photo: Marco Borggreve
We are embarking on our fifth decade. There are a number of people who have been with us since the very beginning, either as members of our audience or on stage – so I am not completely alone. There are more of us now – enough to fill the concert hall three times over. Those who, 30 or 40 years ago, were worried that our audience is too elderly have been proved incorrect. They were afraid that the camp of music lovers would not go through any renewal: they were wrong. In the eighties, the Liszt Academy had the largest hall in Budapest, and orchestras generally performed their program just once. The audience has grown exponentially since then.
For me, this is the greatest source of joy. The orchestra is there to serve the audience and the cultural needs of those living here. Our job is to enrich their lives; to provide the answers to their questions; to maintain openness, international interest and a curiosity for novelty; and to lift people up and provide them with spiritual and emotional experiences. We play for those who could not or would not like to live without concerts, and for whom the performances of the Budapest Festival Orchestra mean a great deal. We play for the real lovers of music. And there are many of them, in every generation. It is a tremendous joy for me to experience this at our Cocoa Concerts, at our Midnight Music performances for young people and in the concert halls of Budapest.
News from around the world is frightening these days: more and more wars, tensions and troubles. We are not trying to shut these out so that we can withdraw to our ivory tower and forget about them: we wish to respond, argue and demonstrate alternatives instead so that we can remind people of the values of peace, good sense and tolerance. Music literature as such is, essentially, a repository of humanist values, from Beethoven’s Ninth to the final movement of Bartók’s Concerto, which the composer envisioned as a collective dance of different people. Today, we have the important task of guiding generations who may have strayed back to these emotions and thoughts.
We hope you’ll join us at our concerts!
Iván Fischer
photo: Jácint
Jónás / Képmás
Music transcends boundaries and continents: it speaks to the heart and is a substitute for words. Music makes us happy: it brings tears to our eyes and a smile to our face – for young and old alike. It is this profound yet inexplicable force which the Budapest Festival Orchestra will continue to share in the 2024 –2025 season with audiences from the smallest communities to the world’s most renowned concert halls, demonstrating an exceptional level of artistic realization. In addition to locations in Hungary, we have been invited to perform at extraordinary foreign venues, where the mere fact of playing music amounts to a recognition –we will give concerts at, for instance, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Southbank Centre in London, KKL in Luzern and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
Perhaps it was Gustav Mahler’s line, “A symphony must be like the world, it must contain everything,” which inspired Iván Fischer, one of the composer’s most noted interpreters, to include performances of two of Mahler’s symphonies, No. 2 and No. 5, this season. We anticipate that the audience, already well-versed in Mahler’s oeuvre, and those in the music profession who have awarded prizes for CD recordings of his works, will enjoy the two performances. And to ensure that the season is a real celebration for all, we will be joined by a number of returning artists and true global sensations, including conductors Robin Ticciati, Manfred Honeck and Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and soloists Kirill Gerstein (piano) and Renaud Capuçon (violin).
The Budapest Festival Orchestra is a messenger for Hungary’s musical talent; we bring together music-loving audiences, great and small, and as a Hungarian success story worldwide, we are a source of shared pride. We hope that in the 2024 –2025 season, we will continue to win the appreciation of our ever-exacting audience of concertgoers.
Orsolya Erdődy Managing Director
photo: Attila Nagy
Iván Fischer made his own dream come true when he founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra in 1983 together with Zoltán Kocsis. Thanks to its innovative approach to music and the uncompromising dedication of its musicians, the BFO has become the youngest ensemble to join the world’s top ten symphony orchestras. In addition to Budapest, the orchestra regularly performs in some of the most important concert venues of the international music scene and is also present on international streaming platforms. Since its inception, the BFO has been recognized by Gramophone, the prestigious British musical periodical, three times: in 1998 and 2007, the magazine’s professional panel of judges awarded the BFO the prize for the best recording, while in 2022, thanks to audience votes, it was named Orchestra of the Year. The BFO’s most considerable successes are connected to Mahler: their recording of Symphony No. 1 was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2013.
As well as recording successes and acclaimed tours, the BFO has also made a name for itself internationally with its series of innovative concerts. The Autism-friendly Cocoa Concerts, the Surprise Concerts – appreciated also at the Proms in London –, full-day musical marathons, informal Midnight Music performances geared towards young adults, outdoor concerts in Budapest, free Community Weeks and the Bridging Europe Festival, co-organized with Müpa Budapest, are all unique in their own ways. Another special feature of the orchestra is that its members regularly form a choir at their concerts.
Each year, the BFO, in collaboration with the Iván Fischer Opera Company, Müpa Budapest, the Vicenza Opera Festival and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, also stages an opera production. The performances have been invited to the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg; in 2013, the Marriage of Figaro led the New York Magazine’s list of the best classical music events of the year. The Vicenza Opera Festival, founded by Iván Fischer, debuted in the fall of 2018 at the Teatro Olimpico.
Fischer Iván
Conductor, Music Director
Takács-Nagy Gábor
Principal Guest Conductor
Violin
Major Tamás (concertmaster)
Daniel Bard (concertmaster)
Asztalos Bence
Biró Ágnes
Bodó Antónia
Bujtor Balázs
Czenke Csaba
Czirók Györgyi
Davide Dalpiaz
Eckhardt Violetta
Gál-Tamási Mária
Gátay Tibor
Gulyás Emese
Haják Krisztina
Hrib Radu
Illési Erika
Iván Tímea
Jász Pál
Kádár István
Kostyál Péter
Kovács Erika
Lesták Bedő Eszter
Lezsák Zsófia
Molnár Noémi
Mózes Anikó
Oláh Gyöngyvér
Pilz János
Sipos Gábor
Szabó Levente
Szefcsik Zsolt
Szlávik Zsuzsanna
Takácsné Nagy Gabriella
David Tobin
Tuska Zoltán
Lucrezia Costanzo (academist)
Marta Detlaff (academist)
Viola
Gábor Ferenc
Gálfi Csaba
Bodolai Cecília
Bolyki László
Csoma Ágnes
Miguel Erlich
Fekete Zoltán
Juhász Barna
Shira Majoni
Polónyi István
Reinhardt Nikoletta
Yamamoto Nao
Cello
Szabó Péter
Dvorák Lajos
Eckhardt Éva
Farkas Olívia
Alma Hernán Benedí
Kertész György
Liptai Gabriella
Mahdi Kousay
Mód Orsolya
Sovány Rita
Pietro Silvestri (academist)
Double bass
Fejérvári Zsolt
H. Zováthi Alajos
Brendan Kane
Kaszás Károly
Lévai László
Magyar Csaba
Uxia Martinez Botana
Martos Attila
Sipos Csaba
Naomi Shaham
Flute
Pivon Gabriella
Jóföldi Anett
Nagy Bernadett
Oboe
Victor Aviat
Johannes Grosso
Clara Dent-Bogányi
Berger Márta
Berta Beáta
Eva Neuszerova
Marie-Noëlle Perreau
Clarinet
Ács Ákos
Andrea Caputo
Csalló Roland
Daniel Roscia
Szitka Rudolf
Alberto Sánchez García (academist)
Bassoon
Bogányi Bence
Andrea Bressan
Tallián Dániel
Rapi Péter
Duffek Mihály
Kayetan Cygański Bolski (academist)
Horn
Szőke Zoltán
Bereczky Dávid
Nagy Zsombor
Szabó András
Trumpet
Csikota Gergely
Czeglédi Zsolt
Póti Tamás
Trombone
Szakszon Balázs
Sztán Attila
Wagner Csaba
Yuval Wolfson
Tuba
Bazsinka József
Harp
Polónyi Ágnes
Rosanna Rolton
Timpani
Dénes Roland
Torsten Schoenfeld
Percussion
Ulf Breuer
Fábry Boglárka
Hencz Kornél
Herboly László
Kurcsák István
Maros Ádám
Pusztai Gábor
Iris Van Den Bos
Keyboards, regular piano accompanists
Báll Dávid
Dinyés Soma
Mali Emese
Nagy László Adrián
Pétery Dóra
Eszter purchased her period violin from János Rolla and uses the instrument – which is more than one hundred years old – at period music performances. In its case, she covers the violin with a white cloth, bearing the print of a handwritten score: an excerpt from Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
“We always do something which no other orchestra does.” Concertmaster at the BFO’s Baroque performances, she is a perfectionist when it comes to sound. Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Megaron in Athens and the Kodály Center in Pécs are particularly near and dear to her heart (and ears) in terms of their acoustics. She spreads the innovative concert formats of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and with her chamber music orchestra and string quartet, continues the traditions of concerts accompanied by conversation.
The inaugural concert was unforgettable The Budapest Festival Orchestra gave its first concert on December 26, 1983 at the Liszt Academy. Joining her parents at the performance was a little girl of twelve, on whom the evening made a lasting impression. Eszter feels that she has always been free to pursue her dreams, and every award or recognition she receives for her music incorporates the happy childhood she enjoyed thanks to her parents and grandparents.
Stretching exercises in an evening gown In the final moments before a concert, wearing her beautiful black concert dress, she goes through the stretching exercises recommended by her manual therapist. Making music, just like doing sports, involves physical exertion. Restoring muscle tone is critical to preventing any risk to Eszter’s unmistakably graceful and smooth playing.
BFZ. Kivételesre hangolva.
A BFZ alakuló koncert felejthetetlen.
Egy 12 éves
kislánynak is.
valami olyat, „Mindig csinálunk
„
LESTÁK BEDO˝ ESZTER A hangszer
történelem: hegedU˝jét Rolla Jánostól vette
September 08 + 10
A joint production of the BFO, Müpa Budapest, the Ivan Fischer Opera Company, the Vicenza Opera Festival and the Spoleto Festivel dei Due Mondi Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
08 Sunday 7:00 p.m. Reiner
10 Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Doráti
11 Wednesday 7:00 p.m. Solti
Richard Strauss Le bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman) – suite, Op. 60-IIIa; Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60
Andrew Staples (Bacchus), Anna-Lena Elbert (Zerbinetta), Emily Magee (Ariadne), Gurgen Baveyan (Harlequin), Stuart Patterson (Scaramuccio), Daniel Noyola (Truffaldin), Juan de Dios Mateos (Brighella), Samantha Gaul (Naiad), Olivia Vermeulen (Dryad), Mirella Hagen (Echo) co-director and choreographer: Chiara D’Anna conductor and director: Iván Fischer
It has become something of a tradition to kick off the new Budapest Festival Orchestra season with an opera. Iván Fischer tends to select the most diverse array of pieces, ranging from Mozart to Monteverdi to Britten, and never fails to put his signature twist on them. This time he conducts Richard Strauss' opera, Ariadne on Naxos, composed to the libretto by the equally experiment-minded Hofmannsthal. His co-director is the outstanding actress and commedia dell'arte specialist Chiara D’Anna, featuring notable soloists of international renown.
A joint concert of the BFO and the European Union Youth Orchestra, a joint production of Müpa Budapest and the BFO
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
20 Friday 7:45 p.m. Solti
21 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
22 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Reiner, Storytime with Iván
Manuel de Falla Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera La vida breve (Life Is Short), G. 35/39
Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4 in D minor (transcription by Franz Liszt and Franz Doppler), S. 359/4
Iván Fischer Dance Suite for Violin and Orchestra, in memoriam J. S. Bach (premiere in Hungary)
Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 Jenő Lisztes (cimbalom), Diana Tishchenko (violin)
European Union Youth Orchestra / conductor: Iván Fischer
The Bridging Europe will connect the entire continent this year: a Hungarian rhapsody follows a Spanish dance; an homage to Bach precedes Czech melodies. Liszt’s work, inspired by the cimbalom, will once again be accompanied by this distinctive instrument of urban Romani music, played by Jenő Lisztes, who has captivated audiences at Carnegie Hall, the Musikverein and the BBC Proms with the BFO. In Iván Fischer’s Dance Suite, bridges will stretch all the way to Brazil, America and Argentina. The Stradivarius violin sounds “breathtaking” (The Strad) in Ukrainian violinist Diana Tishchenko’s hands and rings with a “distinctive, individual voice” (The Gramophone). The concert, performed jointly with the youth orchestra of the EU, is the inaugural event of the European Orchestra Academy, a brand new initiative run by the two ensembles.
