Issuu

Discover the moment

Budapest Festival Orchestra 2018â€“2019

Table of contents

Greeting Ivรกn Fischer and the BFO Concerts Chamber music On tour BFO cares Support Single and season tickets Concert calendar

4 6 13 71 79 87 97 111 114

“We must share the joy we feel when making music with as many people as possible.” Iván Fischer

Greeting

DEAR AUDIENCE MEMBERS! Our programme for the next season will be colourful – in fact, this is what sets the Budapest Festival Orchestra apart from other orchestras. There will be a variety of baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary events, the orchestra will even sing – and not just in the encore, but also as part of the concert programmes. The short Dvořák choral pieces included are gems rarely heard in symphony concerts. It is my firm belief that orchestras in the future must widen their repertoire and include baroque music, contemporary works, choral compositions and chamber music masterpieces. We are working on this widening, step by step, and this year will mark an important milestone. The season opens with Baltic music, with particular focus on the works of Arvo Pärt. While we perform Čiurlionis’ symphonic poems, this painter-composer‘s artwork will be displayed, projected on a big screen. This year, we will also introduce several young Hungarian soloists to you, including Zoltán Fejérvári, a rising star with a bright international career who recently won the Montréal

Greeting

Piano Competition. Bluebeard’s Castle will feature two Hungarian singers: the title role will be sung by Krisztián Cser (you will remember him as Sarastro in the Magic Flute and Kossuth in The Red Heifer). The part of Judit will be performed by Viktória Vizin. This concert will mark her debut with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. We would be delighted if many of you joined us on our tour in October to Vicenza, Italy, where we founded the new Vicenza Opera Festival. It will take place in Palladio and Scamozzi‘s beautiful Teatro Olimpico, constructed in 1585. The stage design has been preserved in perfect condition, and it will be an exciting experience to perform there. As the theatre is tiny, only a few supporters will be able to attend the event, but we will make every effort to ensure that it can also be watched online. This is a very ambitious project, but I’m confident that we will succeed in creating a new tradition and hold a festival there each year. We will be continuing our community activities at home, too, visiting schools, nursing homes, churches and abandoned synagogues. However, our main musical events will take place in the concert halls in Budapest, and we have the pleasure of inviting you to attend them. It is a great delight to see the gradual progress of the BFO’s audience into a happy community. Please remain loyal to this family! Best wishes, Iván Fischer

The orchestra

IVÁN FISCHER made his own dream come true when he founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra thirty-five years ago. At the core of the ensemble’s philosophy is the sharing of the experience of perfectionism in music and the search for new paths. The orchestra’s work is about risk-taking and the realisation of original ideas. Each concert is a discovery of uncharted territories in music, where each piece produces an unexpected effect, as if performed for the first time. The Festival Orchestra is driven by an openness towards the unknown, by curiosity and attention to detail. Thanks to their innovative approach to music, and the commitment and uncompromising attitudes of the musicians, the BFO has become the youngest ensemble to join the world’s top ten symphony orchestras. Their great concerts, inventiveness and unique sound have earned them many accolades, including two Gramophone Awards, the ‘Oscars of classical music’, and a Grammy nomination.

IN ADDITION TO THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS in some of the world’s most important concert halls, a key mission of the BFO is to serve Hungarian audiences. Beside big-city concert halls, the BFO is making ever more frequent appearances at alternative venues – in nursing homes, abandoned synagogues, hospitals, child care institutions, prisons and schools – where it can experience uplifting moments of music being created together with the audience. INNOVATIVE PRODUCTIONS

include Dancing on the Square, one of the orchestra’s priority projects, which is as much about communal creativity, inclusion, tolerance and equal opportunities as it is about music and dance. The Autism-friendly Cocoa Concerts are another major initiative, providing a safe environment to enjoy music for children living with autism and their families alike. Through our community and musical education programmes, we continuously strive to bring the beauty of classical music to every age group and segment of society. The BFO connects people, helping to build communities with the power and beauty of music.

