21 minute read
Concerts
The BFO rebooted
We have a long history of reboots: first in 1983, then in 1992 as the orchestra of the Capital, then in the late 2000s after the recession and now, refreshed and full of zest, like someone who has just made a full recovery from illness.
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Covid helped us find out we just can’t make do without concerts. Nothing can replace the live concert experience: not streaming, and not ideas to bring music to people in lockdown. It was all right for a sick diet, but now we’ve had enough and are longing to get back to the concert halls, where friends may run into each other, where the faces you know smile down on you from the stage, where there is applause (−God how much we missed it at the end of a performance), gentle coughs, laughter, and lots of love from the audience, where you can discuss the BFO’s latest ideas, where you can complain about the narcissistic nonsense spouted by this or that critic, where already in the cloakroom you can feel it’s a cultured crowd. Come and let the music of Mozart, Mahler, Bartók and Beethoven lend you a sense of renewed hope, security and energy. May the smiling faces emerge from behind the masks, and may we come out of our caves, hop onto tram 2 or into the car and head for the concert halls.
Be welcome, BFO audience. It’s so much better with you!
Iván Fischer
Concerts
They say the fi rst day of a year determines what the rest of the year will be like. We at the Budapest Festival Orchestra would like to see this come true in terms of our entire season, so that we may experience the uplifting feeling of the unity of our diverse audiences each day. That was what we felt in the fi rst minutes of 2021, when we performed the Hungarian Anthem together with our non-musician guests. This booklet therefore brings together once again our musicians and our New Year’s Eve invitees, to remind us that we are together and we all belong together.
The fi rst photo features eight-year-old Lili, who is learning to play the violin. Although she was a little nervous before the photo shoot, she quickly made herself at home in our rehearsal hall, getting along superbly with fl utist Anett Jóföldi right from the start. “I enjoyed singing the Anthem, and it was also fun to make friends with some of the other guests.”
Go to bfz.hu/himnusz to view the memorable recording.
A joint event of the Müpa Budapest and the BFO Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 09 Thursday 7:00 p.m. Reiner 10 Friday 7:00 p.m. Doráti 14 Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Solti
Monteverdi Fischer
Claudio Monteverdi L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea) Valer Sabadus (Nerone), Jeanine De Bique (Poppea), Reginald Mobley (Ottone), Núria Rial (Drusilla), Luciana Mancini (Ottavia, La Virtù), Stuart Patterson (Arnalta, Nutrice), Gianluca Buratto (Seneca), N. N. (Soldato 1, Lucano, Famigliare 1, Console 1), Francisco FernándezRueda (Soldato 2, Liberto Famigliare 2, Console 1), Peter Harvey (Mercurio, Famigliare 3, Littore, Tribune), N. N. (La Fortuna, Damigella), N. N. (Valleto, Amore); directors: Iván Fischer and Marco Gandini, conductor: Iván Fischer
Although there is just one conductor listed in the program, the brand new production of the Iván Fischer Opera Company also has an invisible one. As the BFO’s music director puts it when talking about The Coronation of Poppea: “Amor proves that he directs the world.” And then he adds: “Freud would nod in agreement.” This approach of placing love in the center characterizes Iván Fischer’s latest opera direction. Following the great success of Orfeo in 2019, the conductor now returns to Monteverdi. This time, however he brings to the stage the composer’s last musical drama, the story of Nero, the bloody tyrant. In addition to the orchestra, the company consists of the most sought-after soloists of early music, coming from all corners of the world, from Scotland to Trinidad.
A joint event of the Müpa Budapest and the BFO Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 18 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Doráti 19 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay, Storytime with Iván
Bridging Europe Liszt Lazić Fischer
Franz Liszt Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust – Mephisto Waltz, S. 110; 1. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S. 124; Faust Symphony, S. 108 Dejan Lazić (piano) / conductor: Iván Fischer
Which composer could better befit the title “Bridging Europe” than Franz Liszt, the well-travelled artist renowned all over Europe and cultivating several international friendships. Through his music and activities, he himself is the bridge between cultures and genres. The “home” of the program will be Vienna, the city where the piano virtuoso settled in order to further hone his skills as a composer. The place where his most significant orchestral works were born. The program, however, also has two other protagonists besides Liszt. Faust and Berlioz. Liszt became acquainted with the story of Faust through Berlioz and remained curious about it throughout his life. During one the “Berlioz weeks” organized by Liszt, the French composer conducted his friend’s piano concerto and later Liszt dedicated his Faust Symphony to Berlioz.