October 05– 06– 07
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
05 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Kertész
06 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay
07 Monday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 87 in A major, Hob. I:87
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495; Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
Dávid Bereczky (horn) / conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy
The next instalment in Gábor Takács-Nagy’s Haydn–Mozart series is here! Fortunately for us, the symphonic oeuvre of the two great Viennese classical composers is abundant enough to keep the conductor inspired. The “fantastic positive life energy and vitality” make the art of the two composers inexhaustible, and the conductor even sees their music as spiritual remedy. The concert is bookended by the first of Haydn’s Paris symphonies, which opened the door to international success for him, and one of the highlights of Mozart’s symphonic output, the “Great” Symphony No. 40 in G minor. In between, we’ll be hearing Mozart's horn concerto with soloist Dávid Bereczky. The musician has been a member of the Budapest Festival Orchestra since 2001 and has spearheaded many a piece as a soloist.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
07 Thursday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
08 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Georg Friedrich Handel “Water Music” Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348
Georg Philipp Telemann Water Music (”Hamburg Ebb and Flow”), TWV 55:C3
Christoph Willibald Gluck Don Juan ou Le Festin de Pierre (Don Juan or The Feast of Stone) — ballet suite, Wg 52 conductor: Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall is at the helm of the Budapest Festival Orchestra again! This time, the living legend of early music will be conducting a production centered around the themes of natural elements and the furies, performed on historic instruments by the orchestra's Baroque Ensemble, founded in 2011. The program showcases three musical milestones and three personalities of the 18th century. The protagonist of the first half of the evening is water. The Handel suite was first performed on the Thames, and Telemann’s piece celebrates the source of Hamburg’s economy, the river Elbe. The two ten-movement Baroque suites are followed by Gluck’s ballet — at the end of the well-known story, Don Juan pays for his earthly sins. With a concert extolling the forces of nature, Savall aims to remind us that despite the environmental crisis, with collective effort, our planet can still be saved.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
13 Wednesday 7:45 p.m. Solti
14 Thursday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
16 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Reiner, Storytime with Iván
Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 1;
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15;
Hungarian Dance No. 11;
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
Kirill Gerstein (piano) / conductor: Iván Fischer
The Budapest Festival Orchestra's Brahms series continues with a juxtaposition of grueling pursuit and easy success, as Hungarian dances precede weighty compositions. This time, the spotlight is on the firsts: the series opens with the inaugural piece of the 21 dances, followed by the composer's grandiose Piano Concerto No. 1. After
10 spirited dances, Hungarian Dance No. 11, which opens the more lyrical section, sets the tone for Brahms' first symphony, liberated from the pressure of “writing a symphony after Beethoven.” The soloist of the concerto, the Russian-American Kirill Gerstein, is acclaimed by international critics as a profound and genuine character, a mesmerizing sound poet. One of today's most intelligent musical thinkers, he is guaranteed to discover something new and compelling in music.
December
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
08 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Reiner
09 Monday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
10 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Solti
Jean Sibelius King Christian II — suite, Op. 27
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Magnus Lindberg Chorale
Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105
Francesco Piemontesi (piano) / conductor: Robin Ticciati
A rarely performed suite, a classical concerto, a tribute to Bach and the cornerstone of a symphonic oeuvre: this concert evokes a Nordic air while occasionally stirring flames of passion. The orchestra performs under the baton of BFO’s regular guest conductor, music director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Robin Ticciati. The program is framed by two pieces from Sibelius: the composer’s first theatrical incidental music foreshadows the future world of Symphony No. 1, while Symphony No. 7 stands as the pinnacle of his oeuvre. In between, the orchestra performs contemporary Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg’s chorale parody and Beethoven's last piano concerto that he could play himself at its premiere. The soloist of the latter is Francesco Piemontesi, who combines “stunning technique with an intellectual capacity that few can match”.
December
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
13 Friday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
14 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Kertész
15 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hob. I:93
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622; Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543
Michael Rusinek (clarinet) / conductor: Manfred Honeck
Like the October concert in the series presenting Haydn and Mozart’s works, this performance will feature one of Haydn’s symphonies and a wind concerto by Mozart along with one of his final three symphonies. Leading the Budapest Festival Orchestra will be Manfred Honeck, an Austrian compatriot of the Viennese masters, who is not only an honorary conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, but, for the past more than one and a half decades, has also served as the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Michael Rusinek, first clarinetist of the American ensemble, will join the BFO to perform the solo of the clarinet concerto, Mozart’s last finished piece. Before it, Haydn’s voice as he broke free from the bonds of the Esterházy Court will be presented in one of the London Symphonies. The concert will wrap up with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, the companion piece to the “Jupiter” and the “Great” G minor symphony.
Budapest Congress Center
26 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
conductor: Iván Fischer
The December 26 performance of the Budapest Festival Orchestra is always both a Christmas concert and a birthday concert in one: a celebration of music, without any rigid ceremonial props. Just like any real present, the program will once again remain a surprise until the very last moment. At last year’s jubilee Christmas event, Iván Fischer wowed the audience by transforming the evening into a special New Year’s concert. He selected a holiday line-up which showed off the musical diversity of the Monarchy and did so even more richly than the New Year’s concerts in Vienna. On top of that, at the end of the performance, the audience was given the chance to partake in the joy of making music. The amateur choir of 150 members of the BFO’s extended family spent a month and a half getting ready to perform the piece with the accompaniment of their favorite orchestra. Will this year’s Christmas concert deliver similar surprises, or something completely different? All we can say with absolute certainty is that we do not know. It will be a surprise. The musicians will probably don their unusual roles and show off their skills in exciting genres and styles on stage, as dictated by Iván Fischer’s inexhaustible ideas. For the BFO, the best birthday present during the past forty-one years has been the opportunity to make music for – and at times with – its loyal audience. Join us for Christmas 2024!
Concerts
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
09 Thursday 7:45 p.m. Széll
10 Friday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
11 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 88 in G major, Hob. I:88
Carl Maria von Weber Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento in D major, K. 334
Andrea Caputo (clarinet) / conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy
Gábor Takács-Nagy continues this year’s Haydn–Mozart series and after Symphony No. 87, also leads the performance of one of Haydn’s most popular pieces, Symphony No. 88. Although the work is a truly classical piece of music, the composer hid a little bit of fun or something unusual in each of its movements. These include the notes breaking up the slow introduction; the variations of the second movement; the rustic character of the minuet; or the finale, with birdsong, clockwork-like ticking and explosions of fireworks. After the intermission, the concert continues with one of Mozart’s best divertimentos: a chamber piece of six movements, originally composed for six instruments. Adding extra color to the program will be a surprise guest: the music of Weber, who was actually a relative of Mozart’s. BFO musician Andrea Caputo, winner of the 2024 Sándor Végh Competition, will perform the solo of this deep, dramatic clarinet concerto, almost opera-like in terms of expressiveness.
January
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
17 Friday 7:45 p.m. Solti
18 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Doráti, Kertész
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor Renaud Capuçon (violin) / conductor: Iván Fischer
Mendelssohn’s world-famous Violin Concerto and one of Mahler’s most positive and perhaps most popular symphonies will be on the program at the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s first concert of 2025 at Müpa Budapest. The soloist for the concerto, Renaud Capuçon, will use his 1737 Guarneri violin to share the deep and nuanced tones of the piece, while displaying the virtuosity which makes him a favorite of audiences and critics. Comprising a challenging opening movement, a lyrical aria and a finale evoking A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the piece will be followed by “one of the seven wonders of the symphonic world”, as Mahler’s Fifth was once referred to, following its 1904 premiere in Cologne. Adagietto, which took off in its own right in the movie adaptation of Death in Venice, was an encore at the BFO’s very first concert in 1983. Iván Fischer, who founded the Hungarian Mahler Society, has made it a special point ever since to present the composer’s works.
February 0 7– 08
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
07 Friday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy, Kertész
08 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay
Orlando Gibbons Fantasia No. 4 for Two Violins
Henry Purcell “Music for a While” – aria from incidental music to Oedipus, Z. 583
Jean-Baptiste Lully Phaëton – suite, LWV 61
Michel Corrette Comic Concerto No. 25 in G minor (“Les sauvages et La Furstemberg”)
Henry Purcell Chaconne in G minor, Z. 730
Matthew Locke The Tempest – suite
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair Le Retour de la Paix – cantata
Stefanie True (soprano) / artistic director and Baroque violin: Midori Seiler / Baroque gesture: Sigrid T’Hooft
The “most versatile and outstanding figure of Baroque violin”, Midori Seiler has this time created a program featuring a fantasia, an aria, a suite, a concerto, a chaconne and a cantata, to be performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s historic ensemble, established in 2011. Purcell’s aria and Montéclair’s secular cantata will feature a solo performance by Canadian-born Stefanie True. This journey back in time will be enhanced by the use of authentic period instruments and costumes, as well as gestures choreographed by one of the top experts on Baroque gesture, Sigrid T’Hooft.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
15 Saturday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
16 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Reiner, Széll
17 Monday 7:45 p.m. Solti
Leoš Janáček The Cunning Little Vixen – suite (transcription by Jakub Hrůša)
Josef Suk Fantasy in G minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
Bohuslav Martinů Symphony No. 1, H. 289
Jan Mráček (violin) / conductor: Jakub Hrůša
A Czech conductor, three Czech composers and a Czech violinist: in other words, a Czech concert. The program features Janáček’s most unique opera, The Cunning Little Vixen, in suite form, followed by a piece which can also be regarded as a violin concerto, Fantasy by Dvořák’s son-in-law, Suk. The solo will be performed by Jan Mráček: known for his precise intonation, phenomenal musicality and technical skill, critics have compared him to virtuosos like Joshua Bell and Itzhak Perlman. The program wraps up with Martinů’s Symphony No. 1, composed in his later years. Jakub Hrůša, a dedicated messenger of Czech music, holds leading positions at the Bamberg Symphony and Covent Garden. President of the International Martinů Circle and The Dvořák Society, Hrůša was named conductor of the year by Opus Klassik in 2023 and received three nominations for the 2024 ICMA award.
February 28 + March 01
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
28 Friday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
01 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Fricsay
Henry Purcell Abdelazer – suite, Z. 570
Jean Françaix Concerto for bassoon and orchestra
Benjamin Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Bence Bogányi (bassoon) / concertmaster: János Pilz
"If I could hear only one bassoonist for the rest of my life, it'd be him," a journalist for The Spectator has said of the music of Bence Bogányi. This time, the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s musician will play the solo of Jean Françaix’s rarely performed concerto. An easily palatable piece reminiscent of tango or ragtime music, the work will serve as the backbone of the season’s first Concertino performance. Led by János Pilz, this concert of the chamber music series comes as winter gives way to spring. The performance will begin with movements from Purcell’s theater accompaniment music, telling the tragic and shocking story of the Moor Abdelazer and the Queen of Spain. In the second half of the event, Britten’s series of variations serve as an example of a student’s tribute to their teacher: written to the theme of his composition teacher, Frank Bridge, the work is what delivered Britten fame.
BMC
04 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Tōru Takemitsu Rain Spell
Joan Tower Copperwave
Sofia Gubaidulina Meditation on a Bach Chorale, “Vor deinen Thron tret Ich hiermit” (BWV 668)
György Ligeti Six Bagatelles
John Cage Living Room Music
Guillaume Connesson Sextet
Six composers, six pieces, sixty-six years, but nothing diabolical. In fact, several aspects of the season’s only performance to be hosted at the BMC will direct the audience’s gaze skywards towards the heavens. We may rightfully label the evening a contemporary concert, although only one of the pieces on the program, featuring works composed between 1940 and 2006, was written after the turn of the millennium. The BFO’s musicians will present composers, both legendary and lesser-known, who stood up to resistance encountered in their time, stuck to their innovative visions and produced oeuvres which have found their ways to the hearts not only of other professionals, but also audiences. The works incorporate a diverse range of formations, unique sounds and exciting back stories, with themes covering rain, copper, Bach, economizing on musical notes, essentially anything and the new year.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
17 Monday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10; Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55; Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
Igor Levit (piano) / conductor: Iván Fischer
Despite being a piano virtuoso, even Prokofiev would have had a challenging time performing all five of his piano concertos in three days. Yet Russian-German pianist Igor Levit will endeavor to do precisely that at the helm of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. In addition to different concertos each night, the program will also feature different symphonic pieces allowing audiences at the three performances to enjoy an additional two symphonies, an overture and two suites, all from the oeuvre of the same composer. The incredible undertaking will kick off with Prokofiev’s first and last piano concerto and his Symphony No. 5. The pieces, which have left critics at a loss, were in fact created in part to allow the composer to show off his technical skill, but are also about much more than simply virtuosity: they are characterized by quality, depth and layeredness. Just as Levit’s performances are, according to critics.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
18 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Solti
Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34 bis; Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26; Cinderella – suite
Igor Levit (piano) / conductor: Iván Fischer
“Citizen. European. Pianist.” These are the three words Igor Levit uses to describe himself, the musician who will perform all of Prokofiev’s piano concertos at three concerts, leading the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Described by The New York Times as “one of the essential artists of his generation”, Levit this time will play the solo in the composer’s most famous and also most traditional piano concerto, the three-movement No. 3. The piece is introduced by the orchestral version of Prokofiev’s chamber overture written for original Hebrew themes; after the intermission, stories take center stage. Prokofiev himself composed three different suites from his ballet Cinderella, paying tribute to Tchaikovsky; upending the original order of the movements of the ballet, they nonetheless provide a good presentation of the plot of the three movements. This time, Iván Fischer selected movements from two suites for his Cinderella interpretation.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
19 Wednesday 7:45 p.m. Kertész, Széll
Sergei Prokofiev The Love for Three Oranges – suite, Op. 33 bis;
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16;
Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 53; Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Classic Symphony”), Op. 25
Igor Levit (piano) / conductor: Iván Fischer
“Igor Levit is like no other pianist,” The New Yorker has said. It’s a fact: there are few performers out there who would play a total of three Prokofiev concertos on two consecutive days, and then two more at a third concert, including one of the most challenging pieces in piano literature as well as a composition written specifically for the left hand. The solo of Piano Concerto No. 2 was one that posed a significant challenge even for Prokofiev, and to this day only the most daring pianists are willing to perform it. No. 4 is one that not even the man commissioning the piece was willing to tackle. Even today, it is seldom performed. Full of deep emotions and coupled with passion, the virtuoso challenge is framed by an opera suite and a symphony. It was Prokofiev himself who turned his satirical opera The Love for Three Oranges into a six-movement orchestral excerpt, just as it was he himself who gave his first symphony the telling title “Classical”.