Iván Fischer

IVÁN FISCHER is the founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He is also the Music Director of Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Konzerthausorchester until autumn 2018. He devotes increasingly more time to composition, with his works being performed in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, Germany and Austria. He has also directed a number of successful opera productions, and in 2017 founded the Iván Fischer Opera Company. The Berlin Philharmonic has played more than ten times under Fischer’s baton, and he spends two weeks every year with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He is a frequent guest of the leading US symphony orchestras as well. As Music Director, he has led the Kent Opera and the Opéra National de Lyon, and was Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. The BFO’s frequent worldwide tours and a series of critically-acclaimed and fast-selling records, released first by Philips Classics and later by Channel Classics, have contributed to Fischer’s reputation as one of the world’s highest-profile music directors. Many of his recordings have earned prestigious international awards. Fischer is a founder of the Hungarian Mahler Society and Patron of the British Kodály Academy. He has received the Golden Medal Award from the President of the Republic of Hungary, and the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum for his services in promoting international cultural relations. The government of the French Republic made him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, proclaiming him a Knight of the Order of Art and Literature. In 2006, he was honoured with the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious arts award. In 2011, he received the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award, Hungary’s Prima Primissima Prize and the Dutch Ovatie Prize. In 2013, he was accorded Honorary Membership to the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2015, he was presented with the Abu Dhabi Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2016 he won the Association of Music Critics of Argentina’s award for Best Foreign Conductor.

The BFO’s musicians

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

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

Horn Bereczky Dávid Nagy Zsombor Szabó András Szőke Zoltán principal Trumpet Czeglédi Zsolt principal Horváth Bence Póti Tamás Tóth Balázs Tóth Zoltán Trombone Szakszon Balázs principal Sztán Attila Wagner Csaba Tuba Bazsinka József Harp Polónyi Ágnes Timpani Dénes Roland Percussion Fábry Boglárka Herboly László Kurcsák István Pusztai Gábor Szente Gáspár Keyboards Báll Dávid Dinyés Soma Nagy László Adrián Budapest Festival Orchestra’s academists Daniel Cho (violin) Minkyung Sul (violin) Rachel Jung-Hsuan Ko (cello) Klara Wincor (cello) Domingos Ribeiro (double bass) Diego Valls Ortega (tuba) Rosanna Rolton (harp)

“It is a magical world that should be open to as many people as possible. For those who otherwise cannot attend a concert, we bring the music to their doorstep.” Eszter Lesták Bedő violinist

“Every note we play expresses the fact that music as a universal language must be made accessible and intelligible to all.” Mahdi Kousay cellist

Concerts

Community Week Music Castle Playtime

September 03–09

Three times a year, the BFO embarks upon a journey to bring music to those who, be it for medical, social or financial reasons, would not normally be able to enjoy our concerts. Every segment of society and age group is equally important to the orchestra, which is why we visit youngsters living in the farthest-flung corners of the country during Community Weeks, just as we do for the elderly living in nursing homes. The programme is put together to give as much joy as possible. We prepare our interactive and playful Music Castle programme for the children, while for the elderly, we play healing melodies, with the same attention to quality as when we perform in Carnegie Hall. “It was really great; I’ve never taken part in anything like this before. The cast was good, the fairy and the dragons played music together.” (Szabi, 6 years old) Children who live in difficult circumstances have often never even seen an instrument in real life, and await every such event with excitement and curiosity. Our job is to give them a lasting gift. We have performed at venues such as the International Pető Institute, the Real Pearl Foundation in Told and the You belong! Foundation in Ózd, where we discovered a little boy with perfect pitch, whom we support in pursuing a career in music. “The gratitude in the eyes of the elderly listening to our music is a great source of joy also for us.” (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. Through these concerts, we aim to introduce audiences to the magical world of music, removing obstacles and allowing young and old alike to enjoy music in a familiar environment.

