baroque violin Gyöngyvér Oláh, baroque violin Gábor Sipos, baroque violin Nikoletta Reinhardt, baroque viola Rita Sovány, viola da gamba György Kertész, baroque cello László Lévai, baroque double-bass Salamon Eredics, soprano and alto recorder Gergő Farkas, bassoon Fruzsina Hara, trumpet László Herboly, percussion Soma Dinyés, harpsichord and organ Gábor Tokodi, lute and guitar

Budapest Music Center, 7:45pm

Gilad Cohen: Trio for Spry Clarinet, Weeping Cello and Ruminating Harp Pierre Boulez: Dérive 1 György Orbán: Piano Trio György Kurtág: Bagatelles, Op. 14/d Galina Ustvolskaya: Composition No. 1 (“Dona nobis pacem”) Philip Glass: String quartet No. 2 (“Company”) Csaba Czenke, violin Violetta Eckhardt, violin Mária Gál-Tamási, violin István Kádár, violin István Polónyi, viola Kousay Mahdi, cello Gabriella Liptai, cello Orsolya Mód, cello Péter Szabó, cello Zsolt Fejérvári, double-bass Anett Jóföldi, flute and piccolo Gabriella Pivon, flute Ákos Ács, clarinet and bass clarinet Roland Csalló, clarinet József Bazsinka, tuba István Kurcsák, vibraphone Ágnes Polónyi, harp Gábor Csalog, piano Gábor Gyülvészi, piano Irina Ivanitskaya, piano Zsuzsa Kollár, piano

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László Herboly Playing music in­vol­ves a constant reinterpretation.

Every given moment is filled with mutual exchange and the interplay of action and reaction. It is like a creative dialogue, where I listen to my fellow musicians and respond to them musically.

ON TOUR

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DISCOVERING THE MUSIC WORLD

„Free from any symphonic boundaries, this remarkable orchestra must also be the world’s most versatile.” The Guardian The Budapest Festival Orchestra shares its passion with music-lovers across the globe, and invites them to discover together uncharted territories of music. Whether at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Lucerne Festival or the BBC Proms: the orchestra brings the magic of music to listeners, delighting audiences in a unique way.

With its ensemble attitude, the interaction amongst musicians, the support for each other and the contribution to a greater whole, BFO inspires audiences worldwide and demonstrates what differentiates it from all other leading orchestras in the world. This attitude creates a tremendous impact on the global classic community and expands the radius of the international acknowledgement of BFO. The value of the orchestra is underlined further by the professional accolades they receive. This is emphasised by Gramophone magazine, as they rank the Festival Orchestra among the world’s ten best orchestras; those that have built outstanding reputations over the past few decades.

The tireless work of Iván Fischer and the musicians has secured the BFO a place among the most sought-after of international ensembles, reinforcing the relevance and importance of outstanding Hungarian musical culture. The BFO serves as an ambassador to a country whose contribution to the development of classical mu­sic in the 20th century has few rivals.

In the upcoming season BFO returns as orchestra in residence to The Edinburgh International Festival and Mostly Mozart with its innovative “staged concerts”, a cutting-edge production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It will take audiences in Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna on a joyful musical journey to experience the essence of music.

Our orchestra entices the entire world, while bestowing the exceptional qualities of Hungarian culture on international audiences.

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On tour

2017

2018

09–20 August UK USA

14–26 January USA Iceland Greece

09th Edinburgh Festival, Festival Theatre 10th Edinburgh Festival, Usher Hall 11th Edinburgh Festival, Festival Theatre 12th Edinburgh Festival, Festival Theatre 17th New York, Rose Theater 19th New York, Rose Theater 20th New York, Rose Theater 12–17 October The Netherlands Germany Belgium France 12th Amsterdam, Concertgebouw 13th Stuttgart, Liederhalle 14th Antwerp, deSingel 15th Dortmund, Konzerthaus 16th Eindhoven, Muziekgebouw 17th Paris, Philharmonie 05–08 December Poland France Croatia Italy 06th Wrocław, Filharmonia 08th Grenoble, MC2 09th Zagreb, Lisinski Hall 10th Udine, Teatro Nuovo

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14th New York City, Lincoln Center 15th Washington DC, Kennedy Center 17th Reykjavík, Harpa 19th Athens, Megaron 20th Athens, Megaron 17–27 May Belgium Germany Czech Republic Austria 17th Bruges, Concertgebouw 18th Bruges, Concertgebouw 19th Bruges, Concertgebouw 20th Baden-Baden, Festspielhaus 22nd Frankfurt, Alte Oper 24th Prague, Smetana Hall 25th Dresden, Musikfestspiele 27th Vienna, Konzerthaus

Reviews of the BFO

„The Budapest Festival Orchestra is Hungary’s greatest cultural export.” The Guardian „Much the same could be said of the orchestral playing, which in the closing performance of Mozart’s unfinished Requiem took on a deep, inward expressivity which could truly be called sublime.” The Telegraph “The Budapest Festival Orchestra is the model Hungarian orchestra – the best ensemble in the country and a real national treasure. In terms of international ranking, it is also considered to be one of the ten greatest orchestras in the world.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

„There are many feelings with which one can leave a classical concert. Excitement, awe, fatigue, euphoria, melancholy and polite appreciation are all states of being that have carried me out of the doors of the Konzerthaus over the years, but rarely have I felt such a sense of warmth and energy as exuded from the Budapest Festival Orchestra on Thursday evening, and it is evenings like this which make people come out to classical music concerts instead of exclusively listening to Spotify while cooking at home or popping in a CD during the morning commute. There is something magical about a live concert when everything fits, and this evening was fairly close to perfect.”

Bachtrack

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PĂŠter SzabĂł Rethinking the process of music making involves a neverceasing quest for lifelong learning, the willingness to improve constantly and the enthusiasm and curiosity to pick up where other orchestras have left off. It is a voyage of discovery that keeps us in a permanent state of artistic euphoria.

BFO CARES

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YOUNG BFO

“One who loves music can never truly be unhappy.”

Listening to music, singing and playing an instrument every day can all contribute to the development of speech, language and creativity, as well as to the upkeep of our spiritual health. The Festival Orchestra’s globally unrivalled programme of musical education endeavours to introduce the treasures of classical music to children, families and young adults. During these action-packed adventures, younger learners become familiar with some instruments and short tunes, while older ones get the chance to acquaint themselves with entire operas and symphonies.

The organisation of children’s and youth programmes is part of my work that I hold very dear to my heart. Whether it’s our melodies ringing around a small village during our most recent type of concert, Music Castle, or the Choose your Instrument programme in one of Budapest’s top schools, the children’s gleaming eyes show me the beauty and importance of my work.

We give them joy and experiences, and they give us love and openness. The mission of the Festival Orchestra is to share the joy of playing and listening to music with both younger and older children, whether they are from the capital or the countryside, well-off or disadvantaged, talented or less curious about music.