Rachmaninoff Sibelius Son Kitayenko
Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 Yeol Eum Son (piano)/ conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko
No concert will be lost, only delayed – this could be the shared motto of Kitayenko and the Festival Orchestra. Following his cancelled concert in 2016, the conductor directed the BFO first in 2017, and his program planned for 2020 may only be performed in the new season. The concert will feature a piano concerto that brought Rachmaninoff back from depression and a symphony that made Sibelius successful throughout Europe. The conductor is an expert interpreter of both composers and his recordings of their works have won several awards. Despite her young age, “marvelous, intense and boundlessly virtuosic” South Korean Yeol Eum Son, who was called “a model of clarity and fleetness” in the The Times, has already performed the most difficult piano concertos. This time too, she will be in for some challenge.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall 05 Friday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy 06 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay
Haydn Mozart Conunova Takács-Nagy
Joseph Haydn 22. Symphony No. 22 (in E-flat major), Hob. I:22 “The Philosopher” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Adagio in E major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 261; Violin concerto No. 1 (in B flat major), K. 207; The Impresario – Overture, K. 486; Symphony No. 34 (in C major), K. 338 Alexandra Conunova (violin) /conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy
The greatest hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s! No, this is not about a pop music radio. This is about the latest concert in the Haydn-Mozart Series of Gábor Takács-Nagy and the Festival Orchestra. Because when the conductor famous for his precision and glowing enthusiasm leads the BFO, even the most rarely performed pieces of the Viennese masters will become unforgettable, catchy tunes. In this program, Haydn’s symphony with unique instrumentation will be followed by a diverse group of Mozart’s works. The alternative slow movement written for the last violin concerto and the first Mozart piece for violin and orchestra will be performed with the solo of Moldavian violinist Alexandra Conunova, praised in the Strad for her “impressive range of colors”, and then, after the overture to a comedy, the concert will conclude with the symphony utilizing the brightness of C-major to the greatest possible extent.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 26 Friday 7:45 p.m. Doráti 27 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Reiner, Storytime with Iván 29 Monday 7:45 p.m. Solti
Schumann Debussy, Kurtág Ravel Zimmermann Fischer
Robert Schumann Konzertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86;Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 (arranged for viola by Tabea Zimmermann) Claude Debussy Printemps György Kurtág Movement for Viola and Orchestra Maurice Ravel Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 Tabea Zimmermann (viola)/ conductor: Iván Fischer
This program of the Festival Orchestra with Tabea Zimmermann draws an arc from German landscapes to Rome, to regions of Hungary and even to the Greek islands. The program will begin with two extraordinary concertos by Schumann: the first is rendered unique by its unusual solo apparatus, while the cello concerto is characterized by distinctive musical innovations that can be interpreted in many different ways. Performed in the arrangement and with the solo of the German violist world-famous for his musical communication, who is the resident artist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in season 2020-21, the concerto will be followed by young Debussy’s tale from Rome conjuring up scenes of spring awakening. The colorful program will continue with György Kurtág’s Bartókian Movement for Viola and conclude with the compilation from Ravel’s grandiose ballet.
Stanley, Corelli Vivaldi, Mozart Britten Kertész Szőke Pilz
John Stanley Concerto for Strings in D minor, Op. 2, No. 4 Arcangelo Corelli Concerto grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 1 Antonio Vivaldi Cello Concerto in A minor, RV 419 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, K. 447 Benjamin Britten Simple Symphony, Op. 4 György Kertész (cello), Zoltán Szőke (French horn) concertmaster: János Pilz
The Festival Orchestra’s latest chamber music concert boasts the eclectic program you have come to love and expect from the Concertino series, including English, Italian and Austrian music, various periods and musical schools, and special solo instruments. The concert spans a musical arc from Corelli to Britten, and features horn player Zoltán Szőke, who has won orchestra’s in-house Sándor Végh competition several times, and cellist György Kertész, who has been with the orchestra from its inception, alongside the BFO in alignment with a focus on virtuosity, intimacy and clarity. The first half of the concert, presenting three different facets of the Baroque concerto, is followed by a horn concerto by Mozart requiring considerable technical prowess, and, in a leap another 150 years forward, a piece by Britten in which the composer fleshed out some of his childhood compositions.
Budapest Congress Center 26 Sunday 7:45 p.m.