Bridging Europe The Baltics and Poland in the spotlight

At the start of each new season, we immerse ourselves in the culture of a particular European region with open hearts and sharpened senses. This year, the Bridging Europe festival – a joint production of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Müpa Budapest – will focus on Poland and the Baltics. In the autumn of 2013, Czech culture and, in 2014, German culture took centre stage. In 2015, it was Austria, followed by France in 2016 and Spain in 2017. This year, the Bridging Europe festival’s focus will include a broader region instead of a single country: the audience at Müpa Budapest will become more closely acquainted with the art of Poland and the Baltic states. On top of the usual orchestral symphonies, baroque and contemporary concerts, we will get some lighter bites too – jazz and world music performances will be featured, along with other art forms such as exhibitions, dance, literature and film. This time, the Festival Orchestra’s programme will create a bridge between distant places and eras. The orchestra’s early music ensemble under Eszter Lesták Bedő will transport you to the world of Polish baroque music. The concert will feature little-known but highly deserving Polish composers alongside their great German contemporary, Johann Sebastian Bach. This year, the other end of the bridge is rooted in the recent music of Baltic countries. The compositions by Lithuanian Čiurlionis, Estonian Arvo Pärt and the contemporary composers introduced, such as Latvian Pēteris Vasks and Estonians Erkki-Sven Tüür and Tõnu Kõrvits, feature a mystical connection to nature, magnificent landscapes, hypnotic stories, and unusual synaesthesia. Bridging Europe’s organisers believe there is a great need to facilitate meetings between the people of Europe, and that understanding and enjoying one another’s culture is the perfect means of strengthening friendship.

Bridging Europe Čiurlionis Pärt Vasks Fischer Schwartz Cantemus

September 21–22 + 24

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: Miške (In the Forest)

Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 21st Friday 19.45 Doráti 22 nd Saturday 15.30 Reiner 24 th Monday 19.45 Solti

Pēteris Vasks: Epifania

Arvo Pärt: Como cierva sedienta Arvo Pärt: Te Deum Sylvia Schwartz (soprano) Cantemus Mixed Choir conductor: Iván Fischer

A storytelling forest; blue mountains; mystery; synaesthesia and the beloved minimalism of Arvo Pärt – voices from the Baltics at the Bridging Europe festival. Although the Lithuanian Čiurlionis only lived to the age of thirty-five, he composed four hundred pieces and painted three hundred works of art. Associating colours with notes came naturally to him: he played with the visual arts as well as music. Miške is an emotional, musical landscape. The symphonic piece takes the listener to a fairy tale forest, where we have nothing to do but enjoy the atmosphere and the paintings being projected, and let our fantasy soar. Similarly, the works of the Estonian Arvo Pärt allow us to enjoy this velvety mystery. Pärt is is one of the most-played composers alive today. He has veritable cult status, and his music has been featured in over one hundred films. He is also known for the most productive artistic crisis in the history of music literature. Pärt retired completely in 1968, returning only eight years later to create his own compositional style: tintinnabuli (small bells). His new music is the modern continuation of medieval church music. In its timeless and deep, holy minimalism, both ancient and modern at the same time, all notes receive the same kind of love. Como cierva sedienta is Pärt’s first piece written for soprano voice and orchestra, reaching back to the words of Psalms 42 and 43. Similarly to Čiurlionis’s work, Te Deum was also born out of synaesthesia: “The Swiss artist Martin Ruf once said that he can see more than twenty shades of blue if he looks at the mountains on a clear day. His words immediately turned into sounds within me: I began to hear those blue hills.” The third composer on the programme, the Latvian Pēteris Vasks, is also attracted to minimalism. His works are pure and talkative; Epifania was composed only for strings (whose language Vasks, a former violinist and cellist, speaks particularly well).

Ivรกn Fischer

Bridging Europe Kõrvits Tüür Tubin Elts Carneiro

September 25 Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre 25 th Tuesday 19.45

Tõnu Kõrvits: Hymns to the Nordic Lights Erkki-Sven Tüür: Ardor – Concerto for Marimba; Passion Eduard Tubin: Symphony No. 7 Pedro Carneiro (marimba) conductor: Olari Elts

What is the magic of the northern lights all about? What are the Estonians like when they feel passionate? How many cows is a piano worth? These questions will all be answered at the Bridging Europe festival’s contemporary concert, which could have no better conductor than the Estonian Olari Elts. There is a sweeping energy in the way Elts conducts the orchestra, with intense movements and exacting delivery. The concert this evening begins with the enchanting music of the Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits. Join him for a hypnotic journey to fantastic lands! His Hymns to the Nordic Lights opens up this magically pulsating natural phenomenon through the eyes and soul of one man. The Portuguese Pedro Carneiro stands out among musicians: he is one of very few to have achieved international recognition as a percussion soloist. His playing is all fire, dexterity and emotion. Erkki-Sven Tüür has composed a showy piece for him. In his concerto for marimba, entitled Ardor, the orchestra is not simply the accompaniment; they come together to then disrupt one another, or at times “translate” the words of the marimba. A favourite of the Estonians, the composer unleashes opposites only to then smooth them over. Passion is the second movement of Tüür’s Action, Passion, Illusion, a piece in three movements for strings. Although the passion is revealed only gradually and gently, it eventually becomes all the more exalted. Eduard Tubin was born in a small Estonian village, and owes his career in part to his father’s decision to trade in the family’s cow for a piano. He relied on a vast number of folk motifs in his works – which was something Zoltán Kodály also encouraged him to do. Leaving behind the influence of folk music, he fled to Sweden when the Soviets occupied Estonia. He then began to experiment with international trends. His Symphony No. 7, rarely performed and dark and dense in its atmosphere, is an example of this part of his oeuvre.