The 2017/18 season will see us continue our renowned and popular youth programmes. We are strengthening relations with a growing number of partner schools in order to acquaint students with the multi-coloured world of instruments and music literature, as well as to the openness and creativity of the orchestra.

Among the programmes on offer you’ll find ‘Choose your Instrument’, visits to open rehearsals and children’s operas. On certain occasions, school children can enjoy our regular concerts for just 1800 Forints per ticket.

Be sure to check out the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s colourful and varied programme.

Orsolya Erdődy, Deputy Executive Director

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YOUNG BFO

“Through music I can express anything I like.”

A young participant at our Family Picnic

For 6-8 year olds Choose your Instrument This is a special programme for kids who are interested in music but have not yet decided which instrument they would like to take up. During ‘Choose your Instrument’ sessions, some of the orchestra’s musicians introduce young schoolchildren to their own instruments with a short concert, after which the kids can have a go on the instruments. The happy cries, the roaring laughter, the trombones blown at full force, the squeaking violins, the mercilessly-beaten cymbals, all echo the programme’s success.

For 8–18 year olds BFO Reaches Out! In this project, the Festival Orchestra’s musicians visit children living in the countryside. They work with them in short sessions, whetting their interests in music and becoming musicians. These visits also allow us to discover new talents. This project sees us playing chamber music in unusual venues, such as thermal baths, libraries, zoos, hospitals and prisons.

For 8-18 year olds Open Rehearsals It is not just the BFO ‘reaching out’; children can also reach out to the orchestra. Open rehearsals are a great opportunity for students from our partner schools to gain first-hand experience of how a symphony orchestra works. Children can learn tricks of the trade, find out what a conductor does and how the musicians follow his lead. To help them deal with the experience we provide a small booklet which we’ve compiled especially for the occasion. Experience shows that children simply love these visits; they sit through the rehearsals with interest and afterwards talk about them for days.

For 8–18 year olds Children’s opera Youth operas have been part of the BFO’s repertoire for years. We perform these operas in ten provincial and Budapest schools, allowing thousands of young people the opportunity to enjoy them.

The productions are not exclusively for children, although in order to allow young people in the audience to identify with the pieces, child actors often perform in the operas. Our first of these productions was Brundibar by Hans Krása.

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YOUNG BFO Cocoa Concerts Midnight Music

Cocoa concerts

Midnight Music

17th September Sunday 2:30pm and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Iván Fischer

05th October Thursday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Marin Alsop

22nd October Sunday 2:30pm and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Iván Fischer

12th November Sunday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Dmitri Kitayenko

16th December Saturday 2:30pm and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Erika Illési

22nd January Monday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Iván Fischer

14th April Saturday 2:30pm and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Erika Illési

12th May Saturday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Iván Fischer

05th May Saturday 2:30pm and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Erika Illési

For 5-12 year olds Cocoa Concerts This series can now look back over more than two decades of weekend afternoons of music and storytelling in a family atmosphere, introducing the world of music to a young audience. This season, we once again welcome families to our interactive concerts, and after the music and applause have died down, the young audience will be able to queue up for polka-dot mugs of hot cocoa.

Autism-friendly Cocoa Concerts With the help of the Nemzetközi Cseperedő Alapítvány (an International Foundation to support children and their families living with autism), we have developed a unique concert format which provides a safe and fun environment for autistic children and their families alike. Before the concerts, we send some helpful materials to the families so that the children can prepare for the visual and audio effects they are going to experience.

For 18 year olds and above Midnight Music For people who prefer listening to music at night. Through our Midnight Music concerts, audiences can enjoy classical music at night-time while lounging on beanbags beside our musicians in a relaxed, open and informal atmosphere. The BFO presents this new form of concerts for young audiences, which start as late as half past 11 in the evening.

These concerts are for the open-minded, who enjoy getting to know our artists under unusual circumstances and, of course, don’t mind staying up late. Aside from beautiful classical music, the audience gets short, professional and entertaining introductions to the pieces.

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BFO IN THE COMMUNITY

Over the past 30 years, the Budapest Festival Orchestra has become a regular guest at the world’s most significant and prestigious concert halls. Whether in New York, London or Istanbul, they are always welcomed with open arms.

However, for Iván Fischer and the musicians of the BFO, the priority is to allow Hungarian audiences – of all ages and social strata, living under any circumstance – to enjoy their music.

Because of that, we try to involve those who are not part of our regular audience, and who cannot make it to the concert halls. They include disadvantaged young people, who are neither familiar with nor have access to classical music; disabled children who would have to make great efforts to visit a concert; the elderly, who often find that hearing a violin played live is the best medicine; families who cannot afford to buy tickets; new mothers who don’t have the time and the energy to attend concerts; as well as church communities and inhabitants of small towns and villages. In other words, everyone who might find music important.

To this end, the Festival Orchestra organises three Community Weeks a season.

They see our chamber ensembles playing in nursing homes, childcare institutions, schools, churches and synagogues.

In 2015 we decided that we shouldn’t just visit disadvantaged regions, but give the chance to those who live there to come to Budapest and create an important and grand event together. That is why we created the Dancing on the Square project; this year once again, hundreds of disadvantaged young people will become heroes for the day as they dance to the orchestra’s music in Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere).

We believe that music can build special relationships among people, and we work to enable as many as possible to experience the positive effects of music.

Let’s share the joy of discovery!

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József Bazsinka For us music is sac­red which lets us always expect and create unique, unrepeatable moments. No matter how many times we play a musical piece, the ‘magic’ is always there. To achieve this, we work in strong cohesion and we always give our best.

SUPPORT

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Partnerships

Supporters’ Club “It feels great to know that we Hungarians have such a special and outstanding orchestra.

We are lucky,” wrote Viktor Kertész, a long-time member of our Supporters’ Club. We are proud of the BFO family, they are our closest friends, they give us invaluable gifts and we’re grateful for the support they show towards the extraordinary ideas of Iván Fischer and his musicians. We owe it to our club members to act daringly, and we’re not afraid of new innovations. Their support makes it possible for us to present the magic of music to children, to the elderly and to vibrant communities. We’d love you to join us, to share in the success of the orchestra – together we can achieve even more! tamogatoiklub@bfz.hu Social financing The Festival Orchestra is a community orchestra – we go wher­ ever we are needed. It’s important that we stay close to one another, which is why we introduce new forms of concerts every year. At our Autism-friendly Cocoa Concerts, children who find social inter­ actions difficult get their own chance to enjoy music. The orchestra’s Dancing on the Square project gives a life-changing experience to hundreds of Roma and non-Roma, to underprivileged and better-off young people alike. Our ‘Choose your Instrument’ events intro­ duce countless young schoolchildren to the enchanting world of instruments.

We rely on community fund-raising to keep our projects afloat, so join us and support our labour of love!