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
14 Monday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
15 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Solti
17 Thursday 7:45 p.m. Kertész
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Overture for Julius Caesar, Op. 78
Édouard Lalo Spanish Symphony, Op. 21
Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
María Dueñas (violin) / conductor: Andrés Orozco-Estrada
An overture inspired by a Shakespeare play, a violin concerto paying tribute to Sarasate and an autobiographical love story – this concert will have them all in a special program that will also include special artists. The Columbian-born senior conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, is known for his energy, elegance and dynamic spirit. He is also a violinist, which means he gets along famously with the soloist of the evening: born in 2002, María Dueñas is a Deutsche Grammophon artist and a favorite of The Guardian, The Times and The Strad – “the devil dressed in white".
A native of Granada, Dueñas will perform Mediterranean music by the Spanish composer Lalo. Before that, the program includes music by Italian composer Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and after, the music of French composer Berlioz, who created the romantic symphony genre.
May
Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
06 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Doráti
07 Wednesday 7:45 p.m. Solti, Széll
08 Thursday 7:45 p.m. Storytime with Iván
Concerts
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”)
Christiane Karg (soprano), Anna Lucia Richter (mezzo soprano), Hungarian National Choir (choir director: Csaba Somos)
conductor: Iván Fischer
Iván Fischer has made it a point to look after Gustav Mahler’s symphonic oeuvre: accordingly, hardly a season goes by without the BFO performing at least one piece by Mahler. Following Symphony No. 5, on the program in January, the the season's last concert at Müpa Budapest will feature Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2. This performance of the piece known as the “Resurrection” will feature the Hungarian National Choir, one of the country’s leading professional ensembles, as well as two outstanding guest soloists. Her “voice has a warm, sensuous sound that is multi-dimensional, without heaviness, and has impressively effortless breath control,” a BBC Music Magazine critic has said of Anna Lucia Richter.
Christiane Karg is a return visitor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Musikverein and the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Covent Garden and La Scala in Milan. She performed the same piece with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in 2020.
June 03 – 04
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
03 Tuesday 7:45 p.m. Széll
04 Wednesday 7:45 p.m. Ormándy
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 35 in B-flat major, Hob. I:35
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, H. 432
Leoš Janáček Idyll, JW 6/3
Alma Hernán Benedí (cello) / concertmaster: János Pilz
Having welcomed spring with a concert, the BFO will ring in the summer and conclude its 2024–2025 set of orchestral performances in Budapest with a line-up in the Concertino series led by János Pilz.
The first half of the concert will open with Haydn’s Symphony No. 35, intended as a name-day present for Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, followed by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s cello concerto, a piece showcasing Baroque traditions, composed by a musician who Haydn himself respected very much. The solo will be performed by Madrid native Alma Hernán Benedí, a winner of the 2024 Sándor Végh Competition, who has already conquered the stages of the Elbphilharmonie and the Musikverein in Vienna. The program continues after the intermission with Janáček’s second important orchestral achievement. The piece reflects the inspiration of Dvořák’s music, but also shows off several exciting elements of what makes the Czech composer’s works so loveable.
November
16 Saturday 11:30 p.m.
Bálna Budapest
Iván Fischer
January
18 Saturday 11:30 p.m.
Castle Garden Bazaar
Iván Fischer
March
16 Sunday 11:30 p.m.
Castle Garden Bazaar
Iván Fischer
Will you come at midnight and listen to some classical music while lounging on a beanbag, just an arm’s length from the musicians? This question might have sounded weird ten years ago but, thanks to the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Midnight Music has since become one of the best and most popular programs for those who have a keen interest in culture but don’t like the constraints at traditional concerts. There is no need to dress up, and these concerts won’t last for hours; instead, you can enjoy the friendly, relaxed atmosphere, made even more personable by Iván Fischer’s witty comments about the pieces being performed. A community event, a party instead of a party, a memorable experience – who said classical music was boring and rigid?
28 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Erika Illési
November
30 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Iván Fischer
February
22 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Erika Illési
21 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Iván Fischer
26 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Erika Illési
For almost a quarter of a century, the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s program series for children has brought a high-quality classical musical experience to the youngest. The orchestra’s rehearsal hall not only serves experimenting with the tiniest details of the symphonic pieces to be performed, or playing chamber music, but also as the venue for educating the next generation of classical music lovers. There is no better promotion of these events than the fact that several members of the BFO’s loyal audiences came to love music at these Cocoa Concerts, with a polka-dot mug in their hands. And nowadays, they bring their own kids. While listening to the performance of the orchestra’s excellent musicians in a cozy atmosphere, the audience will learn about the instruments of the symphony orchestra and concert etiquette in a playful and interactive manner. After the concert, the kids can have a mug of cocoa in the lobby. Since 2015, we have also offered an autism-friendly version of our Cocoa Concerts thanks to the contribution of Nemzetközi Cseperedő Alapítvány (an international foundation to support children and their families living with autism). In order to ensure that these children do not encounter anything unexpected during the concert, the BFO provides the families with some information material in advance to help them prepare the children for the visual and auditory stimuli.
For Ákos Ács, the clarinet is a female entity requiring due respect. It’s an acoustic paradox and also the instrument with the pitch range closest to the human voice. However, this singing sound is difficult to maintain when playing very softly in pianissimo. Still, the very best can achieve it.
When someone who has never heard classical music before is moved by a concert As the leader of the BFO’s synagogue concerts, Ákos finds that the important encounters are the ones when someone who has perhaps never listened to classical music before goes up to him to talk after a concert. Or when he is asked in a pub in the Balaton Uplands about the difference between an aria and a cavatina.
A fifty-six-day tour from Lugano to Bergen or playing for a new instrument For a musician to become exceptional requires immense investment. At secondary school, Ákos practiced, sometimes as much as eight hours, in the bathroom “as there was no other room available.” Later, he agreed to participate in a nearly two-month tour from Lugano to Bergen for the price of a new clarinet. A marathon effort, but he earned the money.
All That Jazz The great jazz clubs of New York are not just names for Ákos. He has been to Blue Note and Iridium, and heard what a bassoonist can do in Charles Mingus’s big band (and how the saxophonists eat him for breakfast). He chases after the sound of bygone instruments and the records of exceptional talents of past and present. He is finally getting used to “something playing inside all the time.”
Luganótól Bergenig fújni egy új hangszerért
" ÁCS
Mikor egy zsinagógakoncert megérint valakit, aki még sosem hallott komolyzenét.
"
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Beethoven, Glazunov
Ludwig van Beethoven
Trio for Piano, Flute and Cello in G major, WoO 37
Gabriella Pivon, flute
Péter Szabó, cello
István Lajkó, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven
Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major, Op. 16
Beáta Berta, oboe
Roland Csalló, clarinet
Dániel Tallián, bassoon
Dávid Bereczky, horn
Dávid Báll, piano
Alexander Glazunov
String Quintet in A major, Op. 39
János Pilz, violin
Gabriella Takácsné Nagy, violin
Ágnes Csoma, viola
György Kertész, cello
Orsolya Mód, cello
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Schumann, Rabl, Dvořák
Robert Schumann
Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80
Ágnes Biró, violin
Rita Sovány, cello
János Palojtay, piano
Walter Rabl
Quartet for Piano, Violin, Clarinet and Cello in E-flat major, Op. 1
Eszter Lesták Bedő, violin
Kousay Mahdi, cello
Rudolf Szitka, clarinet
Emese Mali, piano
Antonín Dvořák
Bagatelles, Op. 47
Antónia Bodó, violin
Noémi Molnár, violin
Gabriella Liptai, cello
Emese Mali, piano
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Kalivoda, Mozart, Bruckner
Jan Kalivoda
Introduction et grand polka
en forme de rondeau, Op. 196
Violetta Eckhardt, violin
Gyöngyvér Oláh, violin
Emese Mali, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Quartet No. 2
in E-flat major, K. 493
Mária Gál-Tamási, violin
Erika Illési, viola
György Kertész, cello
Dávid Báll, piano
Anton Bruckner
String Quintet in F major, WAB 112
Ágnes Biró, violin
Anikó Mózes, violin
Zoltán Tuska, viola
Ágnes Csoma, viola
Rita Sovány, cello
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Mozart, Khachaturian, Brahms
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Flute Quartet No. 3
in C major, K. 285b
Erika Illési, violin
Gábor Sipos, viola
Kousay Mahdi, cello
Anett Jóföldi, flute
Aram Khachaturian
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano
János Pilz, hegedű
Rudolf Szitka, klarinét
Emese Mali, zongora
Johannes Brahms
Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
Zsófia Lezsák, violin
Noémi Molnár, violin
Csaba Gálfi, viola
Lajos Dvorák, cello
Roland Csalló, clarinet
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Rameau, Franck, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Eychenne, Debussy
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Nouvelles suites de Pièces de clavecin (arranged by André Feydy)
Gergely Csikota, trumpet
Tamás Póti, trumpet
Zoltán Szőke, horn
Balázs Szakszon, trombone
József Bazsinka, tuba
César Franck
Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 (arranged by Attila Martos)
Péter Kostyál, violin
Emese Gulyás, violin
Zoltán Fekete, viola
Attila Martos, double bass
Gabriel Fauré
Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120
Bence Asztalos, violin
Péter Szabó, cello
Dávid Báll, piano
Camille Saint-Saëns
Fantaisie pour violon et harpe, Op. 124
Anikó Mózes, violin
Ágnes Polónyi, harp
Marc Eychenne
Cantilène et danse pour violon, saxophone et piano
István Kádár, violin
Levente Puskás, alto saxophone
Mukeda Narihito, piano
Claude Debussy
Première rhapsodie, L. 116 (arranged by Todd Palmer)
Gabriella Pivon, flute
Ákos Ács, clarinet
Violetta Eckhardt, violin
Balázs Bujtor, violin
Gábor Sipos, viola
Rita Sovány, cello
Károly Kaszás, double bass
Ágnes Polónyi, harp
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Veress, Pärt, Eötvös, J. Vajda, Antal, P. Tóth, Ligeti, Tüür, Connesson
Sándor Veress
Trio „3 quadri”
Tamás Major, violin
Péter Szabó, cello
István Lajkó, piano
Arvo Pärt
Mozart-Adagio
Roland Csalló, clarinet
Rita Sovány, cello
Emese Mali, piano
Péter Eötvös
Psy
Anett Jóföldi, alto flute, piccolo
Orsolya Mód, cello
András Szalai, cimbalom
János Vajda
String Quartet No. 6
Mária Gál-Tamási, violin
Antónia Bodó, violin
István Polónyi, viola
Gabriella Liptai, cello
Mária Antal
N-Harmony – Hope Above the Clouds
Ágnes Polónyi, harp
Gyöngyvér Oláh, violin
Emese Gulyás, violin
Erika Illési, viola
Gabriella Liptai, cello
Csaba Sipos, double bass
István Kurcsák, percussions
László Herboly, percussions
Boglárka Fábry, percussions
Péter Tóth
Villanella
Gergely Csikota, trumpet
Tamás Póti, trumpet
Zoltán Szőke, horn
Balázs Szakszon, trombone
József Bazsinka, tuba
György Ligeti
Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano
István Kádár, violin
Zoltán Szőke, horn
Péter Nagy, piano
Erkki-Sven Tüür
Architectonics I
Anett Jóföldi, flute
Beáta Berta, oboe
Roland Csalló, clarinet
Dániel Tallián, bassoon
Dávid Bereczky, horn
Guillaume Connesson
Techno-Parade
Gabriella Pivon, flute
Ákos Ács, clarinet
Emese Mali, piano
BFO Rehearsal Hall, 5:00 p.m.