Olari Elts

Bridging Europe Jarzębski Bach Żebrowski Gorczycki Lesták Bedő

September 26 Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre 26th Wednesday, 19.45

Adam Jarzębski: Spandesa; Chromatica; Tamburetta Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052R Marcin Józef Żebrowski: Magnificat Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki: In virtute tua Johann Sebastian Bach: Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42 Ágnes Kovács (soprano) Zoltán Gavodi (alto) Dávid Szigetvári (tenor) Krisztián Cser (bass) leader, soloist: Eszter Lesták Bedő

The Bridging Europe festival’s baroque concert offers Polish music from fresh, early-baroque melodies to inspiring vocal pieces. Compositions unfamiliar to Hungarian audiences will be performed alongside works by the period’s great German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. The early baroque works of Adam Jarzębski, a central figure in the vibrant cultural life of 17 th century Poland, are filled with treasures. The baroque ensemble will play three pieces from his Canzoni e Concerti – the dynamic Spandesa, ingenious Tamburetta, and Chromatica experimenting with superfluous primes. At BFO’s 2017 Sándor Végh competition, the concert’s leader, Eszter Lesták Bedő, already presented Bach’s violin concerto in D minor. She will perform her own version of the piece that, though transformed by Bach into a harpsichord concerto, was successfully reconstructed. The concert’s second half features singing compositions. Marcin Józef Żebrowski composed his music at the cultic Pauline Jasna Góra Monastery in the 18th century. Though showing baroque traits, his works tend to transition to classicism. The concert features his sublime Magnificat, followed by the In virtute tua motetta, a bright laudation by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (the “Polish Handel”) from his largely ecclesiastic oeuvre. The concert concludes with another liturgical piece, Bach’s White Sunday cantata, composed in 1725 in Leipzig.

Eszter Lestรกk Bedล

Zsolt Fejérvári

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento in B-flat major, K. 137 Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34 Giovanni Bottesini: Concerto No. 2 in B minor for Double Bass Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: String Symphony No. 7 in D minor Rudolf Szitka (clarinet) Zsolt Fejérvári (double bass) leader: János Pilz

October 27–28 Italian Cultural Institute 27 th Saturday 19.45 Ormándy 28 th Sunday 15.30 Reiner A

Mozart Weber Bottesini Mendelssohn Pilz Szitka Fejérvári

The BFO announces a new chamber music series entitled Concertino, where musicians will make their debuts as soloists. In the spotlight will be concert pieces and winners of the orchestra’s Sándor Végh Competition: this time, Rudolf Szitka and Zsolt Fejérvári. Returning to the Italian Cultural Institute the chamber ensemble of the BFO will set the tone of the concert with Mozart’s dance-like Divertimento. Weber, primarily known for his operas, is expertly able to showcase the personality of each instrument in his entertaining and fresh chamber music pieces, especially when it comes to the winds. He wrote several pieces for the clarinet, dedicating the majority of them to the German clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann. His concerto-like clarinet quintet demands extraordinary musical skill and incorporates the drama, playfulness and excitement of the opera. Giovanni Bottesini, a friend of Verdi’s, was both a composer and the conductor at the premiere of Aida. The sweeping melodies of his concerto for double bass could be taken for arias in an imaginary opera from the time of Verdi, as Zsolt Fejérvári, the second soloist of the concert, observed. “For a double bass player, it is a wonderful task – and a real challenge – to ‘sing’ these beautiful melodies. Rarely is our instrument in the spotlight; its usual role is to provide the bass backing for the overall harmony of the musical fabric of the orchestra,” he says. Mendelssohn wrote twelve string symphonies between the ages of 12 and 14. No. 7, which will wrap up the concert this evening, differs from most of the others in that it is composed of four movements. In the first, the audience will witness a heated fight emerging; in the second, we stroll along in a major key, only to then arrive at the sizzling dance of the closing movement.