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Sponsorship, bringing in companies The New York Times once called the Festival Orchestra the best in the world, The Guardian referred to the orchestra as the world’s most versatile, while The Daily Telegraph put the BFO’s Mozart concert among their top cultural experiences of 2016. By supporting the Festival Orchestra, you stand with one of Hungary’s most valuable export items and its most important success story. Associate your brand with talent, international success, endless creativity and social responsibility! Become our partner in exploring the world! valeria.garai@bfz.hu

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US?

Purchase season tickets before they go on general sale Invitations to an open rehearsal Exclusively for Supporters’ Club members, discounted tickets are made available twice a year The BFO’s electronic newsletter for supporters Online programme notes for BFO concerts Discount at the Bohém Restaurant Admission to Müpa Budapest’s VIP room during the intervals of certain concerts An invitation to the annual Patrons’ Dinner A signed BFO CD The opportunity to join the orchestra on an international tour (includes discounted travel package offers) An invitation to the annual Benefactors’ Dinner An invitation to a BFO concert with the CEO (# occasions / year)

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Bronze: 25,000 HUF, Silver: 50,000 HUF, Gold: 100,000 HUF, Patron: 150,000 HUF, Benefactor – Silver: 300,000 HUF, Benefactor – Golden: 600,000 HUF, Diamond: 1,200,000 HUF, Platinum: 2,000,000 HUF, Star Platinum: 5,000,000 HUF The BFO reserves the right to make occasional modifications or withdraw specific club membership benefits as it sees fit. Due to circumstances beyond the BFO’s control, at some performances the full range of club membership benefits may not be available.

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MEMBERS OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

Platinum level John and Caroline Flüh Isolde Schröder András Simor Tamiko Soros Sylvia Toth Jutta von Falkenhausen Hubertus von Wulffen

Diamond circle László and Petra Balássy M. Stephen and Radka Benko Gábor Bojár and Zsuzsanna Zanker dr.

Berhard Hulla

Benefactor – Golden level László Bencsik and Bernadett Kis dr.

Erzsébet Bottka dr. and Péter Feldmájer dr.

‫אליעזר יצחק בן אברהמ‬

Zoltán Juhász instrument maker Nicholas and Orsolya Gudor Kabcenell Zsuzsanna Meinczinger-Krug and Armin Krug György Mosonyi and Ágnes Mosonyi Szecskay Attorneys at Law Júlia Varga Gabriella Zsámboki dr.

Benefactor – Silver level Ágnes Bíró Péter Bognár– Vaya Travel Kft. Richard Brasher Gabriella Csík dr. and Ferenc Hudecz dr.

Nóra Élő John and Martin, Jeanne Farago

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Jalsovszky Attorneys at Law David Kirkby Ruth Kirkby Milán Kohlrusz and Dária Szabó Mikós Marschall dr.

Endre and Andrea Mécs István Nyitrai Richard and Michelle Pelly Ibolya Reichardt and Péter Lengyel Andrea Rényi and Elek Straub Ildikó Rosta dr. and Miklós Ferjentsik dr.

Nyina Roszkopf SBGK Attorneys at Law Katalin Szamosi dr.

László and Zsuzsa Steiner Iván Szelényi David and Petra Thompson György Vámos dr.

Ildikó Varga dr. és Péter Nagy dr.

Patrons’ level Arriba Taqueria Marianne Bakró-Nagy Árpád Balázs and Andrea Dénes Mrs. György Berger Loreta Bernabei-Reynolds István Boros Ferenc Bőcs and Ágnes Sárdy Péter Bródy dr. and Ildikó Magda Cseszkó Valéria Csépe dr. and Imre Molnár Alajos Dornbach dr. and Zsófia Zachár Faber Dutsch – Hungarian Trade Kft., Tamás Felkai Nancy and Stephen Fuzesi Kinga Göncz and László Benedek

György Gyarmati dr. and Katalin Kuti Pál György dr. and Ágnes Simon Zsuzsanna Győri dr. and Ferenc Garai Gábor Hanák and Ágnes Tatai Miklós Havass Ágnes Horváth dr.

Charles and Suzanne Huebner József Béla Jankovich György Kalmár Katalin Visky dr. (Mrs. Kelemen) Gabriella Kertész dr.

Júlia Király György Királyfalvi dr.

Péter Komáromy and Katalin Pollák dr.

Zsuzsanna Koráb Mihály Kökény dr. and Mária Stiller Marker Kft. György Markovich dr. and Anikó Sátai dr.

Attila Mártonfi Éva Mester and László Hancz Gábor Molnár dr. Ágnes Németvölgyi Judit Szabady (Mrs. Nyárádi) Pre-Tax Kft. Professional Medical Kft. Mariann Sárváry Éva Sólyom dr. Éva Somfai dr. – Somfai and Partners Industrial Property Kft. Sándor and Mrs. Sándor Surányi Csaba Szántó and Emőke Szántó-Kapornay Péter Szauer Zoltán Székely and Csilla Leposa Geoffrey Thomas

MEMBERS OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

Gábor Tóth and wife Zoltán Török Pál and Katalin Varsányi Judit Vihar dr.

István and Ágnes Zoltán

Gold level András B. Nagy Mrs. András Bálint dr.

Mária Bánáti Barna Baráth and Viktória Szemerédy dr.

Beghetto Oreste Mrs. Paolo Brunó Bitter and Brigitta Iványi-Bitter Péter Bittner Ingeborg Burger Balogh and Tibor Balogh György Csillag dr. and Alexandra Keszthelyi dr.

Miklós Drexler and Gabriella Lengyel Péter Eisler dr.

Gabriella Anna Győrfi (Mrs. Gál) and György Gál Karl Philip Hall Tibor and Ilona Hargitai József Holéci Mirella Szakonyi (Mrs. Horváth) Viktor and Terézia Kertész János Kocsány István Lantos dr. and Magdolna Misius Gyula Madar and Mária Batta István Matskási dr.

Károly Nagy dr.

Judit Pálfia dr.

Tibor Pallag and Anikó Karner János Palotai and Anikó Soltész dr.

Judit Salgó Hedvig Sápi

Mrs. Lajos Sápi Béls Seres István and Judit Sessler Soltész + Soltész Kft. Gábor Szabó dr.

Erika Szomor dr. (Mrs. Szabó) Zsuzsanna Szever dr. and Mihály Dalos Ágnes Szigeti Mrs. Béla Szilágyi, Éva Szilágyi and Péter Horváth András Szűcs Zsuzsa Tanos Péter Varga Konrad Wetzker

Silver level István Alföldi Ágnes Ambrus dr.

István Apáthy and Zsuzsanna Ármay dr.

Gusztáv Bacher László Barczikay Jolán Barkóczi Istvánné Barta Zoltán Bende Andor Benedek János Benedek and Magdolna Molnár Gábor Bérczi Gábor Berényi and Katalin Pető dr. Éva Bertalan dr.

Katalin Böszörményi dr.

Judit Csanádi and József Gyabronka László Csernay dr.

György Doleschall and Katalin Szabó Anna Dögei Miklós Elsner dr.