Philidor, Bertali, Marini, Legrenzi, Keller, Leclair, Graupner, Schmelzer, Förtsch, Corbett
André Philidor
Concert donné à Louis XIII
en 1627 – excerpts
Péter Kostyál, Baroque violin
Emese Gulyás, Baroque violin
Zoltán Fekete, Baroque viola
Attila Martos, Baroque double bass
Gábor Tokodi, lute
Antonio Bertali
Ciaccona in C major
János Pilz, Baroque violin
Orsolya Mód, Baroque cello
Judit Varga, harpsichord
Biagio Marini
Scherzi e canzonette, Op. 5
– Natività di Christo;
Desio di sguardi
Adriána Kalafszky, soprano
Anneke Boeke, recorder
Eszter Lesták Bedő, Baroque violin
Zsófia Lezsák, Baroque violin
Kousay Mahdi, Baroque cello
Dóra Pétery, harpsichord
Giovanni Legrenzi
Trio Sonata "La Benaglia",
Op. 4, No. 3
Anneke Boeke, recorder
Eszter Lesták Bedő, Baroque violin
Kousay Mahdi, Baroque cello
Dóra Pétery, harpsichord
Gottfried Keller
Sonata No. 1 in D major
Fruzsina Hara, Baroque trumpet
Gyöngyvér Oláh, Baroque violin
Emese Gulyás, Baroque violin
Nikoletta Reinhardt, Baroque viola
György Kertész, Baroque cello
Csaba Sipos, Baroque double bass
Gábor Tokodi, lute
Dóra Pétery, harpsichord
Jean-Marie Leclair
Sonata for Two Violins in E minor, Op. 3, No. 5
Ágnes Biró, Baroque violin
Anikó Mózes, Baroque violin
Christoph Graupner
„Seufzt und weint, ihr matten
Augen” – aria, "Ach Gott und Herr" – choral from the cantata Ach Gott und Herr, GWV 1144/11
Adriána Kalafszky, soprano
Eszter Lesták Bedő, Baroque violin
Zsófia Lezsák, Baroque violin
Ágnes Csoma, Baroque viola
Kousay Mahdi, Baroque cello
Dóra Pétery, organ
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Sacro-profanus concentus
musicus – Trio sonata No. 13
Gyöngyvér Oláh, Baroque violin
Emese Gulyás, Baroque violin
György Kertész, Baroque cello
Ágnes Polónyi, arpa doppia
Dóra Pétery, organ
Johann Philipp Förtsch
„Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, Herr, zu dir" – cantata
Adriána Kalafszky, soprano
Gyöngyvér Oláh, Baroque violin
Rita Sovány, viola da gamba
Igor Davidovics, lute
Ágnes Polónyi, arpa doppia
Dóra Pétery, organ
William Corbett
Sonata in D major, Op. 3, No. 1
Fruzsina Hara, Baroque trumpet
Gyöngyvér Oláh, Baroque violin
Emese Gulyás, Baroque violin
Péter Szabó, Baroque cello
Csaba Sipos, Baroque double bass
Gábor Tokodi, lute
László Herboly, percussions
Dóra Pétery, harpsichord
vivace - lively and brisk
Her violin was produced in the workshop of master instrument maker Stefan-Peter Greiner.
Its beautifully full sound fills the concert hall; at home, two Russian Blue cats can hardly wait to hear the music it makes and, while Ági practices, to curl up in its case.
“As soon as we enter, we are met with applause.” She calls it a defining moment in her career when, as a first-year student of the Liszt Academy, Iván Fischer invited her for a trial performance with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The invitation was followed by hard work: with several others, she was given three months to study a comprehensive orchestral works, and then to prove herself in front of the entire BFO. In the years since then, she has experienced the joy of being met with applause the moment the orchestra enters the stage at countless venues - including at the Lincoln Center in New York, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg or the Philharmonie de Paris.
Everyone plays the violin She was born into a family of musicians: her first musical memory is of her father adjusting the needle on a record player before listening to a crackling rendition of Peer Gynt Suite. Her mother, who taught violin, would often take Ági as a preschooler along with her to the music school. It’s no wonder that she thought it only natural that all children learn to play the violin and then go on to become violinists.
Contemporary art and an antique treasure hunt Beauty is not only something to be heard. Ági has a certificate as an antique appraiser, and in her free time she often visits antique markets to search for attractive objectssometimes simply so they may find their rightful places as presents. Because of her friends, she is also at home in the world of contemporary creative art; and in her personal environment, she is surrounded by the richness of beauty spanning several centuries.
AMIKOR BELÉPÜNK, MÁR FOGAD
The color-coded dots indicate which season pass is valid for which concert.
Doráti
Solti Reiner Storytime with Iván Ormándy Fricsay
Kertész
Széll
08 Sunday 7:00 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos
Magee, Elbert, Staples, Fischer Reiner
10 Tuesday 7:00 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos
Magee, Elbert, Staples, Fischer
Doráti
11 Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos
Magee, Elbert, Staples, Fischer
Solti
20 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla, Liszt, Fischer, Dvořák
Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer Solti
21 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla, Liszt, Fischer, Dvořák
Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer
Doráti
22 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla, Liszt, Fischer, Dvořák
Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer Reiner Storytime with Iván
28 Saturday
2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Cocoa Concert Illési
29 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Sunday Chamber Music
05 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Mozart
Bereczky, Takács-Nagy Kertész
06 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Mozart
Bereczky, Takács-Nagy Fricsay
07 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Mozart
Bereczky, Takács-Nagy Ormándy
07 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Handel, Telemann, Gluck
Savall
Ormándy
08 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Handel, Telemann, Gluck
Savall
10 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Sunday Chamber Music
13 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms
Gerstein, Fischer Solti
14 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms
Gerstein, Fischer Doráti
16 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms
Gerstein, Fischer Reiner Storytime with Iván
16 Saturday 11:30 p.m.
Bálna Budapest
Midnight Music
Fischer
30 Saturday
2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Cocoa Concert
Fischer
01 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Back to Nature - Chamber Music on Period Instruments
08 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Sibelius, Beethoven, Lindberg
Piemontesi, Ticciati
Reiner
09 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Sibelius, Beethoven, Lindberg
Piemontesi, Ticciati
Doráti
10 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Sibelius, Beethoven, Lindberg
Piemontesi, Ticciati
Solti
13 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Mozart
Rusinek, Honeck
Ormándy
14 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Mozart
Rusinek, Honeck Kertész
15 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Mozart
Rusinek, Honeck
Fricsay
21 Saturday
2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Cocoa Concert
Fischer
26 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Budapest Congress Center
Surprise Concert
Fischer
05 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Sunday Chamber Music
09 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Weber, Mozart
Caputo, Takács-Nagy
Széll
10 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Weber, Mozart
Caputo, Takács-Nagy Ormándy
11 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, Weber, Mozart
Caputo, Takács-Nagy
Fricsay
17 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn, Mahler
Capuçon, Fischer Solti
18 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn, Mahler
Capuçon, Fischer Doráti Kertész
18 Saturday 11:30 p.m.
Castle Garden Bazaar
Midnight Music
Fischer
19 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn, Mahler
Capuçon, Fischer
Reiner Storytime with Iván
February
07 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Gibbons, Purcell, Lully, Corrette, Locke, Montéclair
True, Seiler, T’Hooft Ormándy Kertész
08 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Gibbons, Purcell, Lully, Corrette, Locke, Montéclair
True, Seiler, T’Hooft Fricsay
15 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček, Suk, Martinů
Mráček, Hrůša
Doráti
16 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček, Suk, Martinů
Mráček, Hrůša Reiner Széll
17 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček, Suk, Martinů
Mráček, Hrůša Solti
22 Saturday
2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Cocoa Concert
Illési
23 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Music of the Future –Contemporary Chamber Music
28 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Purcell, Françaix, Britten
Bogányi, Pilz
Ormándy
01 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Purcell, Françaix, Britten
Bogányi, Pilz Fricsay
04 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Budapest Music Center
Takemitsu, Tower, Gubaidulina, Ligeti, Cage, Connesson
16 Sunday 11:30 p.m.
Castle Garden Bazaar
Midnight Music
Fischer
17 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev Festival
Levit, Fischer
Doráti
18 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev Festival
Levit, Fischer Solti
19 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev Festival
Levit, Fischer Kertész Széll
06 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Sunday Chamber Music
14 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lalo, Berlioz
Dueñas, Orozco-Estrada
Doráti
15 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lalo, Berlioz
Dueñas, Orozco-Estrada
Solti
17 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lalo, Berlioz
Dueñas, Orozco-Estrada
Kertész
26 Saturday
2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Cocoa Concert
Illési
27 Sunday 5:00 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Sunday Chamber Music
06 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler
Karg, Richter, Hungarian National Choir, Fischer Doráti
07 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler
Karg, Richter, Hungarian National Choir, Fischer Solti Széll
08 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler
Karg, Richter, Hungarian National Choir, Fischer Storytime with Iván
03 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, C. P. E. Bach, Janáček
Hernán Benedí, Pilz Széll
04 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn, C. P. E. Bach, Janáček
Hernán Benedí, Pilz Ormándy
leggiero – lightly
She wanted a harp, which is a rarity. Harpists are special people: even their instrument case is the size of a person, and it always includes extra strings and a tuning key. She is very grateful that, thanks to donations from the BFO’s audiences, she will soon be strumming the strings of a new concert instrument, demonstrating the exceptional lightness she is known for.
“Our strength is that we play passionately and with deep emotions.” Professionalism often refines the music of an orchestra to the point where it seems sterile; this is why audiences appreciate it so much that the BFO is always willing to show the emotional depths of its music. Ági’s most memorable personal experience is when the orchestra was performing Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 at the Royal Albert Hall with Leonidas Kavakos, and she had the opportunity to play one of the world’s most challenging harp parts right next to the conductor’s podium, almost as though it was a chamber music session. Together with the exceptional soloist, they played to a rapt audience of five thousand people. She is overjoyed that the “world has grown up to Bartók’s music.”
Codebreaker, fairy tale bride, muse Her first musical memory is watching the television recording of a concert and being fascinated by the camera showing the conductor’s score. She knew then that someday she would break the secret code of all those dots and lines! It brings a smile to her face when she recalls that at a Music Castle performance, intended for children, she not only played the harp, but also got to don the role of a fairy tale bride –after the concert, a sweet and bright-eyed little boy even asked her to dance. She has also experienced what it is like to be a muse, since there is a harp concerto dedicated specifically to her. One of her big dreams is to be able to perform this piece for the BFO’s audience.
,,Erősségünk, hogy mély érzelmekkel, szenvedélyesen játszunk. ,,
POLÓNYI ÁGNES
BFZ. KIVÉTELESRE HANGOLVA.
MÚZSÁNAK
LENNI:
Kaptam már ajándékba hárfaversenyt.
,, ,,
A világ felnőtt BARTÓK
ZENÉJÉHEZ
In the past forty years, the BFO and its audience have grown into a large, ever-expanding, music-loving family. Together, we experience the strength of the unity created through the years. The objective of our ten-year-old 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.
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. Thirteen 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 Berettyóújfalu to Villány, and even to the tiny Transylvanian village of Kaplony.
Synagogue concerts
Since 2014, our Community Weeks have seen us perform 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 were once so typical of Hungary. Our concerts feature works by composers with Jewish ties, as well as klezmer tunes. As Iván Fischer said, “synagogues still stand in many villages and small towns that 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. The orchestra plays, and afterwards a rabbi speaks about how things used to be, about how cohabitation with the Jewish community once 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 concert series is a joint production by the BFO, the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation and the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities. Synagogue concerts are sponsored by the BFO’s platinum level benefactor, the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne.
Music Castle
“Where music and stories touch: that is where the Music Castle begins.” (Erika Illési, violinist)
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, as well as the elderly living in nursing homes. On these occasions, we bring with us the playful and interactive Music Castle program. We visit children who usually live under difficult circumstances and have often never even seen an instrument in real life, meaning they await the encounter with excitement and curiosity. Our job is to give them a lasting gift and to teach them how to experience the unity created through music. Previously, we have performed at venues such as SOS Children’s Villages, the Igazgyöngy Foundation in Told, the village of Cserdi in Baranya county and the International Pető Institute.