Mozart R. Strauss Haydn Takács-Nagy Bereczky

November 08 + 10 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 08 th Thursday 19.45 Ormándy 10 th Saturday 19.45 Solti A

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony in G major, K. 318 Richard Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11 Joseph Haydn: The Desert Island – Overture, Hob. XXVIII:9; Symphony No. 52 in C minor, Hob. I:52 Dávid Bereczky (French horn) conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy

“I feel such warmth and human content in the music of Haydn and Mozart; such positive energy that sweeps everything away, and compassion for their fellow human beings,” – says the conductor, Gábor Takács-Nagy, who will devote two concerts to the two composer geniuses this season. The piece by the mature Mozart, referred to as “Overture in the Italian Style,” was composed in Salzburg in 1779; it will be followed by Dávid Bereczky, a winner of the Sándor Végh Competition, performing the romantic horn concerto in E-flat major by Richard Strauss, a favourite composer for horn players. The choice of instrument is no coincidence: the father of the composer was a renowned horn player. “Each note of the music demonstrates that he heard a lot of horn playing as a child”, says the BFO’s musician, adding that, “If one devotes enough time to it, an incredibly special harmony emerges between the piece, the instrument and the performer. Richard Strauss was 18 when he wrote this piece – and I, when I first played it also at the age of 18, fell in love for good with the French horn.” While this may not be the first thing we think of when it comes to Haydn, he actually wrote fifteen operas in addition to his symphonies and string quartets. His tenth opera, The Desert Island, was composed at the Esterházy court and tells the story of two shipwrecked sisters. Its dramatic and passionate overture introduces one of the composer’s last Sturm und Drang symphonies: No. 52, powerful and written with almost mathematical exactness, is the “grandfather” of Beet hoven’s Fate Symphony, according to musicologist H. C. Robbins Landon.

Gรกbor Takรกcs-Nagy

Zoltán Fejérvári

Antonín Dvořák: Legend in C-sharp minor, Op. 59/6; Slavonic Dance No. 5, Op. 46/5; The Forsaken Lover – for mixed choir, Op. 29/4 Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60

November 20–21–22 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 20 th Tuesday 19.45 Doráti 21st Wednesday 19.45 Solti + Midnight Music 23.30 22nd Thursday 19.45 Reiner

Dvořák Beethoven Fischer Fejérvári

Zoltán Fejérvári (piano) conductor: Iván Fischer

Energetic dances, brilliant melodies and summertime joy. The BFO’s Dvořák and Beethoven series kicks off with the winner of the Montréal International Piano Competition, Zoltán Fejérvári. If one were to listen to all of Dvořák’s music in one sitting, one would need three and a half days to make it through all of it. The BFO will only perform one hour’s worth, but will show a wide variety of colours. Dvořák wrote most of the pieces to be performed during his most prolific time, not long after the tragic death of his three children. He was trying to forget. At the time, piano four hands were a hit in the salons; thus, Legends (1881) and Slavonic Dances (1878) were both initially composed as piano duets and were only later transformed into orchestral pieces. Brahms, the great forerunner, was both an inspiration and a fan of these suites. Legends, with its fine, intimate and lyrical character, is sometimes mentioned as the antithesis of the Slavonic Dances, with their energy and at times disorderly nature. Dvořák composed the majority of his choral works before his Slavonic period; The Forsaken Lover will be sung by the members of the orchestra themselves. The Czech master loved the railways. He would have given up all of his symphonies if only it could have been he who invented the steam engine. Fortunately, things took a different turn. Symphony No. 6 (1880), exuding warmth and calm, is filled with summertime joy, including the pulsation and magic of the Czech countryside. Dvořák’s ancestors lived in a small village outside Prague and were working as bartenders and butchers at the time when the 28-year-old Beethoven was performing his own Piano Concerto No. 1 in the Czech capital (1798). The BFO will perform the work with young artist Zoltán Fejérvári, who in 2017 won the Montréal International Piano Competition, an achievement which sent him rocketing to an international career. The contrastful piece will wow the listeners with its brilliant closing.