Zoltán Farkas

Lea Feldmájer and Tamás Kocsis Pál Félegyházi István Feuer and Mária Feuer Éva Földényi and Péter Korda Gábor Füredi Szilvia Gabriel dr. and Lajos Kalmár dr. Éva Galambos dr.

György and Júlianna Gálosi Mrs. Péter Garai Géta Center Kft. Pál Gordon Judit Görgényi and Miklós Dénes Mária Plank (Mrs. Goszták) and Olga Madaras Ákos Greiner András Gyulai Judit Halmos and Mihály Magyar Ferenc Hámori and Éva Ács Thomas G. Hardy Erzsébet Hegyes dr. and Gábor Szolnoki György Hollay Hajnalka and János Hornung Anna Horváth László Horváth Mária Ihász and József Spollár Gyula Jáger Zsuzsanna Jáger Erzsébet Kabódi Ferenc Kabódi Mátyás Kabódi Anna Kádi and Zoltán Sziráczky Gáborné Kenesei

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MEMBERS OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

Zsuzsanna Kertész László Keviczky Ádám Kis Erzsébet Kiss András Klauber dr. and Éva Szigeti dr.

Júlia and Zsolt Komlósi László Kőszegi Gábor Kreiss and Gabriella Hartai Péter Lastofka and Katalin Patkós János László dr. and Bernadette Péley Gábor Lövenberg and Júlianna Radó dr.

Katalin Makai dr. and János Ungár István Malatinszky János Márton Zoltán Mitsányi Zoltán and Beáta Juvancz György Müller and Anna Bárd István Nagy László Nagy Mária Éva Nagy Péter Nagy dr. and Ildikó Varga dr.

Erzsébet Németh György Németh László Paksy dr.

Edit Radics dr.

(Mrs. Papp) Mihály Patyánik dr.

Mária Pék Mrs. Gábor Pelle Mrs. Péter Pernesz György Petrucz Éva Prágai Erzsébet Radinkó dr.

Péter Révai dr. and Maya Zoltán Rimanóczy and Éva Csala

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Márton Rónai and Éva Bereczki Mrs. Tibor Rónai Tamás Schagrin dr.

Judit Simó and László Bokor Éva Sitkei dr.

Róbert Sívó Éva Somogyi and László Horváth Ferenc Spohn Noémi Stenczer and Tibor Vámos dr.

Klári Szabó Péter Szentesi dr.

Gyöngyi Tárnok Sándor Thurzó dr. and Rozália Turcsányi Kálmán Torma and Anna Halász Katalin Tóth Mihály Tóth and wife Mrs. Tamás Tóth wid.

Mrs. András Törő dr.

János Váradi Mónika Váradi dr. and Gabriella Varjú Vera Várkonyi Gyula Varsányi György Végh dr. and Ildikó Karacs dr.

Mrs. József Végh János Vígh Imre Vörös

Bronze level Iván Abonyi dr. and wife Zoltán Ábrahám Lívia Feldmájer (Mrs. Alba) and Mesulam Alba Zoltán Alföldy Zoltán and Erika Szász József Almási dr.

Mrs. József Almási Mrs. János Árvay Gabriella Balázs Judit Szücs (Mrs. Balázs) Edit Balogh Mrs. Ervin Bánki Éva Baranyi dr.

István Barna dr., Zsuzsanna Szabó and Eszter Rebeka Barna Gusztáv Barsi dr.

Judit Benkő dr.

Gábor Bérczi József Berecz Mrs. Károly Béres Péter Biksz Erzsébet Birman and Magda Tóti Aranka Bodor and Károly Liliom József Bodor Mrs. István Bogdán Éva Bogdány Béla Bognár János Bonta and Katalin Nemes József Borissza and wife Ágnes Laczkó (Mrs. Bory) Eszter Bölöni and Balázs Felsmann József Bumberák dr.

Mrs. József Búzás Viktória Buzás Terézia Csepregi Beáta Csillag Mrs. Ottó Csurgó dr.

Dénes Dalmy Éva Danziger dr.

János Deák Júlia Doubravszky Andrea Duba Jenő Duba dr.

Lajos Dvorák István Egri

MEMBERS OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

Éva Eördögh Katalin Fejes (Mrs. Fáber) Katalin Ható (Mrs. Faragó) Gábor Farkas László Fazekas András Fábián Zsuzsa Fehéregyházi Györgyi Feldmájer and Zsolt Benedek Benjámin Feldmájer

‫בנימין פלדמיר‬

Ágnes and Sándor Feldmájer Máté Feldmájer László Félix Péter Fenyő dr.

Mrs. Antal Földi Erzsébet Czinege dr.

(Mrs. Francsics) Kraszimira Gadzsokova Mrs. Mátyás Gál Nóra Gál dr.

Mrs. Imre Galambos József and Edit Gallasz Jolán Gecse Mrs. Dezső Gecsey Judit Gerő and Tamás Reich Júlia Gidáli dr.

Mrs. Tamás Görög György Grósz dr.

Imre Gurubi and Katalin Jónás Péter Guti Béla Gyarmati and wife András Hajdu dr.

Gábor Halász Mrs. Péter Halász Pál Halbrohr Rudolf Hámori dr.

Mária Harkányi Ágnes Havas István Havas dr.

Mrs. András Hegedűs

Ágnes Hetényi and Mrs. György Bender dr. Éva Hlavács dr.

János Hollós István Horváth dr.

Mrs. János Horváth dr.

Lajos Horváth László Horváth Sándor Horváth Vilmos Horváth and Anna Kőszegi Judit Horváth-Lindberg Gábor Hőnig János Jáki and Marika Jáki Károly Jakob Katalin and Béla Jankó Sarolta Jeney Judit Jórend dr. and Ferenc Herczeg István Kardos Mrs. László Kádár Zsuzsanna Kádár dr.

Mária Káldor Imre Kalivoda Mrs. István Kálmán dr.

András Kárpáti Antal Kelemen Kálmán Kerékgyártó Gyula Kerényi Károly Keve and István Urbán Mrs. Bertalan Kirsch Andrea Kiss Mariann Kiss dr. and Szamarasz Theodorakisz Leonid Kitainik Ágnes Klinga György Kocsis and Gizella Hídvégi Péter Komjáth dr.

Katalin Hlatky (Mrs. Komlós) Albert Kónya and Alice Sárközi

Katalin Kónya dr. Ágnes Koós János Korda MIhály Korodi dr. and Zsuzsanna Magyar Mrs. János Kósa dr.

Katalin Kovács Péter Kovács dr.

András Krausz József Kriston dr.

Magdolna Kutas Judit Láner Béla Láng Bálint Lantos dr.

Mrs. Gábor Lantos dr.

Zsolt Lantos dr.

Júlia László József Lázár and Zsuzsanna Belényi Katalin Lehel E. György Lellei dr.

Péter Levente and Ildikó Döbrentey Mrs. János Lovas dr.

Judit Maár dr. and Zsolt Krokovay dr.

Iván Magyar dr. and Ildikó Fadgyas dr.

