Community Weeks

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Concerto for 4 Violas da gamba, H. 545 Henry Purcell Fantasia upon One Note, Z. 745 Györgyi Czirók, descant viola da gamba Soma Dinyés, descant viola da gamba Eszter Lesták Bedő, alt viola da gamba Rita Sovány, bass viola da gamba Gábor Tokodi, theorbo

Antonio Vivaldi „Sovente il sole” – aria from Andromeda liberata, RV Anh. 117 Zoltán Gavodi, counter-tenor Zsófia Lezsák, Baroque violin Eszter Lesták Bedő, Baroque violin Noémi Molnár, Baroque violin Zoltán Fekete, Baroque viola Kousay Mahdi, Baroque cello Igor Davidovics, Baroque guitar Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto in G minor for Recorder and Viola da gamba, BWV 1029r (reconstructed by Soma Dinyés) Salamon Eredics, recorder Rita Sovány, alto viola da gamba Eszter Lesták Bedő, Baroque violin Györgyi Czirók, Baroque violin Zoltán Fekete, Baroque viola György Kertész, Baroque cello Soma Dinyés, harpsichord

Mátyás has been a big music fan since he was little. He has been a regular visitor of the BFO’s concerts since the very fi rst performance. His musical world expanded tremendously when he became a Krishna devotee: their religious ceremonies and festivals are fi lled with beautiful music and singing. He has not, however, been unfaithful to classical music, either, and continues to hold season passes to our concerts. “Singing the Anthem was a special experience for me not only because its words represent a prayer from the heart, and because its music is beautiful, but also because Krishna Consciousness, during its fi rst years in Hungary, suff ered many attacks from people who were afraid national sentiments and patriotic attitudes would suff er as a result of impacts from the East. Sin-ging the Anthem while wearing Krishna apparel demonstrates that a set of Eastern ancient set of beliefs and religion is fully compatible with service of Hungarian society and caring for the values of the Hungarian nation.” Mátyás is pictured with Balázs Szakszon, leader of our trombone section.

Community Weeks

In the past almost forty years, the BFO and its audience have grown into a large, and ever-expanding, music-loving family. Together, we experience the strength of the unity created through the years. The objective of our Community Weeks is to expand this family, while also providing our musicians with opportunities to show off their talents in new roles, in addition to making music in the orchestra.

Church concerts 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. Six 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 for Baroque music than the spirituality, atmosphere and acoustics of a church? We started our concert series in the summer of 2014. Since then, 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.

Synagogue concerts Since 2014, we have performed in provincial synagogues that have been abandoned or that no longer serve their original purposes. The halls come to life again: melodies, stories and flavors can introduce local communities to the diversity and tolerance that was once so typical of Hungary. Our concerts will feature works by composers with Jewish connections, as well as klezmer tunes. As Iván Fischer said, “synagogues still stand in many villages and small towns which have not had Jewish inhabitants for a long time. In some places they are in ruins, in others they 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.