Surprise Concert Fischer
conductor: Iván Fischer
A great concert is always a gift. And an even more precious treasure since the start of the pandemic. The Festival Orchestra’s Christmas concert is the biggest musical surprise during the holidays. Never out of ideas, Iván Fischer creates a program each year making maximum use of the ensemble’s versatility. It will never get boring, since the excellent musicians of BFO perform alternately as orchestra players, chamber musicians or soloists in the most diverse genres and styles. This evening features Baroque, Classical and contemporary pieces, as well as jazz and folk music. This time, the power of surprise, as well as the delight of enjoying the usual high standard, will be even greater, and the atmosphere even more celebratory, as, after a Christmas of many hardships, we will again be able to have the experience called “the most beautiful Christmas present” in a comment.
Vivaldi Scarlatti Handel Dumaux Cohen T’Hooft
Antonio Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in C major, RV 473 Alessandro Scarlatti Piango, sospiro e peno – cantata Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in A minor for Two Violins, Op. 3, No. 8, RV 522; Salve Regina, RV 618 George Frideric Handel Admetus, King of Thessaly, HWV 22 – “Orride larve… Chiudetevi, miei lumi” Julius Caesar in Egypt, HWV 17 – “Se in fiorito ameno prato” Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in A minor for Two Oboes, RV 536 Georg Friedrich Handel Agrippina, HWV 6 – “Tacerò, purchè fedele”; Rodelinda, Queen of Lombardy, HWV 19 – “Vivi, tiranno!” Christophe Dumaux (countertenor) /conductor: Jonathan Cohen Baroque gesture: Sigrid T’Hooft
The BFO’s audience has been well aware since 2011 that whenever the name of Sigrid T’Hooft, one of the greatest experts of Baroque gesture, appears in the program, they are in for some wonderful early music experience. This time, the authentic appearance and movement will be presented by Christophe Dumaux. In addition to the opera arias, a beautiful cantata and a moving Marian hymn and concertos by Vivaldi will also be performed conducted by Jonathan Cohen, a British master of Baroque music and a return conductor of the Festival Orchestra.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 16 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Reiner 17 Monday 7:45 p.m. Solti 18 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
Schumann Piemontesi Janowski
Robert Schumann Overture to Manfred, Op. 115; Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54; Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 Francesco Piemontesi (piano) /conductor: Marek Janowski
From a piece of accompanying music composed for a whole evening, only the overture can find popularity; a concert piece intended to be a one-movement composition gains success only when two more movements are added; and a symphony reaches its final version only when it is revised after a decade of contemplation. The oeuvre of Robert Schumann is full of such obstacles, hardships and struggles. The composer, who also suffered from crises in his private life, is the perfect embodiment of the stereotype of the romantic artist. The concert of one of the most authentic conductors of German music, Marek Janowski, who has become a regular guest of the BFO with pianist Francesco Piemontesi “combining stunning technique with an intellectual capacity that few can match” features three pieces by Schumann in the classic overture/concerto/symphony format.
A joint event of the Müpa Budapest and the BFO Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre 22 Saturday
Richard Strauss Marathon Fischer
artistic director: Iván Fischer
“How come there has been no Richard Strauss Marathon yet?”, we could ask. The answer is simple: there are too many excellent composers who deserve to be the center of the long-established series of BFO and Müpa Budapest. However, it is also true that the composer living at a time of transition between two eras can be the ideal protagonist of an all-day event. His style changed several times during his 85 years, which rendered his oeuvre extremely diverse. As he was a brilliant master of orchestration and composed for several types of ensembles, from chamber to large-scale symphony orchestras, it is no big challenge to offer a colorful program of his pieces. He was one of the greatest storytellers in the history of music: his songs, operas and symphonic poems describe deep feelings and human fates - in stories that are sometimes comic and sometimes darkly tragic.
Stravinsky Kopatchinskaja Fischer
Cardsharps, a violin concerto sketched on a napkin, a Harlequin breaking loose – Stravinsky’s life, extremely diverse oeuvre and varied, constantly changing style is full of shocking, revolutionary or grotesque ideas and solutions. All his compositions are separate worlds of their own, but still bound together by the spirit of the iconoclastic genius, who had no respect for conventions. Between the ballet compositions telling the story of the poker party and the Harlequin puppet at the fair, the composer’s violin concerto will be performed, which, interestingly, could break with the traditions of the genre as a result of Stravinsky’s limited knowledge of the instrument. Iván Fischer thinks that the soloist of the program is also an artist following her own path. “Patricia Kopatschinskaja is breathtakingly witty and is sometimes provocative in her originality. She is a violinist with an unheard-of fantasy.”