Sylvia Magyar György Major László Marosffy dr.

András Máté Mrs. László Matos dr.

László Matus Gábor Merényi Mrs. Sándor Mészáros Katalin Mezei Mila Mituszova dr.

Mrs. Gábor Molnár Klára Monoki Ákos Nagy and Izabella Papp Anna Nagy Boldizsár Nagy

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MEMBERS OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

Gábor Nagy Mrs. Gyula Nagy Judit Nagy and Róbert Gábor Kis Margit Nagy and György Lantos Pál Nagy Zsófia Németh Mrs. László Németujvári Éva Kutasi (Mrs. Pál) and Mrs. András Banász Valéria Palotai Csaba Pankotai Margit Lux (Mrs. Pankotai) Ágnes Pap Adrienn Papp dr. and Rudolf Hámori dr.

Szabolcs Papp Oszkár Pártos dr.

Iván Pável dr. and Mrs. Iván Pável Tibor Piller Judit Pongó János Potzmann Mrs. István Prepeliczay Zsuzsanna Rácz István Radnóti dr.

Mrs. András Radó János Radó dr.

Mrs. József Réti Kálmán Rimanóczy and Márta Szomor Gyula Rózsa Mrs. János Rudas Ágnes Ruttkai Judit Sáfár and Sándor Kocsis László Sáfár Gyula Sárdi Géza Sáska Gábor Segesváry and wife Ágnes Horváth dr. (Mrs. Sikó) András Soltész Márta Szabó

90

Piroska Szabó dr. and Ruben Oláh dr.

Gabriella Szántó Mária Szegvári dr.

József Székely dr.

Klára Szemenyei dr.

Mária Szent-Martoni András Szepesi Edit Sziráki András and Helga Szőke Mariann Szőke Mrs. Péter Szőnyi dr.

Theatrum Mundi Theatre and Literature Agency Mrs. György Thuróczy dr.

Ilona Török Mária Turi dr.

Tibor and Erika Ujvári Júlia Vágó dr.

János Vajda dr. and Mónika Radnai Julianna Vajda dr. Éva Márta Valis Márta Varga Magdolna Várnai and István Kajtár dr.

Ferenc Vas Gabriella Vass Anna Végh Mrs. János Vidák Paula Volenszky László Wéber and Zsuzsanna Arányi dr.

Pál Zahorán and Éva Komáromi Mrs. Gerd Zeidler Erzsébet Déri (Mrs. Zelczer) Tamás Zlatniczky dr.

Supporters of Priority events

Dancing on the squares project Lívia Feldmájer (Mrs. Alba) Mrs. József Almási Marit Amons Veronika Annaházi Anonymus Mrs. András Apostol Éva Barányi dr.

Judit Benkő dr.

István Boros British International School Budapest, PTA Péter Bródy dr.

Concorde Securities Zrt. Judit Csanádi Zsuzsanna Deák László Döbrentei Klára Erdős Edina Farkas Éva Anna Földényi Éva Frank Judit Frank Anikó Fritz Tibor Füzessy Mrs. Győző Gajánszki Éva Galambos dr.

József Gallasz Ferenc Garai Bálint István Gál Nóra Gál dr.

Julianna Gidáli dr.

Klaudia Grétsy Zsuzsanna Gulyás András Gyulai Ágnes Haimann Andrea Hajós Edit Halasi József Hamvas Edina Heal Olga Boda (Mrs. Heincz) János Herceg Ildikó Herenyik Zsuzsanna Herpay

Ilona Illésné Szécsi Itai Kazumasa János Jáki and Mrs. János Jáki Zita Karácsony Judit Karafiáth dr.

Judit Karner Éva Kastner Ágnes Kittel dr.

Katalin Hlatky (Mrs. Komlósi) Edit Konok Erika Kovács Lazar Consultant Ltd. Gabriella Györik (Mrs. Lengyel) György Markovich dr. Éva Maróczi Miklós Marschall Attila Mártonfi István Matskási dr.

Zsuzsanna Meinczinger-Krug Tibor Melkvi Erzsébet Melkviné Tanító (Mrs. Melkvi) István Nagy Mrs. István Nagy Ágnes Németvölgyi Judit Szabady (Mrs. Nyárádi) Ágnes Pándi Katalin Patkós Mrs. Gábor Pelle Katalin Pető dr. and Gábor Berényi dr.

Mrs. Attilá Péter Róbert Károly Private Hospital Ildikó Ruzsits Judit Sáfár Ágnes Sági Erzsébet Balás (Mrs. Sebestyén) Joachim Stopper Mária Sulyok Mária Süli

Gábor Szabados dr. Éva Szabó Gabriella Szabó Klára Szabó Márta Szabó Julianna Szalai Szecskay Attorneys at Law Katalin Szende Éva Szöllösi Mónika Tabányi Geoffrey Thomas Tibor Tímár dr.

Sándor Tóbiás and wife Tibor Udvari Marianna Valentinyi Julia Anna Varga Görgyi Várnai dr.

Emese Vira Paula Volenszky Mrs. Kurt Zala

Supporters of Choose your Instrument programme Judit Andrási Anonymus Éva Baranyi dr.

András Bálint and wife Judit Benkő dr.

Richard Brasher Valéria Csépe dr. and Imre Molnár Miklósné Feszt Fillér Utcai Primary School Péter Frank and Mária Szent-Mártoni dr. Éva Galambos Éva Galambos dr.

Ferenc Garai Anikó Gyetvai Edina Heal László Horváth and Éva Somogyi

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SUPPORTERS OF PRIORITY EVENTS

Görgy Kalmár Mária Kikovatz Zsuzsanna Kollár Márta Lempert Márta Lévai Lawrence Marcus Miklós Marschall Csaba Máté Endre Ferenc Mohácsi Mrs. Gábor Molnár Mrs. István Nagy Ágnes Németvölgyi Erzsébet Radinkó dr.

Béla Reinicz Andrea Rényi András Simor Anna Júlia Varga Mrs. János Vidák

Season opening Gala VIP supporters Richard Brasher Ildikó Bródy Péter Bródy dr.

Nikolai C. Brun Judit Budai Francesco Fiorito Judit Hajdu Vera Horváth Bernhard Hulla Cornelia Hulla Gábor Illés György Jaksity Enikő Leányvári Csilla Martin Dale Martin Dezső Matyi Krisztina Nagy Ágnes Németvölgyi Mo Ortiz PricewaterhouseCoopers Auditing Kft. Andreas Schimert Konstantin Schimert Daniel Schwartz Béla Seres Annamária Simon András Simor

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Stephanie Stokes Vilmos Szabó Taipei Representative Office in Hungary Réka Temple Sylvia Toth György Vámos Zoltán Varga Renáta Velencei Konstantin Vietinghoff Sandra Vietinghoff Hubertus von Wulffen Katrin von Wulffen Nóra Winkler

Alexander Steinitz Elek Straub Alexander Strohmayer János Strohmayer Zsuzsanna Szalay Noël Theodosiou Geoffrey Thomas Ferenc Tihanyi Carol Torre Sophia Verykios Katalin Walter Sándor Zwack

Season opening Gala supporters

Foundation for the Budapest Dohány Street Synagogue Anonymus Gábor Bojár István Boros Péter Feldmájer dr.