Golden Years
”It is a wonderful feeling to bring joy to elderly people with our music. We receive such incredibly sincere love and respect from them. This is an amazing source of strength for me.” (Lajos Dvorák, cellist)
We always find that residents of nursing homes receive our concerts with heartfelt affection. They treat these occasions as a celebration. They read up on the compositions, don their best clothes and listen to the performance with unwavering attention. We visit them in their homes so that we may share the joy of music directly, without obstacles, in their own environment.
accelerando – gradually getting faster
When a little boy’s father is actor István Bujtor, and has musicians Eszter Perényi for a mother and Miklós Perényi for an uncle, then he will be expected to do something remarkable. Balázs Bujtor doesn’t disappoint: he composed music at the age of five and started studying at the Liszt Academy when he was 13. Today, he plays in the BFO’s string section.
“The expectations are enormous and we are able to meet them wherever we perform.” Energies created by expectations on the stage at New York’s Lincoln Center or at the Tonhalle in Zurich do not turn into anxiety but are transformed into a positive force. As a member of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Balázs never feels like a “little Hungarian” in the greatest concert halls of the world. He is aware that once again, the orchestra must perform at an extraordinary level, and he knows that they will be up to it. Perhaps it is only at the Liszt Academy, where he feels awed. After all, he is at home there.
A concert the day after the funeral The day after his father’s funeral (István Bujtor, a well known actor and director), he was the concertmaster at a performance in Pécs. The orchestra played beautifully, but this time, the moving celebration at the end of the program meant something else. “That ovation was meant for him.”
Movie scores Balázs has composed film music and often plays in the soundtracks of American movies and series. He has toured with Morricone and recorded with Michel Legrand and Patrick Doyle. He has also some deep musical friendships in Hungary: he has performed with rock stars Charlie, Gábor Presser and Zorán, and recorded an album with Magdi Rúzsa. And when things need to speed up a bit, his old timer Zhiguli, a typical former police car, will also perform well.
BFZ. Kivételesre hangolva.
Bujtor Balázs
5 évesen zenét szerez,
13 évesen zeneakadémista
MOZIZENE:
Hegedülni hívta Morricone
és Patrick Doyle is
A név kötelez:
BUJTOR/PERÉNYI
Presale access to BFO single tickets
Personalized digital membership card
Name listed on the bfo.hu website
Exclusive invitiation to rehearsals
Community Week day trips
Drinks reception before the BFO's Christmas concert
The BFO’s electronic newsletter for Patrons
Invitation to the closed, Hungarian-language Facebook group of BFO Patrons
Discounts at the BFO’s partners
10 % discount in the BFO webshop
Priority booking for season passes
before general sale /
per membership)
Name listed in the BFO’s season brochure
Opportunities to meet our musicians at exclusive gatherings
Personal season pass or concert ticket booking by email
Opportunity to join the orchestra on international tours (includes discounted travel offers)
Fellow The Conductor's Circle
Invitation to Müpa Budapest’s VIP room during the intervals of certain concerts
Invitation to an exclusive dinner with music organized for the Benefactors
A BFO CD signed by Iván Fischer
Waiting list for fully booked concerts
Fellow
Discounts on services at Aria Hotel Budapest
Personal concert ticket bookings, season pass changes within the same concert block, concierge service
Invitation to the annual Benefactor+ event with music
Informal coffee and chat with the BFO’s musicians and staff before a concert (once a year)
Invitation to an exclusive reception of the BFO
Invitation to an after-concert champagne reception with the Music Director (events per year) 1 2
The BFO reserves the right to make occasional changes to or cancel specific club membership benefits. Due to circumstances beyond the BFO’s control, the full range of club membership benefits may not be available at some performances.
BFO Patrons In addition to world-class musical experiences, our patrons can enjoy a wide range of benefits including season pass early purchase, visits to open rehearsals, club events and excursions, private dinners and gatherings, participation in tours, meeting our musicians and Iván Fischer in person, and VIP services. Become a member of the BFO’s happy family!
For more information, please contact Zsuzsanna Deák at: tamogatoiklub@bfz.hu, or visit www.bfz.hu/en/support-us/bfo-patrons/.
Annual membership fees:
Fellow: 18,000 HUF
Patrons: bronze 35,000 HUF silver 70,000 HUF gold 140,000 HUF
Benefactors: bronze 200,000 HUF silver 400,000 HUF gold 800,000 HUF
The Conductor’s Circle: bronze 1,800,000 HUF silver 3,500,000 HUF gold 7,000,000 HUF
Let us introduce the ambassadors of BFO Patrons, our loyal friends, who have not only been supporting the Budapest Festival Orchestra for several years but are also committed to help us with their expertise and advice.
As Iván Fischer puts it, BFO Patrons are the happiest family in Hungary. Our ambassadors are dedicated to extending the circle of BFO Patrons continuously and offering them fascinating events and musical programs. They help BFO Patrons to get to know each other while representing our orchestra all over the world.
You will surely find some friends among other Patrons. Come and join BFO Patrons and be a member of this happy family, enjoying the benefits provided, from early-bird offers, to concert intervals spent in the VIP room, to joining tours and exclusive events.
I don't think I've ever felt the Budapest Festival Orchestra's mission to be as important and worthy of support as I do today. At a time when wars, racism and barbarism are spreading, it is crucial to have institutions that keep Hungarian and European high culture alive. The BFO has been championing this cause since it was established, with its moving and beautiful concerts and diverse educational programs both at home and around the world. I am proud to be their ambassador. Andrea Rényi
What does the BFO mean to me? The most memorable concerts, catharsis and humor, musical discoveries, fabulous cities, beautiful concert halls, joint celebrations, great company, and friends. It’s great to belong here, and now we even have an award confirming that this is one of the best clubs in the world! Miklós Marschall
I admire the Budapest Festival Orchestra since they not only regularly stun audiences in the concert halls, but, through their world-class performances and programs, also manage to bring classical music to as wide an audience as possible, across different generations. And they do all this without compromises, bringing joy and unforgettable experiences to a huge number of people in Hungary and all over the world.
Andrea DénesMusic is playing a game, and playing will only be good if everybody can participate. The BFO understands this perfectly and tries to bring music to every corner of the country. As a supporter, I am delighted and proud that the Budapest Festival Orchestra has invited us young people to be part of the game, no matter where we come from.
Gábor MogyorósTwenty-five years ago, we went to a Cocoa Concert with my husband and older son. Whenever it comes to Iván Fischer and the orchestra, my husband will still mention the flageolet, which Iván explained to kindergarten-aged children, the concertgoers of the future, with his subtle humor, but in a very serious manner. I think one of the most important and successful missions of the orchestra has been inspiring new generations to enjoy music. That’s one of the reasons why I gladly support the BFO.
Csilla MartinGold
Sylvia Tóth
Yosef Salamon
Walter Katalin and Cornelius Walter
Silver
bpv Jádi Attorneys at Law
Alan Gemes
Bernhard Hulla
Illés Gábor
Kiss Viktor dr. Máté-Tóth István
Simor András
Szecskay Law Firm
Vámos György dr.
Bronze
Bojár Gábor and wife, Zanker Zsuzsanna dr. Élő Nóra
Göczőné Magyar Andrea and Göcző József
Gold benefactors
Bottka Erzsébet dr. and Feldmájer Péter dr.
םהרבא ןב קחצי רזעילא
Eliason Maria and and James
Hermann Kamilla
Juhász Zoltán instrument maker
Nicholas Kabcenell and Gudor Orsolya
Dale A. Martin and Martin Csilla
Meinczinger-Krug Zsuzsanna and Krug Armin
Mosonyi Ágnes
Oszkai Rita
Rényi Andrea and Straub Elek
Szelényi Iván
Silver benefactors
Arriba Taquería
Balázs Árpád and Dénes Andrea
Barna Judit dr.
Bihary Balassa Law Firm
Bíró Ágnes
Bognár Péter – Vaya Travel Kft.
Bródy Péter dr. and Ildikó
Csépe Valéria dr.
Csík Gabriella dr. and
Hudecz Ferenc dr.
Egervári Gábor dr.
John Farago
Garai Ferenc and Kárpát Krisztina
Greenwell Zsuzsanna and Rod
György Pál dr. and Simon Ágnes
Istenesné Solti Andrea
Kalmár György
Király Júlia
Köves Ildikó and Sparing László
Lányi Zoltán dr., lawyer
Lengyel Péter
Marschall Miklós
Mészáros János and Mészárosné dr.
Bende Hedvig Mária
Mogyorós Gábor
Nyitrai István
Oszkó-Jakab Natália and Oszkó Péter
Simon Tibor
Sólyom Éva dr.
Surányi Sándor and Sándorné
Szauer Péter
David and Petra Thompson
Varga Júlia
Varsányi Katalin and Pál
Zsámboki Gabriella dr. and 2 anonymous patrons
Bronze benefactors
Bach György
Bacher Gusztáv
Bakró-Nagy Marianne
Berger Györgyné
Boros István
Burger-Balogh Ingeborg and Balogh Tibor
Karen M. Culver
Dögei Anna
Esztervári Adrienn
Gerő Katalin dr.
Göncz Kinga and Benedek László dr.
György István
Hanák Gábor
Hancz László and Mester Éva
Holéci József
Horváth Jánosné dr. and Fekete István
Jalsovszky Pál dr.
Kelemenné dr. Visky Katalin
Kertész Gabriella dr., notary
Király Éva
Kobela Mihály and Balogh Anikó
Kósa András
Kószó József – 4D Építész Stúdió
Kökény Mihály dr. and Stiller Mária
Lantos István dr. László András, Professional Orvosi Kft.
Leposa Csilla and Székely Zoltán
Madách Zsuzsánna
Mártonfi Attila
Márványi Katalin
Milottáné dr. Lázár Judit
Molnár Erzsébet Katalin
Molnár Gábor dr.
Poremba Andrea
Romsics Viktor
Sáfár László dr.
SBGK Law Firm,
Szamosi Katalin dr.
Soltész + Soltész Kft.
Szántó Csaba
Szarvas László – Dundus 2001 Kft.
Szegvári Mária dr.
Székely Éva and Balázs Lajos
Székely Zsófia
Tárnok Gyöngyi
Tokaji Nagy Erzsébet
Tóth Gábor
Török Ilona
Török Zoltán dr.
Vihar Judit dr.
Votin Elek
Zsidai Ilona and 1 anonymous patron
Gold supporters
Bánáti Mária
Batta Mária
Bittner Péterné
Csillag György dr.
Eisler Péter dr.
Falus András dr.
Felkai Tamás
Gala Tours
Garics Zoltánné
Herczeg Ferenc
Hollós Sándor dr.
Hőnig Gábor
Juvancz Beáta
Kádi Anna
Kertész Zsuzsanna dr.
Kraici Márton and Kraiciné dr. Szokoly Mária
Lantos Mihály and Berkes Zsuzsanna dr. Liliom Károly
Mosonyi Annamária dr. Németvölgyi Ágnes
Paksy László dr. Pálfia Judit dr.
Pirityi Katalin
Prodán János
Sápi Lajos
Somogyi Éva and Horváth László
Spohn Ferenc
Szabados Igor
Szabolcsi Anna
Szabó–Szomor Law Firm
Szever Zsuzsanna dr. and Dalos Mihály
Szigeti Éva dr.
Szilbereky Éva
Vajda János and Radnai Mónika
Várkonyi Vera dr. and 3 anonymous patrons
Silver supporters
Agócs Ágnes
Alföldi István
Ambrus Ágnes dr.
Bálint Péter
Barczikay László
Barsi Gusztáv dr.
Barta Éva
Bende Zoltán
Benedek János
Bertalan Éva dr.
Böszörményi Katalin dr.
Csanádi Judit
Csernay László dr.
Deák Ágnes
Dezsényi Péter
Drexler Miklós
Farkas Ágnes
Farkas Gábor
Feldmájer Ágnes and Sándor
Flohr János
Fortelka Zsuzsanna
Frank Éva
Füredi Gábor
Gács Gábor
Galambos Ágnes
Gálosi György
Gálosi Juli – Géta Center Kft.
Garai Anikó
Gordon Pál
Halász Anna
Halász Gábor dr.
Hammersberg Elemér dr.