Stravinsky Kopatchinskaja Fischer
Whether it’s meant to be or not, everything is a little about love on Valentine’s Day. Stravinsky’s unconventional ballet, Jeu de cartes (Card Game), depicting a poker party, will more easily remind us of the cards of hearts, or the saying “Lucky at cards, unlucky in love”. We may witness a special relationship, almost an affair during the composer’s violin concerto, another hardly conventional piece. As a critic for The Irish Times put it, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, the soloist of the evening, “makes her instrument sing, weep, dance, cajole, flirt....She plays the violin not really as an instrument, but as an extension of herself.” The concert will be concluded with the Rite of Spring, a piece sometimes called the atomic bomb and the biggest scandal of music history, where, in addition to human sacrifice, we can also have a glimpse of ancient “courting” habits.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 19 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Doráti 20 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Széll, Storytime with Iván 21 Monday 7:45 p.m. Solti
Smetana Tchaikovsky Rimsky-Korsakov Suwanai Fischer
Bedřich Smetana The Bartered Bride – overture Pyotr Tchaikovsky Violin concerto in D major, Op. 35 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Op. 35 Akiko Suwanai (violin) /conductor: Iván Fischer
19th century Slavic music has a special place in fundamentally German-centric musical history. National awakening also produced unforgettable compositions in Bohemia and Russia. The program of this concert, seasoned with intrigue, love, sensuality and jokes, is built around tales by three composers: Smetana, who turned from German aristocracy to the Czech countryside, Tchaikovsky, who combined musical elements from Western Europe and Russia with an exceptional skill, and Rimsky-Korsakov, who is acclaimed as a pioneer of Russian national music. All this with the solo of Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai, the youngest ever winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, who recorded a CD with the BFO in 2001, and who was praised by The Times for her “noble playing, with its rhythmic life, taut and rigorous”.
Budapest Music Center 26 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Széll
Bach–Webern Dallapiccola Boulez, Ligeti Loetzsch Ollu
Johann Sebastian Bach – Anton Webern Musikalisches Opfer – Ricercar a 6 Luigi Dallapiccola A Little Night Music; Five Fragments of Sappho (Greek Poems I); Two Anacreon Songs (Greek Poems II); Six Alcaeus Songs (Greek Poems III) Pierre Boulez Mémoriale Ligeti György Chamber Concerto Christel Loetzsch (soprano) /conductor: Franck Ollu
There is no use sugar-coating it: contemporary music is not always easy to enjoy. Exploring its strata is often more complicated than in the case of “old” music. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating world. The good news is that performance really matters. The Festival Orchestra, which feels at home in the contemporary repertoire, will be directed by the multitalented Franck Ollu, a real expert of modern music and conductor of several opera premieres, who captivated a Guardian critic with his performances of Boulez, and who has also conducted Dallapiccola earlier. All this will surely render Bach reimagined, the Greek songs performed by Christel Loetzsch or one of the greatest Hungarian composers of the late 20th century, György Ligeti more enjoyable.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall 27 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay 28 Monday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
Philidor L’Aisné Lully, Rameau Savall
André Danican Philidor L’Aisné Collection of Old Melodies – excerpts Jean-Baptiste Lully Alceste – Orchestral Suite Jean-Philippe Rameau Naïs – Orchestral Suite conductor: Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall, the legendary figure of early music compiled a program for the BFO spanning a century and a halfand presenting the court music of the age of three monarchs, Louis XIII, Louis XIV and Louis XV. The compositions of two emblematic composers of 17th and −18thcentury French music and their far less known colleague will be performed by the orchestra’s Baroque ensemble established in 2011 and playing period instruments. All the pieces were composed in honor of the king at the time. Dancing plays a significant role not only in the ballet music of Philidor the elder, but also in the operas (or rather opera-ballets) of Lully and Rameau. The central genre of the program, just like that of the era, is court ballet; the concert will feature a selection from the three “Louis records” of Jordi Savall released between 1999 and 2011.
Brahms Tchaikovsky Debussy Müller-Schott Tabachnik
Johannes Brahms Tragic Overture, Op. 81 Pyotr Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 Claude Debussy Images for Orchestra Daniel Müller-Schott (cello)/conductor: Michel Tabachnik
Michel Tabachnik returns to BFO with German, Russian and French music. Similarly to his last two concerts in Budapest, this program of the Swiss conductor, who used to work together with Herbert von Karajan, again includes Debussy. This time, it will be Images for Orchestra, a tribute to the Baroque suite genre and also inspired by the composer’s love of Spanish music. The first part of the concert will feature the more solemn and “tragic” of Brahms’s pair of concert overtures, and then Tchaikovsky’s composition of Mozartian elegance, which could also be called a cello concerto. The evening’s protagonist will be a cello from 1727 and German artist Müller-Schott described in a review in The New York Times as a “fearless player with technique to burn”.