András Andó Anonymus Éva Badár Marianne Bakró-Nagy Aleksandra Banovic Csilla Bálint István Benkő Radka Benkő Valéria Csépe Beáta Csontos David Dederick Yvonne Dederick Zsuzsanna Hargitai Edina Heal Alexandra Huebner Károly Huebner Zsuzsánna Huebner Noémi Kohut Julia Kosak Csaba László György Markovich dr.

Miklós Marschall Lisa Meadowcroft Imre Molnár Ágnes Mosonyi György Mosonyi Mónika Rédly Andrea Rényi Anikó Sátai dr.

Nancy Seibel Pál Simák

VIP Supporters of the Synagogue Concerts

‫אליעזר יצחק בן אברהמ‬

Péter Gerő Andrea Magyar (Mrs. Göcző) Bernhard Hulla László Kálmán Júlia Király dr.

MIhály Kökény Péter Lantos Theodor Lichtmann Tamás Molnár dr.

Görgy Mosonyi Ferenc Olti Andrea Rényi András Réti Diana Senechal Péter Sugár Katalin Szamosi dr.

Péter Szauer Péter Takáts István Tamás György Vámos dr.

Zoltán Varga Alexandra von Vietinghoff Katalin Walter dr.

Jason Weedon Izabella Zwack

Corporate sponsorship THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Platinum class partner

Platinum class partner of the Synagouge concerts

Golden class partner

Silver class partner

Supporting partners

State partners

Strategic partners

Media partners

Antónia Bodó Making music means to keep the composer’s vision at the forefront of our minds while simul­ta­neously incorporating innovative ideas into the performance. It is about stretch­ing the boundaries of orchestral music, leaving room for experimentation, for exploring our creativity.

SINGLE AND SEASON TICKETS

97

SINGLE AND SEASON TICKETS

SEASON TICKETS For the 2017/18 season, the Budapest Festival Orchestra is offering six typ­es of season tickets, two of which are also avail­­able as family season tickets.

Detail­ed infor­mation can be found in the fanfold attached to the last page of this brochure, and naturally everything you need to know is also available online at

www.bfz.hu

TICKET PRICES Premium

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music 14,300 8,800 6,200 4,800 2,700 HUF Haydn-Mozart Plus Baroque Concerts 11,000 6,600 4,600 Bernstein Marathon Cocoa Concerts Contemporary Concert – Budapest Music Center Midnight Music Chamber Music

98

3,700

2,700 HUF 990 HUF 2,700 HUF 3,000 HUF 1,800 HUF 3,000 HUF

SINGLE AND SEASON TICKETS

PURCHASING single AND SEASON TICKETS Season tickets (as well as single tickets for concerts that are not included in one of the series) are available from Monday, 3 April 2017. Individual tickets for concerts included in season ticket packages go on sale on Monday, 29 May 2017.

Online Single and season tickets can be purchased online at www.bfz.hu

By post, fax, email Address Polgár utca 8–10, H-1033 Budapest, Hungary Fax +36 1 355 4049 Email rendeles@bfz.hu Requests will be processed upon receipt of order. Please include your contact details (phone number, email address) with your request and indicate alternative preferences for single tickets or season tickets.

At ticket offices Single and season tickets can also be purchased nationwide through Interticket offices, and from our orchestra’s specialist vendors at: Müpa Budapest, ticket offices (District IX, Komor Marcell u. 1, Tel: +36 1 555 3300 and District VI, Andrássy út 28, Tel: +36 1 555 3310) Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, ticket office (District VI, Liszt Ferenc tér 8, Tel.: +36 1 321 0690) Dalszínház Jegyiroda (District VI., Dalszínház u. 10, Tel.: +36 1 952 0901) Rózsavölgyi Zeneműbolt (District V, Szervita tér 5, Tel.: +36 1 266 8337) Rózsavölgyi is an exclusive ticket vendor to the BFO.

. . . .

In person at the BFO Secretariat

. District III, Polgár utca 8–10,

Building B, weekdays between 9:00am and 1:00pm; From 3-7 April and on 10 April, between 9:00am and 6:00pm; And from 29 May till 2 June inclusive, between 9:00am and 6:00pm.

We accept all major credit/debit cards, SZÉP cards, Sodexho culture vouchers, Erzsébet gift or leisure vouchers, and Ticket Culture & Sport vouchers.

.

.

.

99

Müpa Budapest Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

lc on st ag e ba

stage

LEFT gallery

HT ry RIG

y RI GH T

galle

stage

stage

st ag e ba lc on y LE FT

organ seats

1 2 3 4 5 6

1

7 8

2

9 10

3

11 12

4

13 14

5

15 16

6

upper circle LEFT

17 18

7 dress circle LEFT

19 20

boxes LEFT

boxes RIGHT

dress circle RIGHT

upper circle RIGHT

21 22 23

orchestra stalls

24 25 1 2 3 4 5

Premium I. Category II. Category III. Category IV. Category Reserved seats

Handicapped seats

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5

dress circle CENTER

upper circle CENTER

balcony CENTER

Liszt Academy Grand Hal

choir balcony

podium

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII

side balcony LEFT

XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII

side balcony RIGHT

ground floor

upper balcony CENTER 101

DORÁTI 9 Concerts

+ a bonus (tenth) concert: one of the Sunday Chamber Music series 2017

2017 September 21, Thursday, 7pm

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mozart: Don Giovanni Fischer, Maltman, Fardilha, Aikin, Crowe

October 04, Wednesday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major “Leningrad” Alsop, Pogostkina October 20, Friday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Fischer, Ax December 02, Saturday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major Fischer

2018 January 22, Monday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor Fischer, Lupu February 14, Wednesday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Korngold: Violin Concerto R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Eine Alpensinfonie) Janowski, Steinbacher March 06, Tuesday, 7pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Verdi: Falstaff Fischer, Alaimo, Christoyannis, Mei, Naef April 28, Saturday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor Saraste May 11, Friday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection” Fischer, Karg, Kulman Prices:

30% discount compared to single ticket prices Premium category: 92,200 HUF I. Category: 57,550 HUF II. Category: 41,200 HUF III. Category: 32,400 HUF IV. Category: 19,100 HUF

102

SOLTI 9 Concerts

+ a bonus (tenth) concert: one of the Sunday Chamber Music series

2017

2018

September 24, Sunday, 7pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mozart: Don Giovanni Fischer, Maltman, Fardilha, Aikin, Crowe

JanuArY 23, Tuesday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor Fischer, Lupu

October 05, Thursday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major “Leningrad” Alsop, Pogostkina October 19, Thursday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Fischer, Ax December 04, Monday, 7:45pm