Hegyes Erzsébet dr. and Szolnoki Gábor
Horváth Dávid
Horváth László
Jáger Gyula
Jenei Gábor
Jenes Katalin
Jurák Eszter
Kabódi Erzsébet
Kabódi Ferenc
Kabódi Mátyás
Keviczky László
Kis Ádám
Klinga Ágnes
Kovács Péter dr.
Kőszegi László
Lázár József
Lebhardt Imre and Zsuzsa
Lövenberg Gábor and Radó Julianna dr.
Magyarosy Edina
Makai Katalin dr. and Ungár János
Markovich György dr.
Matskási István dr.
Medveczky Emőke
Menczel Péter
Ottó Mária
Pál Benedek
Patkós Katalin
Patyánik Mihály dr.
Péley Bernadette dr. and K. Németh Margit
Pelle Gáborné
Petur Márta
Rákosi Csilla
Révai Péter dr.
R. Fehér Gabriella
Rigó Tibor
Rimanóczy Zoltán
Rónai Tiborné
Schaffler György
Sik Endre and the grandchildren
Sitkei Éva dr.
Sivó Róbert
Soltész Anikó dr.
Solti Gábor
Steiner László and Zsuzsa
Szabó Klári
Szabó Rita dr.
Szent-Martoni Mária
Tihanyi Ferenc
Timmermann Péter
Tolcsvai Rózsa
Torma Kálmán
Tóth Anikó dr.
Tóth Katalin
Tóth Kinga
Tóth Mihály and wife
Valis Éva Márta
Váradi János
Varga Péter
Vassné Mátyók Tinka
Zachár Zsófia
Zeidler Gerdné and 8 anonymous patrons
Alaxai Rózsa
Alba Mesulam
Alföldy Zoltánné
Almási József dr.
Almási Józsefné dr.
Andrási Andor
Apáthy István
Bálint Ferencné
Banai Endréné dr.
Baranyi Éva dr.
Benedek Andor
Benedek Judit
Bérczi Gábor
Berényi Gábor and Pető Katalin dr.
Biksz Péter
Bogdán Istvánné
Bognár Béla dr.
Bölöni Eszter
Bumberák József dr.
Csák Gábor
Csillag Beáta
Csuhai Csinos Klára
Danziger György dr.
Deák János
Ditrói Márta
Dobos Erika
Doleschall György and Szabó Katalin
Dósai Tamara
Ehardt György
Erdős Erzsébet dr.
Fáberné Fejes Katalin and Fáber András
Feldmájer Máté and Bán Petra
Félegyházi Pál
Félix László
Földényi Éva
Földes Iván dr. and Zsuzsa
Gadzsokova Kraszimira
Gallasz József
Gál Nóra dr.
Genti György dr.
Gerő Judit
Gervai Judit dr.
Gidáli Júlia
Gottgeisl Rita
Greiner Ákos
Guti Péter
Gyarmati Béla
Győri Anna
Gyulai András
Halász Péterné
Halmos Judit and Magyar Mihály
Hárdi Lilla dr.
Havas István dr.
Hegedűs Andrásné
Hegyközi Ilona
Heller Judit
Horváth István dr.
Hunya Gábor
Inkei Péter
Jankó Béla
Jászberényi Hanna
Kálmán Zsuzsanna
Kappelné Haraszty Noémi and Kozmer Margit
Kárpáti Margit
Kelemen Zsolt
Kerekes Ilona
Kerékgyártó Kálmán
Keve Károly
Kiss Erzsébet
Kiss Mariann
Klaniczay Gábor
Kocsány János
Komáromy Péter dr. and Pollák Katalin dr.
Kondor András
Kónya Katalin dr.
Korodi Mihály and Magyar Zsuzsanna
Kósa János
Kósa Judit
Kovács Zsuzsanna
Kressinszky Katalin
Kriston József dr.
Ladányi Viktória
Láner Judit
Lantos Gáborné dr.
László Attila
László Enikő
Lendvayné Győrik Gabriella
Lichtmann Tamás dr.
Lőrincz Andrea
Maár Judit dr. and Krokovay Zsolt dr.
Malatinszky István
Mandl Józsefné
Máté András
Meitner Tamás
Mezei Katalin
Mohácsi Endréné
Molnár Csaba
Molnár Gáborné
Nagy Boldizsár
Nagy István
Nagy Judit
Nagy Károly dr.
Nagy Marianna
Németh Zsófia
Neulaender Márta
Nyárádiné dr. Szabady Judit
Orosz Csaba
Őr Mária
Pallag Tibor
Pálné Kutasi Éva and
Banász Andrásné
Palotai Valéria
Pankotai Csaba
Pankotainé Lux Margit
Pável Iván dr.
Pavluska Valéria dr.
Péter József
Petrucz György
Pintér Zsuzsánna
Pusztai Éva and Andrási Andor
Rácz Zsuzsanna
Rádai Péter
Ráduly-Kiss Sarolta Ilona
Ratkó Ilona
Rázga Bozsena
Reich Tamás, Cash Back Hungary Kft.
Révész Gábor
Rudas Jánosné
Rutkai Ágnes
Sáfár Judit
Sárdi Katalin
Sikóné dr. Horváth Ágnes
Soltész András
Solti series Circle of Friends (B. Nagy Anikó, Barna Imre, Csanádi Mária, Halmos Károly, Hárs Ágnes, Laki Mihály, Sántha Veronika, Sáska Géza, Vági Eszter, Wollák Katalin)
Spiegel Marianna
Szabó Márta
Szabóné Farkas Anikó and Vértesné Bachler Ottília
Szabó Piroska dr. and Oláh Ruben dr.
Szegedi Ildikó
Szekeres Sándorné
Szentesi Péter dr.
Szilágyi Péter
Szőke Helga and András
Szőnyi Péter and Szőnyi Péterné
Szőnyi Péterné dr.
Szörcsei Zsuzsa
Sztrinkai László dr.
Theatrum Mundi Irodalmi and Színházi Ügynökség
Ujvári Tibor
Ungár Péter
Vajda Julianna dr.
Varga Pál
Varga Veronika
Várkonyi Lili
Várnai Magdolna and Kajtár István dr.
Varsányi Gyula
Vas László
Végh András
Végh Anna
Veress Mariann
Vicsi Klára
Vidák Jánosné
Vilinovszki Róbert
Volenszky Paula
Wéber László and Arányi Zsuzsanna dr.
Widder Gábor
Wildmoser Zsófia
Zelczerné Déri Erzsébet and 40 anonymous patrons
Common causes Our community and youth programs are free of charge, to ensure that even those who cannot make it to the concert halls can enjoy them. Our patrons’ donations are essential for our mission – thanks to them, we bring the magic of music to thousands of people each year. If supporting Hungarian culture and community initiatives lies close to your heart, please donate to help the BFO’s operations!
Support the BFO by donating 1 % of your tax. It is the mission of our globally unrivalled musical education program to make listening to and playing music accessible to all young people. Donations received through 1 % income tax contributions this year will go toward implementing our musical education programs. The Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation’s tax number is 18005488-2-41.
Transcendental music Leave a legacy! The Budapest Festival Orchestra is the orchestra of the future. By including our orchestra in your will, you can ensure the survival of classical music and the BFO for the next generations. With your responsible and generous help, we can improve our musical, education and training programs and build the future together.
If you have any questions, please contact our colleague, Zsuzsanna Deák, directly at the following email address: tamogatoiklub@bfz.hu.
“Why did I include the Budapest Festival Orchestra in my will? It’s simple: I have no official heir or family. I was wondering what should happen to what I leave behind. It’s not a fortune, though. What has brought me so much joy in my old age and occasional loneliness? Classical music. It has helped me through hard times and always touched my soul. So eventually, the only thing that came into my mind was my favorite orchestra,” our testator wrote.
The Budapest Festival Orchestra Fundraising Ball is one of the most festive events of the concert season, where we can spend an evening of music, dancing and uplifting experiences together with our friends and supporters. Iván Fischer will be the host for the event, while the BFO’s innovative ensembles will guarantee a boisterous party atmosphere. Come and join us, not only for a fantastic evening, but also to support Hungary’s cultural advancement. If you would like to attend the ball, please visit www.bfo.hu or contact Zsuzsanna Deák (tamogatoiklub@bfz.hu, +36 1 882 7671). Our next ball takes place on February 8, 2025.
“Listening to music helps us briefly to forget the pain, to relax and overcome difficulties; it heals and inspires. Music turns an ordinary day into a celebration: it represents joy, recreation and me-time in today's hectic world.
The BFO’s mission is to ensure that as many people as possible can experience this feeling, regardless of their place of residence or financial situation, education or age. It is to advance this mission that we ask guests participating at our fundraising ball for their support; in exchange, we invite them to experience a magical, unique and memorable evening of special events.”
Orsolya Erdődy, Managing Director of the BFO“The desire to belong somewhere has never been as strong as these days. A milieu, a bunch of people, similar values and ideas, to be understood by others. This is exactly what this orchestra, this ball, this auction offers –and that’s why I love them, too.”
Nóra Winkler, Partner of the BFO’s charity auctions
photo: Lili Chripkó
Gergely Csikota was recently invited by the maker of his instrument to join the small group of its supported artists – an exceptional professional honor. Despite his young age, he has performed regularly in three of the world’s ten best orchestras and is a member of one of them. His instrument case is adorned with one single personal item: a woven plait from his grandmother, serving as a good-luck charm.
“With Iván, we perform the best pieces on the best stages.” On the world’s largest stages, the BFO’s musicians do not simply become more than themselves. They show themselves to be parts of a whole which is not just large, but tremendous. If they are performing a piece which is particularly dear to him personally, Gergő is still moved by the power of their own playing.
Touring at the age of three? His parents established a music school and a youth wind orchestra; Gergő grew up on tours and traveled the world literally sitting on the shoulders of musicians. He can’t keep track of how many kilometers he travels with the BFO each year, but he feels there is no HBO show he has not seen while in flight. Twice, in fact!
A trumpet player spends his entire life preparing for Mahler’s Fifth In the new season, Gergő will arrive at this milestone. It will be a challenge, a real test, but also a dream of his that will finally be fulfilled. That said, he has always been an omnivore when it comes to music: today, he listens to melodic lo-fi hip-hop in the car. Despite being very busy, he remains fascinated by pop culture and in the past has enjoyed taking part in pop music projects. “If you can make it to the end of Angry Birds 2, you’ll get my part as your reward!”
A világ 10 legjobb zenekarából
3-ban
már fellépett
Ivánnal a legjobb darabokat játsszuk a legjobb színpadokon
3 éves korától
Since more and more companies are discovering the values they share with the BFO, we are transforming our corporate partnership program into a platform: a virtual and real-world meeting place.
Those joining us may find a path to an old and a new culture of recreation, the everyday celebrations of concerts, the emotionally liberating power of music and audiences united in rapt attention.
We are offering the opportunity to share these rediscovered experiences, not only with us and amongst yourselves, but also with your own business partners.
As responsible managers, our partners have the opportunity to obtain a behind-the-scenes look at a machine that is, and has been, capable of delivering world-class results week after week. For more than forty years. The success of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, forged in Hungary, is also an achievement of its exceptional community of corporate supporters. There is no better reason for pride than our loyal partnership commitment.
We hope to welcome you as one of our corporate partners: be a key part of the season and our international success! If your company aims at outstanding quality and constant renewal, and openness and social sensitivity are also crucial then we share the same values. So why not share some common goals, too?
The AutoWallis Group, as a market-leading automobile retailer and provider of mobility solutions in Central and Eastern Europe, and a dedicated supporter of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, believes in the importance of representing the orchestra’s values domestically and abroad. We offer our congratulations for the BFO’s achievements to date and are proud to accompany the orchestra on its continuing path to further successes.
Gábor Ormosy, CEO, AutoWallis
Az AutoWallis Csoport, mint a Budapesti Fesztiválzenekar elkötelezett támogatója, büszke az együttes hazai és nemzetközi sikereire.
With our corporate partner program, the BFO’s global and Hungarian partners can establish new business relationships, utilize unique and personally-tailored marketing tools to boost their brands, and share in the joy and catharsis offered by our concerts, including the opportunity to motivate their employees and clients. By helping maintain our community programs in the long-term, they can join a range of companies contributing to social well-being.
Corporate social responsibility Thanks to corporate donations, we bring the joy of music to thousands of people around the country and help introduce children to music. Our community programs and musical education programs can be incorporated into corporate social responsibility initiatives, helping us build a future together, in which classical music is accessible to all.
How to donate? We welcome donations of money, products or services to support our operations. For support provided on the basis of a one-time donation agreement, the donor company could reduce its corporate tax base by 20 percent of the amount of the donation; for support provided under a long-term (min. 4 years) donation agreement, the company could reduce its corporate tax base by 40 percent of the donation.