Haydn Mozart Gringolts Takács-Nagy
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 59 (in A major, “Fire”), Hob. I:59 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 99 (in E-flat major), Hob. I:99 Ilya Gringolts (violin)/conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy
Could we ever get tired of the warmth-exuding music of Haydn and Mozart, the energetic way in which Gábor Takács-Nagy conducts the orchestra, or the sound of Ilya Gringolts’s Stradivarius? Those who have already heard the Viennese classicism specialist conduct, or just talk about, the music of the two Austrian masters will know that his series with the Festival Orchestra can only be described by words like freshness, dynamism, sparkle, surprise and creativity. This concert will be framed by a rather fiery Haydn symphony and another one paying tribute to a deceased friend. Between the two, one of the most popular violin concertos, Mozart’s virtuoso piece will be performed with the solo of Ilya Gringolts, a former student of Itzhak Perlman and the first violinist of the Gringolts Quartet, who plays the instrument called the “Kiesewetter”.
Still, Adams Ives Josefowicz Robertson
William Grant Still Darker America John Adams Violin Concerto Charles Ives Symphony No. 2 Leila Josefowicz (violin)/conductor: David Robertson
A Concert from America – this could be the title of the program, as this time, the protagonists will be thee iconic figures of American music writing, a conductor born in California and an AmericanCanadian violinist. The evening will start with a piece by William Grant Still, the “doyen of Afro-American composers” and an iconic figure of symphonic jazz, and continue with the Violin Concerto of John Adams, one of the greatest composers post-Steve Reich. We could hardly find more authentic performers for the latter than Leila Josefowicz. She collaborates in person with the composer and David Robertson, who made three recordings from Adams’s oeuvre as the musical director of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Following the concerto with an “endless melody”, the program will conclude with the king of musical references, the symphony of Charles Ives, displaying the most bizarre final chords in the history of music.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 15 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Reiner, Storytime with Iván 16 Monday 7:45 p.m. Doráti 17 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Solti
Beethoven Mahler Trifonov Fischer
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 Gustav Mahler 1. Symphony No. 1 in D major “Titan” Danyiil Trifonov (piano)/conductor: Iván Fischer
Ludwig and Gustav – two completely opposing personalities. Beethoven and Mahler – two composers for whom nothing was impossible in the realm of musical expression; who did not care about expectations and traditions, but dared to innovate, dreaming bigger and creating greater things. Piano Concerto No. 4 demands a Beethovenian pianist, as this was the last concerto he composed for himself. However, a Liszt player may be just as suitable for the piece, like pianist Daniil Trifonov, who is not yet thirty, but has already been compared to Liszt by The Washington Post not only for his virtuosity, but also for his mesmerizing impact on the audience. The grandiose piece will be followed by another titan, Mahler’s lengthy palette of emotions, his Symphony No. 1, which was premiered in Budapest.
M. Haydn, J. Haydn, Schubert Tchaikovsky Csikota Grier, Pilz
Michael Haydn String Quintet in C major (notturno) Joseph Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, Hob. VIIe:1 Franz Schubert Rondo for Violin and Strings in A major, D. 438 Pjotr Csajkovszkij Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 48 Gergely Csikota (trumpet), Savitri Grier (violin) concertmaster: János Pilz
The Concertino Series revives the tradition wherein there was no conductor leading the ensembles, but small orchestras were directed by the concertmaster. Viennese Classicism belongs to this tradition, just like a significant part of the Romantic string orchestra pieces. Therefore, János Pilz selected works from these two periods for this BFO concert. The Haydn brothers, evoked by one piece each, will be followed by Schubert, the greatest figure bridging the two periods. The concert will conclude with a composition by Tchaikovsky, the uncrowned king of Russian ballet music. The trumpet concerto will feature Gergely Csikota, a young member of the orchestra, who has successfully performed at several international auditions, while the soloist of the Schubert piece will be Savitri Grier, who was hailed in the Birmingham Post for her “deep, eloquent tone, making every line sing”.
Midnight Music
March
May
For those whose day actually begins at night, and for those, of course, who would like to listen not only to music but also to music explained, in a more relaxed environment. This is seriously unserious Midnight Music, where young audiences hungry for culture can enjoy classical music while lounging on beanbags among the musicians. Grab your Midnight ticket before they’re gone!