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major Fischer

February 13, Tuesday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Korngold: Violin Concerto R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Eine Alpensinfonie) Janowski, Steinbacher March 07, Wednesday, 7pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Verdi: Falstaff Fischer, Alaimo, Christoyannis, Mei, Naef April 30, Monday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor Saraste May 12, Saturday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection” Fischer, Karg, Kulman Prices:

30% discount compared to single ticket prices Premium category: 92,200 HUF I. Category: 57,550 HUF II. Category: 41,200 HUF III. Category: 32,400 HUF IV. Category: 19,100 HUF

103

REINER A+b 7 Concerts

+ a bonus (eighth) concert on June 2 or 3

2017

2018

September 23, Saturday, 3:30pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mozart: Don Giovanni Fischer, Maltman, Fardilha, Aikin, Crowe

April 21, Saturday 3:30pm (B) Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, K. 16 Ch’io mi scordi di te?, K. 505 Bella mia fiamma, addio, K. 528 Un moto di gioia, K. 579 Haydn: Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon), Hob. XXVIII:7 – overture Symphony No. 60 in C major “Il distratto,” Hob. I:60 Takács-Nagy, Tokar

October 21, Saturday, 3:30pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Fischer, Ax October 29, Saturday, 3:30pm (A) Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mozart: Symphony in F major, K. Anh. 223/19a Haydn: Piano concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138 Haydn: Symphony No. 96 in D major “the Miracle”, Hob. I:96 Takács-Nagy, Anderszewski December 03, Sunday, 3:30pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major Fischer

2018 FebruArY 12, Monday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Korngold: Violin Concerto R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Eine Alpensinfonie) Janowski, Steinbacher

104

April 29, Sunday, 3:30pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor Saraste May 13, Sunday, 3:30pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection” Fischer, Karg, Kulman June 02, Saturday, 3:30pm (A) June 03, Sunday, 3:30pm (B)

Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069 Rameau: Les Boréades Suite Muffat: Impatientia Suite (Florilegium Primum, Fasciculus IV) Händel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351 Savall

Prices:

28% discount compared to single ticket prices Premium category: 77,600 HUF I. Category: 47,500 HUF II. Category: 33,400 HUF III. Category: 26,050 HUF IV. Category: 15,550 HUF Introduce your children to symphony orchestra concerts and save 50% off the price of the children’s tickets by purchasing the Reiner Family Season Ticket package. (The discount is only available on season ticket purchases for at least two adults and one child. For further details, please send an email to rendeles@bfz.hu.)

ORMÁNDY 5 Concerts

+ a bonus (sixth) concert: one of the Back to Nature – Chamber Music on Period Instruments series

2017

2018

October 28, Saturday, 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mozart: Symphony in F major, K. Anh. 223/19a Haydn: Piano concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138 Haydn: Symphony No. 96 in D major “the Miracle”, Hob. I:96 Takács-Nagy, Anderszewski

FebruArY 27, Tuesday, 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Wassenaer: Concerto No. 4 in G major Avison: Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D minor Händel: Silete venti, HWV 242 Albinoni: Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9 No. 2 Händel: Concerto Grosso No. 3 in E minor Piangero la sorte mia – aria Da tempeste il legno infranto – aria Cohen, Christensson, T’Hooft

November 10, Friday, 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante Kitajenko, Zilberstein

March 04, Sunday, 7pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Verdi: Falstaff Fischer, Alaimo, Christoyannis, Mei, Naef April 20, Friday, 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, K. 16 Ch’io mi scordi di te?, K. 505 Bella mia fiamma, addio, K. 528 Un moto di gioia, K. 579 Haydn: Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon), Hob. XXVIII:7 – overture Symphony No. 60 in C major “Il distratto,” Hob. I:60 Takács-Nagy, Tokar Prices:

25% discount compared to single ticket prices Premium category: 48,450 HUF I. Category: 30,500 HUF II. Category: 21,900 HUF III. Category: 17,750 HUF IV. Category: 12,350 HUF

105

Széll 4 Concerts

+ a bonus (fifth) concert: one Midnight Music concert

2017 November 09, Thursday 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante Kitajenko, Zilberstein

Prices (SZÉLL):

20% discount compared to single ticket prices Premium category: 35,550 HUF I. Category: 23,200 HUF II. Category: 17,450 HUF III. Category: 14,500 HUF IV. Category: 10,300 HUF

2018 JanuArY 21, Sunday, 7:45pm Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor Fischer, Lupu FebruArY 26, Monday, 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Wassenaer: Concerto No. 4 in G major Avison: Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D minor Händel: Silete venti, HWV 242 Albinoni: Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9 No. 2 Händel: Concerto Grosso No. 3 in E minor Piangero la sorte mia – aria Da tempeste il legno infranto – aria Cohen, Christensson JunE 01, Friday, 7:45pm Budapest Music Center Widmann: Icarian Lament (Ikarische Klage) Sirens’ Island (Insel der Sirenen) Three Shadow Dances (Drei Schattentänze) for Clarinet Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546 Widmann: Experiment on the Fugue (Versuch über die Fuge) for Soprano, Oboe and Chamber Orchestra Widmann, McFadden

Family Cocoa Season Ticket Our highly successful Cocoa Concert series continues. single tickets sell out quickly, but a season ticket ensures you a seat for the entire season. The season ticket costs 13,500 HUF and it comes with a beautiful gift mug.

We are offering a family season ticket for the 2017–18 season, too. Buy three cocoa season tickets and save 20% – pay only 32,400 HUF instead of 40,500 HUF.

concert Calendar

107

CONCERT CALENDAR

2017

CONCERTS

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

The colour-coded dots indicate which season ticket(s) are valid for which concerts.

17. Sunday 2:30 and 4:30pm

04. Wednesday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Sibelius, Shostakovich Alsop, Pogostkina Doráti

Doráti Reiner A and B Solti Ormándy Széll

BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Fischer

21. Thursday 7:00pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Mozart Fischer Doráti 23. Saturday 3:30pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Mozart Fischer Reiner 24. Sunday 7:00pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Mozart Fischer Solti

05. Thursday 7.45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Sibelius, Shostakovich Alsop, Pogostkina Solti 05. Thursday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Midnight Music Alsop 19. Thursday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky Fischer, Ax Solti 20. Friday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky Fischer, Ax Doráti

108

CONCERT CALENDAR

21. Saturday 3:30pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky Fischer, Ax Reiner 22. Sunday 2:30 and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Fischer 28. Saturday 7.45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Haydn, Mozart Takács-Nagy, Anderszewski Ormándy 29. Sunday 3:30pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Haydn, Mozart Takács-Nagy, Anderszewski Reiner A

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

09. Thursday 7.45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky Kitayenko, Zilberstein Széll

02. Saturday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Bartók, Brahms Fischer Doráti

10. Friday 7:45pm

Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky Kitayenko, Zilberstein Ormándy