In its 40 years of existence, the BFO has achieved the dream of every corporate manager: to create something lasting and to undergo continuous renewal. Just as their musicians do, we, members of the audience, also dress in our best clothes in eager anticipation of each concert. The orchestra is tuning up, while we in the foyer become in tune with one another. After the standing ovation rewarding yet another brilliant concert, life goes on a little differently. With inspiration. With creativity. With passion. With energy. I believe that, the following day, our own team is more likely to create something lasting.
Zoltán Gazsi, Managing Director, Eisberg – the BFO’s corporate ambassador
Increasing brand recognition and prestige Become a sponsor of your particular type of BFO concert, as part of a year-long comprehensive marketing collaboration program tailored to your company’s goals!
Brand placement, advertising, product placement You have the option, among other possibilities, to place advertisements or present your brand in our online and print publications; we also offer online communications collaboration options on our social media platforms.
Boosting employee commitment We offer our partners opportunities to visit rehearsals, unforgettable concert experiences, gift certificates, backstage visits, and exclusive receptions at our concerts.
Client management, networking Add exclusive musical experiences to your company’s VIP events or business receptions, or book a dedicated table for your company at our annual fundraising ball.
To learn more about current placement opportunities, or to support the Festival Orchestra with a donation, please reach out to BFO corporate relations manager Zselyke Tófalvi by calling +36 20 285 7813 or at the email address zselyke.tofalvi@bfz.hu.
The operations of an orchestra, to me, are about diversity: bringing string, wind and percussion instruments together, in tune, is as if the conductor were directing a big corporation. It is almost this same kind of energy and this same drive for excellence that we share in our collaboration with our own colleagues. We often think of creativity as some sort of God-given gift – not something that can be described; it just happens. The reality is that it is primarily the result of years of learning. It is in this aspect of development that we are touched by the atmosphere surrounding the BFO and the creativity the orchestra represents. There is tremendous value in seeing this up close.
Anita Simon, Deputy CEO, AlteoThank you for your support!
The financial stability of the BFO is guaranteed by the Hungarian Government and the Municipality of Budapest
Principal partners
Strategic partners
Supporting partners
Event partners
Media partners
Visit the BFO webshop to surround yourself with the atmosphere of your favorite orchestra outside our concerts. bfz.shop.hu
Flask with cheerful instruments
Small notebook with instrument
Fanni Király for BFO: Small dot necklace
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Musical cookie cutters
Coffee cup with Mahler’s silhouette
Magyarul. Érted.
sorozatok, amik a mi életünkről szólnak
He first encountered music in Transylvania, awed by the Gypsy violin virtuosos of the Nyárád area; he received his first “tiny violin” at the age of three. His instrument case is a shrine of sorts, home even to the old program booklets of some of the BFO’s Cocoa Concerts. For him, music is posture and a way of life. In the quiet minutes preceding a concert, he thinks of his grandfather, a cantor and teacher, who once played first violin at the school in Nagyenyed.
“As a child, I played for Ivry Gitlis at the Grand Hotel. For five hours!” When the Israeli violin virtuoso was performing in Târgu Mureș, he intervened for István, ten at the time, to be allowed into the Grand Hotel (at the time, it was unheard of in Romania for mere mortals to set foot in the building). Gitlis listened to and instructed the talented boy from early afternoon until evening. Fate set István on a long journey from this tiny village: today, traveling on tour, he circles the Earth one and a half times each year by airplane.
What is a good sound like? István’s hobby is his instrument workshop: he collects, repairs and restores old violins. He knows that the sound of a real violin is heard not at the ear: the maker’s skill becomes apparent in the concert hall. He chooses an instrument based on the music he is playing, and he patiently looks for the secret to a good sound in any country he travels to.
From the dance cycle from Szék to Zoltán Kovács The area of the Mezőség is one of the centers of his musical world; the original sources of folk music are his masters. His dreams as a performer do also include contemporary pieces, however. He did well recently in the Sándor Végh Competition, the internal competition for the BFO’s soloists; in the new season, he will thus perform Violin Concerto No. 2 by the important contemporary composer Zoltán Kovács. Because even a violinist’s career is richer if there is more than one time signature to keep to.
BFZ. Kivételesre hangolva.
Gyerekként
IVRY GITLISNEK játszottam A GRAND HOTELBEN.
,, ,,
ÓRÁN ÁT. ÖT
KICSI HEGEDŰ: ámult a Nyárád-menti prímásokon
KÁDÁR ISTVÁN A KORTÁRS KOVÁCS ZOLTÁNIG
Széki táncrendtől
We are introducng dynamic pricing from the 2024 –25 season.
Dynamic, or demand-based pricing is a sophisticated pricing process where the price of an event is determined by demand and supply, and therefore, prices may go up and down from time to time. Dynamic pricing may also result in varying ticket prices for different dates of a given program. The current ticket prices of the concerts are always the same at the ticket vendors and on the online platforms, however, in the case of online purchases, the price of a ticket already in your basket will not change.
Dynamic pricing will not affect the price of season passes. Discounts on flexible season passes will be calculated based on fixed ticket prices until July 31, 2024. Visit bfo.hu for more information on dynamic pricing.
Visit the website bfo.hu or contact us by email at rendeles@bfz.hu to learn about the launch of season pass and single ticket sales. BFO Patrons have the option of purchasing tickets early.
Season passes and tickets for the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s events may be purchased through our website bfo.hu by bank card or SZÉP card. There is no handling fee for online purchases.
When purchasing your season pass or ticket online, you will receive an e-season pass or e-ticket (in PDF format). E-season passes are fully valid electronic season passes that give you access to all the performances included in your season pass. E-tickets are fully valid electronic tickets.
We recommend registering on the bfo.hu website, logging into your account prior to making a purchase, and managing your season passes or concert tickets there. In your account, you can view your tickets for the season, and you don’t need to worry about looking for or downloading attachments sent by email.
If you would like to exchange your electronic pass for a paper pass, please inform us at the email address rendeles@bfz.hu. You may also make the same request in person at the BFO ticket office by August 31, 2024.
BFO ticket office
1036 Budapest, Nagyszombat u.1.
In-person purchases and pick-up of orders:
Mon 10:00 – 2:00 p.m., Tue 10:00 – 4:00 p.m., Wed 10:00 – 2:00 p.m., Thu 10:00 – 2:00 p.m., Fri 10:00 – 2:00 p.m.
We accept cash, credit/debit card, SZÉP card and OTP Cafeteria Card.
Season passes and concert tickets can also be purchased through the nationwide network of Interticket offices and from the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s special vendors at:
• Rózsavölgyi Szalon Arts & Café
1052 Budapest, Szervita tér 5., phone +36 1 266 8337
• Müpa Budapest ticket office
1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1., phone +36 1 555 3300
• Liszt Academy ticket office
1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 8., phone +36 1 321 0690
Flexible season pass When single tickets go on sale, you may also buy flexible season passes, allowing you to choose the 5 to 10 symphonic performances you want to see. Included is a discount of 15–20% compared to the price of single tickets. The discount is applied when purchasing your tickets in the same transaction.
Guests in wheelchairs Subject to the availability of seats, visitors in wheelchairs may request a free ticket by sending an email to rendeles@bfz.hu. Companions are entitled to a 50 % discount.
Payment by installments You may purchase your season passes in two installments; in this case, a handling fee of 5 % of the total sales price will be charged. You will receive your season pass upon payment of the second installment. The deadline for making the payment is August 31, 2024. Payment by installments may only be requested in person at the BFO’s office.
Fricsay family season pass Purchase a Fricsay season pass and children will receive 50 % off. The discount is only available on season pass purchases for two adults and at least one child. To receive the discount, please visit the BFO’s offices and present the child(ren)’s ID card(s).
Gift card
Our orchestra offers gift cards in values of HUF 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000, which make a perfect present for any occasion. Gift cards may be used to purchase Budapest Festival Orchestra season passes and tickets for any concert, up to the value indicated on the card and remain valid for 365 days from the date of purchase. The gift cards purchased online or at our ticket office may be used for purchases online or in person at the BFO ticket office. The cards may only be paid for in cash or by bank card; however, if the price of the season pass or ticket selected exceeds the value available on the gift card upon redeeming it, the difference may be settled in cash, by bank card or by SZÉP card as well.
Includes all performances at Müpa Budapest
September 10 Tuesday 7:00 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
9 concerts + bonus concert:
A concert of the Sunday Chamber Music series; or Back to Nature –Chamber Music on Period Instruments; or Music of the Future – Contemporary Chamber Music; or contemporary concert at BMC
PRICES
I. category: HUF 142,000
II category: HUF 100,000
III. category: HUF 92,000
IV. category: HUF 65,000
V. category: HUF 53,000
VI. category: HUF 34,000
R. Strauss: Le bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman) – suite, Op. 60-IIIa; Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60 Magee, Elbert, Staples, Fischer
September 21 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla: Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera La vida breve (Life Is Short), G. 35/39
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4 in D minor, S. 359/4
Fischer: Dance Suite for Violin and Orchestra, in memoriam J. S. Bach
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer
November 14 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15; Hungarian Dance No. 11; Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 Gerstein, Fischer
December 09 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Sibelius: King Christian II — suite, Op. 27
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Lindberg: Chorale
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 Piemontesi, Ticciati
January 18 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Capuçon, Fischer
February 15 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen – suite (transcription by Jakub Hrůša)
Suk: Fantasy in G minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
Martinů: Symphony No. 1, H. 289
Mráček, Hrůša
March 17 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10; Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55; Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100 Levit, Fischer
April 14 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Castelnuovo-Tedesco:
Overture for Julius Caesar, Op. 78
Lalo: Spanish Symphony, Op. 21
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Dueñas, Orozco-Estrada
May 06 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”)
Karg, Richter, Hungarian National Choir, Fischer
Includes all performances at Müpa Budapest
September 11 Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
9 concerts + bonus concert:
A concert of the Sunday Chamber Music series; or Back to Nature –Chamber Music on Period Instruments; or Music of the Future – Contemporary Chamber Music; or contemporary concert at BMC
PRICES
I. category: HUF 142,000
II category: HUF 100,000
III. category: HUF 92,000
IV. category: HUF 65,000
V. category: HUF 53,000
VI. category: HUF 34,000
R. Strauss: Le bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman) – suite, Op. 60-IIIa; Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60 Magee, Elbert, Staples, Fischer
September 20 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla: Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera La vida breve (Life Is Short), G. 35/39
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4 in D minor, S. 359/4
Fischer: Dance Suite for Violin and Orchestra, in memoriam J. S. Bach
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer
November 13 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15; Hungarian Dance No. 11; Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 Gerstein, Fischer
December 10 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Sibelius: King Christian II — suite, Op. 27
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Lindberg: Chorale
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 Piemontesi, Ticciati
January 17 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Capuçon, Fischer
February 17 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen – suite (transcription by Jakub Hrůša)
Suk: Fantasy in G minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
Martinů: Symphony No. 1, H. 289
Mráček, Hrůša
March 18 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34 bis; Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26; Cinderella – suite
Levit, Fischer
April 15 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Castelnuovo-Tedesco:
Overture for Julius Caesar, Op. 78
Lalo: Spanish Symphony, Op. 21
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Dueñas, Orozco-Estrada
May 07 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”)
Karg, Richter, Hungarian National Choir, Fischer
Performances only at Müpa Budapest
6 concerts + bonus concert:
A concert of the Sunday Chamber Music series; or Back to Nature –Chamber Music on Period Instruments; or Music of the Future – Contemporary Chamber Music; or contemporary concert at BMC
PRICES
I. category: HUF 96,000
II category: HUF 68,000
III. category: HUF 62,000
IV. category: HUF 45,000
V. category: HUF 37,000
VI. category: HUF 24,000
September 08 Sunday 7:00 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
R. Strauss: Le bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman) – suite, Op. 60-IIIa; Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60 Magee, Elbert, Staples, Fischer
September 22 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla: Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera La vida breve (Life Is Short), G. 35/39
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4 in D minor, S. 359/4
Fischer: Dance Suite for Violin and Orchestra, in memoriam J. S. Bach
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer
November 16 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15; Hungarian Dance No. 11; Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 Gerstein, Fischer
December 08 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Sibelius: King Christian II — suite, Op. 27
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Lindberg: Chorale
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 Piemontesi, Ticciati
January 19 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Capuçon, Fischer
February 16 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen – suite (transcription by Jakub Hrůša)
Suk: Fantasy in G minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
Martinů: Symphony No. 1, H. 289
Mráček, Hrůša
Performances only at Müpa Budapest
PRICES
I. category: HUF 81,600
II. category: HUF 57,200
III. category: HUF 52,000
IV. category: HUF 36,400
V. category: HUF 29,200
VI. category: HUF 17,600
September 22 Sunday 3:30 p.m. Müpa, BBNCH
De Falla: Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera La vida breve (Life Is Short), G. 35/39
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4 in D minor, S. 359/4
Fischer: Dance Suite for Violin and Orchestra, in memoriam J. S. Bach Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 Lisztes, Tishchenko, EUYO, Fischer
November 16 Saturday 3:30 p.m. Müpa, BBNCH
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15; Hungarian Dance No. 11; Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 Gerstein, Fischer
January 19 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor Capuçon, Fischer
May 08 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”)
Karg, Richter, Hungarian National Choir, Fischer
Includes all performances at the Liszt Academy
October 07 Monday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
6 concerts
+ bonus concert:
June 04, 2025
PRICES
I. category: HUF 85,000
II. category: HUF 64,000
III. category: HUF 55,000
IV. category: HUF 38,000
V. category: HUF 31,000
VI. category: HUF 23,000
Haydn: Symphony No. 87 in A major, Hob. I:87
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495; Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Bereczky, Takács-Nagy
November 07 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Handel: “Water Music” Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348
Telemann: Water Music (”Hamburg Ebb and Flow”), TWV 55:C3
Gluck: Don Juan ou Le Festin de Pierre — ballet suite, Wg 52
Savall
December 13 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hob. I:93
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622; Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543 Rusinek, Honeck
January 10 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 88 in G major, Hob. I:88
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1
in F minor, Op. 73
Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 334
Caputo, Takács-Nagy
February 07 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Gibbons: Fantasia No. 4 for Two Violins
Purcell: “Music for a While” – aria from incidental music to Oedipus, Z. 583
Lully: Phaëton – suite, LWV 61
Corrette: Comic Concerto No. 25 in G minor (“Les sauvages et La Furstemberg”)
Purcell: Chaconne in G minor, Z. 730
Locke: The Tempest – suite
Montéclair: Le Retour de la Paix – cantata True, Seiler, T’Hooft
February 28 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Purcell: Abdelazer – suite, Z. 570
Françaix: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra
Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Bogányi, Pilz
Bonus concert:
June 04 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 35 in B-flat major, Hob. I:35
C.P. E.Bach: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, H. 432
Janáček: Idyll, JW 6/3
Hernán Benedí, Pilz
Performances only at the Liszt Academy
4 concerts + bonus concert:
March 01, 2025
PRICES
I. category: HUF 61,000
II. category: HUF 45,000
III. category: HUF 39,000
IV. category: HUF 27,000
V. category: HUF 22,000
VI. category: HUF 17,000
October 06 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 87 in A major, Hob. I:87
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495; Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Bereczky, Takács-Nagy
December 15 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hob. I:93
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622; Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543
Rusinek, Honeck
January 11 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 88 in G major, Hob. I:88
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73
Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 334 Caputo, Takács-Nagy
February 08 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Gibbons: Fantasia No. 4 for Two Violins
Purcell: “Music for a While” – aria from incidental music to Oedipus, Z. 583
Lully: Phaëton – suite, LWV 61
Corrette: Comic Concerto No. 25 in G minor (“Les sauvages et La Furstemberg”)
Purcell: Chaconne in G minor, Z. 730
Locke: The Tempest – suite
Montéclair: Le Retour de la Paix – cantata
True, Seiler, T’Hooft
Bonus concert:
March 01 Saturday 3:30 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Purcell: Abdelazer – suite, Z. 570
Françaix: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra
Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Bogányi, Pilz
Performances at Müpa Budapest and the Liszt Academy
6 concerts
+ bonus concert: A concert of the Sunday Chamber Music series or contemporary concert at BMC
PRICES
I. category: HUF 86,000
II. category: HUF 63,000
III. category: HUF 57,000
IV. category: HUF 41,000
V. category: HUF 33,000
VI. category: HUF 24,000
October 05 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 87 in A major, Hob. I:87
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495; Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Bereczky, Takács-Nagy
December 14 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hob. I:93
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622; Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543 Rusinek, Honeck
January 18 Saturday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Capuçon, Fischer
February 07 Friday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Gibbons: Fantasia No. 4 for Two Violins
Purcell: “Music for a While” – aria from incidental music to Oedipus, Z. 583
Lully: Phaëton – suite, LWV 61
Corrette: Comic Concerto No. 25 in G minor (“Les sauvages et La Furstemberg”)
Purcell: Chaconne in G minor, Z. 730
Locke: The Tempest – suite
Montéclair: Le Retour de la Paix – cantata
True, Seiler, T’Hooft
March 19 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges – suite, Op. 33 bis;
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16;
Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 53; Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Classic Symphony”), Op. 25
Levit, Fischer
April 17 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Castelnuovo-Tedesco:
Overture for Julius Caesar, Op. 78
Lalo: Spanish Symphony, Op. 21
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Dueñas, Orozco-Estrada
Performances at Müpa Budapest and the Liszt Academy
4 concerts
+ bonus concert:
June 03, 2025
PRICES
I. category: HUF 75,000
II. category: HUF 54,000
III. category: HUF 48,000
IV. category: HUF 34,000
V. category: HUF 27,000
VI. category: HUF 18,000
January 09 Thursday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 88 in G major, Hob. I:88
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73
Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 334 Caputo, Takács-Nagy
February 16 Sunday 3:30 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen – suite (transcription by Jakub Hrůša)
Suk: Fantasy in G minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
Martinů: Symphony No. 1, H. 289 Mráček, Hrůša
March 19 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges – suite, Op. 33 bis;
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16; Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 53; Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Classic Symphony”), Op. 25
Levit, Fischer
May 07 Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Müpa, BBNCH
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”)
Karg, Richter, Nemzeti Énekkar, Fischer
Bonus concert:
June 03 Tuesday 7:45 p.m.
Liszt Academy, Grand Hall
Haydn: Symphony No. 35 in B-flat major, Hob. I:35
C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, H. 432
Janáček: Idyll, JW 6/3
Hernán Benedí, Pilz
PRICE HUF 20,000
September 28 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Illési
November 30 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Fischer
December 21 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Fischer
February 22 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Illési
April 26 Saturday
2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
Illési
∙Valid tickets are required (both for children and adults) to attend each performance.
∙Latecomers can join the concert only in the intermissions between the musical pieces.
∙Cloakroom is mandatory and free of charge.
∙Bigger bags should be placed in the cloakroom.
∙Eating and drinking is not allowed during the performance.
∙If possible, please use the toilets before the performance, not to disturb the concert.
∙Instruments in the rehearsal hall are our treasures; please take care of them!
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Management
Music Director: Fischer Iván
Managing Director: Erdődy Orsolya
Personal Assistant to the
Music Director: Zeibig Márton
Personal Assistant to the
Managing Director: Tófalvi Zselyke
Production Management
Artistic Planning:
Anna-Berenika Haefliger*
Head of Operation: Zöld Krisztina
Operational Manager:
Szani Szolongo
Chief Librarian: Gátay Tibor
Senior Tour Manager: Wolf Ivett
Senior Orchestra Personnel
Manager: Melisko Krisztina
Junior Orchestra Personnel
Manager: Somogyi Roxána
Head of Stage Management:
Zentai Róbert
Stage Coordinators:
Kathi Sándor, Siba István, Sila József
Sponsoring and International Relations
International President: Martin Hoffmann*
Individual Giving Manager: Deák Zsuzsanna
Corporate Relations Manager: Tófalvi Zselyke
Corporate Relations Assistant: Molnár Bea*
Communications and Audience Relations
Head of Marketing and Audience Relations: Tiszolczi-Bertalan Anna
PR Manager: Katona Gergely
Marketing Manager: Szigeti Orsolya
Social Media Manager: Somogyi Roxána
Communications Adviser: Váradi Júlia*
Audience Relations Managers: Kedves Kinga, Réz Judit
Finance
Head of Finance: Szabó Attila Legal and HR Manager: dr. Szeredás-Budán Bernadett
Accountants: Holbach Andrea, Töreky Beáta
Secretariat
Office Assistant: Aranyosné Boros Angyalka
Hereditary Staff Member: Maglódi Györgyné
* independent consultant
Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation
Board of Trustees
Chairman: Simor András
Members: Alan Gemes, Bernhard Hulla, Illés Gábor, dr. Jádi Németh Andrea, dr. Kiss Viktor, Máthé-Tóth István, dr. Szecskay András, Sylvia Tóth, dr. Vámos György
Honorary Member: Marschall Miklós
Supervisory Board
Chairman: László Csaba
Members: Jalsovszky Pál, Kósa Judit, Terták Ádám
Budapest Festival Orchestra Association
Chairman: dr. Sziklai János
Advisory Board of the Managing Director: Boros István, Danks Emese, Simon Anita, Strohmayer János, dr. Takács Ildikó Katalin
International Friends of the BFO
American Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra e-mail: info@friendsofthebudapestfestivalorchestra.org web: friendsofthebudapestfestivalorchestra.org
International Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra –Germany e.V.
e-mail: germanfriends@bfointernational.com
British Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra
e-mail: britishfriends@bfointernational.com
Swiss Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra e-mail: office@budapestfo.ch web: budapestfo.ch
BFO contacts
Office: 1036 Budapest, Nagyszombat u. 1.
telephone: +36 1 489 4330
e-mail: info@bfz.hu
Postal address: 1300 Budapest, Pf. 47
IBAN:
HU58 1091 8001 0000 0089 5916 0000 (UniCredit Bank Zrt.)
Website and ticket sales: bfz.hu
Published by the Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation
Publisher: Erdődy Orsolya, Managing Director of the BFO
Text: Mona Dániel
Editor: Szigeti Orsolya, Katona Gergely
Graphic Design: büro für mitteilungen
Contributing agency: McCann
Creative Director: Havasi Gábor
Business Development Director: Bende-Koó Bence
Photo: Viszlay Márk
Printing:
Printing Solutions
Close of editing: March 05, 2024
Müpa Budapest
1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1.
Tram 1 – Közvágóhíd;
2, 23, 24 – Müpa – Nemzeti Színház
Bus 54, 55, 224 – Müpa–Nemzeti Színház
Metro H7 – Müpa–Nemzeti Színház
Parking Concert visitors may park for free in the outdoor parking lot and the underground parking garage.
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 8.
Tram 4, 6 – Király utca
Trolley 70, 78 – Király utca
Bus 105, 210 – Oktogon
Metro M1 – Oktogon
Parking is free in nearby streets on non-business days.
Budapest Congress Center
1123 Budapest, Jagelló út 1–3.
Tram 17, 61 – BAH-csomópont; 59 – Apor Vilmos tér
Bus 8E, 139, 212 – BAH-csomópont; 110, 112 – BAH-csomópont or Sirály utca; 102, 105 – Apor Vilmos tér
Parking Concert visitors may park in the outdoor parking lot outside the Congress Center and Hotel Novotel.
BFO Rehearsal Hall
1034 Budapest, Selmeci utca 14–16.
Tram 17, 19, 41 – Selmeci utca
Bus 9, 111 – Tímár utca
Parking is free in nearby streets on non-business days.
Castle Garden Bazaar
1013 Budapest, Ybl Miklós tér 2–6.
Tram 19, 41 – Várkert Bazár; 56, 56A – Döbrentei tér
Bus 5 – Szarvas tér/Döbrentei tér; 8E, 110, 112 –Döbrentei tér; 16, 105, 210, 178 – Clark Ádám tér
Night bus 916, 990 – Clark Ádám tér; 956 – Szarvas tér/Döbrentei tér; 907, 908, 973 – Döbrentei tér
Parking Concert visitors may park in the underground parking garage of the Castle Garden Bazaar.
Budapest Music Center
1093 Budapest, Mátyás utca 8.
Tram 2 – Zsil utca; 47, 49 – Fővám tér
Trolley 72 – Kálvin tér; 83 – Fővám tér or Czuczor utca
Bus 9 – Kálvin tér; 15 – Czuczor utca
Metro M3 – Kálvin tér; M4 – Fővám tér
Parking For parking in the surrounding streets payment must be made until 10:00 p.m.
Bálna Budapest
1093 Budapest, Fővám tér 11–12.
Tram 2 – Zsil utca; 49, 47 – Fővám tér
Trolley 83 – Fővám tér
Bus 9 – Kálvin tér; 15 – Fővám
Metro M4 – Fővám tér
Night bus 934, 979 – Kálvin tér or Zsil utca; 909, 914, 950 – Kálvin tér
Parking It is available in Bálna Budapest underground garage. The first hour is free, after the first each hour costs HUF 450.