12. Sunday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Midnight Music Kitayenko 19. Sunday 5:00pm

BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music

26. Sunday 5:00pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Back to Nature – Chamber Music on Period Instruments

03. Sunday 3:30pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Bartók, Brahms Fischer Reiner 04. Monday 7.45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Bartók, Brahms Fischer Solti 16. Sunday 2:30 and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Illési 17. Sunday 5:00pm

BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music

109

CONCERT CALENDAR

2018

CONCERTS JANUARY

February

MARCH

07. Sunday 5:00pm

04. Sunday, whole day Müpa Budapest Bernstein Marathon Fischer

04. Sunday 7:00pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Verdi Fischer Ormándy

BFO Rehearsal Hall Back to Nature – Chamber Music on Period Instruments

21. Sunday 7:45pm

Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff Fischer, Lupu Széll

22. Monday 7:45pm

Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff Fischer, Lupu Doráti

22. Sunday 11:30pm

Castle Garden Bazaar Midnight Music Fischer

23. Tuesday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff Fischer, Lupu Solti

12. Monday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Korngold, R. Strauss Janowski, Steinbacher Reiner 13. Tuesday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Korngold, R. Strauss Janowski, Steinbacher Solti 14. Wednesday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Korngold, R. Strauss Janowski, Steinbacher Doráti 18. Sunday 5:00pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music 25. Sunday 7:45pm Budapest Music Center Contemporary Chamber Music 26. Monday 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Wassenaer, Avison, Handel, Albinoni Cohen, Christensson Széll

110

27. Tuesday 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Wassenaer, Avison, Handel, Albinoni Cohen, Christensson Ormándy

06. Tuesday 7:00pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Verdi Fischer Doráti 07. Wednesday 7:00pm

Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Verdi Fischer Solti

25. Sunday 5:00pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music

CONCERT CALENDAR

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

14. Saturday 2:30 and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Illési

05. Saturday 2:30 and 4:30pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Illési

15. Sunday 5:00pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music

06. Sunday 5:00pm BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music

01. Friday 7:45pm Budapest Music Center Widmann, Mozart Widmann, McFadden Széll

20. Friday 7:45pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Haydn, Mozart Takács-Nagy, Tokar Ormándy

11. Friday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Mahler Fischer, Karg, Kulman, Brno Choir Doráti

21. Saturday 3:30pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Haydn, Mozart Takács-Nagy, Tokar Reiner B

12. Saturday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Mahler Fischer, Karg, Kulman, Brno Choir Solti

28. Saturday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bruckner Saraste Doráti

12. Saturday 11:30pm Castle Garden Bazaar Midnight Music Fischer

29. Sunday 3.30

Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bruckner Saraste Reiner

02. Saturday 3:30pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Bach, Rameau, Muffat, Handel Savall Reiner A 03. Sunday 3:30pm Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Bach, Rameau, Muffat, Handel Savall Reiner B

13. Sunday 3:30pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Mahler Fischer, Karg, Kulman, Brno Choir Reiner

30. Monday 7:45pm Müpa, Budapest, BBNCH Bruckner Saraste Solti

111

SokSzínu ��

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Soron kívüli büféélmény a Müpában Rendeljen előre és fogyasszon a szünetben kényelmesen, sorban állás nélkül.

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OUR BFO/IMPRINT Budapest Festival Orchestra Artistic Direction Music director: Iván Fischer Personal assistant to the music director: Inga Petersen* Artistic planning consultant: Jennifer Spencer* Executive Direction Executive director: Stefan Englert Deputy executive director: Orsolya Erdődy Personal assistant to the executive director: Zsófia Kóczán Orchestra Management Operational manager: Dóra Magyarszéky Operational assistant, community programme coordinator: Szolongo Szani Youth programme coordinator: Anita Juszt Tour manager: Bence Pócs Tour assistant: Ivett Wolf Stage manager: Róbert Zentai Stage technicians: Sándor Kathi, István Siba Personnel manager: Éva Kelemen Marketing/Communications/ Customer Service Art director: Andreas Schimert* Marketing manager: Kinga Tihanyi PR manager: Adél Tossenberger PR, Communications: Júlia Váradi* Audience relations: Adél Molnár, Ágnes Fejér Sponsorship Corporate sponsorship: Valéria Garai Individual donations/ Supporters’ Club: Zsuzsanna Deák* Finance Chief accountant: Mrs. György Maglódi Accountant: Mrs. László Szalai Secretariat Office assistant: Angyalka Aranyosné Boros *independent consultant

116

Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation Chair of the Board: András Simor Curators: István Boros; Edina Heal; Miklós Marschall; Konstantin Schimert; János Strohmayer; András Szecskay; Sylvia Tóth; Zoltán Varga; Hubertus von Wulffen; Izabella Zwack Members of the Supervisory Board: Csaba László (Chair); Pál Jalsovszky; Beáta Juvancz; Ádám Terták Chair of the Budapest Festival Orchestra Association: Eszter Bánffy Friends of the Orchestra (international) US Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra Board of Directors: Stephen E. Benko (chair) Sylvia Hemingway (secretary) László Balássy (treasurer) Daisy Soros (honorary chair) Susan Bender Aaron Feinstein Kathryn Livingston Forgan Aniko Gaal Schott Andrew Komaromi Heidi Lee Komaromi Kati Marton Stephanie Stokes Emese Tardy-Green David Tobey Die Freunde des Budapest Festival Orchestra (Germany) Patrick Bellenbaum Silke Cölln Thomas Kexel Lorenz Kiefer Jutta von Falkenhausen John Flüh Karin Hansen-Becker Friedrich Kuhn Wolfram Krohn Christiane-Beate Paetsch-Friese Patrick Reich Wolfgang Schienter Konstantin Schimert Siegmar von Schnurbein Roland Schmidt Isolde Schroeder Sabin und Eberhard Weiershäuser Franz Willnauer Hubertus von Wulffen

BFO contacts Secretariat: Polgár utca 8–10 (Flórián Udvar Office Blocks), Block B, mezzanine, H-1033 Budapest, Hungary Telephone: +36 1 489 4330 Fax: +36 1 355 4049 Email: info@bfz.hu IBAN: HU58-10918001-00000089-59160000 (Unicredit Bank Ltd) Website: www.bfz.hu Online ticket sales: www.bfz.hu Published by the Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation Publisher: Stefan Englert, executive director of the BFO Edited by Adél Tossenberger Graphic design: büro für mitteilungen Pictures Imre Barta (79); Marco Borggreve (4, 35, 47); Felix Broede (42); Zdanek Chrapek (29); Paulde Hueck (30); David Ignaszewski (48); Tamás Leskó (5); Lisa Marie Mazzucco (21); K. Miura (23); Dániel Németh (77); Zsuzsanna Pető (17); A. Popruga (41); Peter Rigaud (33); Klaus Rudolph (24); Ákos Stiller (1, 9, 11, 27, 39, 51, 53, 55, 59, 63, 67, 71, 81, 95, back cover); Maurice Van der Velden (36); Adriane White (18)