GĂŠrard Korsten

Carl Reinecke: King Manfred – Overture John Paul Corigliano: The Red Violin Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major Gábor Sipos (violin) conductor: Gérard Korsten

December 08–09 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 08 th Saturday 19.45 Doráti 09 th Sunday 15.30 Reiner

Reinecke Corigliano Schumann Korsten Sipos

Music and the sweeping power of creation have the ability to lead us out of heart-wrenching pain and the gravest of ill nesses challenging the body and soul. This concert, conduc ted by South Africa-born Gérard Korsten, will demonstrate as much. Although the German composer Carl Reinecke wrote a plethora of pieces, and was active in almost every genre one can think of, his works are rarely performed and none of his operas are staged anymore. His romantic comic opera of five acts, telling the story of King Manfred of Sicily, the child of Friedrich II born out of wedlock, has not been able to escape this fate, either. It is worth listening to the overture of the piece, extraordinarily popular in Reinecke’s time, to see if one can detect traces of the influence of Schumann, one of the composer’s masters. The concert continues with a painful story. The Oscar-winning music of the 1998 mystery drama film The Red Violin will be performed by Gábor Sipos, a winner of the Sándor Végh Competition: “There is a master violin maker, who mixes into his instrument’s varnish the blood of his late wife, who died while giving birth; this is how he pays tribute to her. I found the story gripping. The baby did not survive, either. This is a terrible, desperate act; the efforts of a man who loses his family in a matter of seconds, and then tries to immortalise his loved ones in another world through a violin. The music is beautiful and full of tension.” Schumann was in a particularly difficult situation when he composed his Symphony No. 2. He was struggling with depression, dizziness, tinnitus and pain in his limbs. The combative and rebellious first movement of the piece reflects his fight against the illness taking over his body. Bach, Haydn and Beethoven are also present in the piece, but by the end of the symphony, Schumann redefines himself and his language as a composer, and sweeps aside all the pain, for creative energy to ultimately win out.

Hasse Geminiani Torelli Seiler Suh Bettini T’Hooft

December 14–15 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 14 th Friday 19.45 Ormándy 15 th Saturday 19.45 Doráti A

Johann Adolph Hasse: Larinda e Vanesio – intermezzo in three parts Francesco Geminiani: Concerto Grosso in D minor („La Follia”) Giuseppe Torelli: Concerto in G minor (“Christmas”), Op. 8, No. 6 Yeree Suh (soprano) Fulvio Bettini (baritone) artistic director and concert leader: Midori Seiler baroque gestures: Sigrid T’Hooft

Midori Seiler’s last appearance with the BFO was cathartic. The violinist, with her deep knowledge of baroque music, has been called a “brilliantly talented and impressively informed” musician, who infuses each note she plays with meaning. This year, she returns to the orchestra’s baroque ensemble as a friend, to “play in Italian”. Although Hasse was born in Germany, he studied with Alessandro Scarlatti and went on to become the most important representative of Italian opera in German-speaking countries. His dynamic intermezzo, comprised mainly of recitatives and arias, provides the frame of the concert in three parts. Because he started out as a singer, he was most interested in arias and melody. This concert will feature the Italian baritone Fulvio Bettini in banter with Yeree Suh, already familiar to BFO audiences. “Yeree Suh, possessing dexterous vocal technique, unleashes coloraturas with tremendous superiority; her performance was top-notch as a singer and an actress,” Fidelio noted following her concert with the BFO in 2014. The singers will appear wearing period costumes and complement their performance with baroque gestures. The Hasse piece, broken into three parts, incorporates a little bit of madness in the beginning with Geminiani’s concerto grosso, entitled La Follia (“Frenzy”). The folia is one of the oldest wandering themes in European music, likely serving as a fast-spaced, passionate fertility dance, featured in the works of more than 150 composers. Geminiani himself reworked one of Corelli’s violin sonatas. Following the second intermezzo, the evening will feature a celebratory Christmas concerto by Torelli, considered the father of the violin concerto. The concert concludes with a masterful duet in the third intermezzo.

Midori Seiler

Christmas concert – audience choice programme Fischer

December 26 Budapest Congress Center 26 th Wednesday 19.45 conductor: Iván Fischer

The tradition of Christmas concerts by the Festival Orchestra dates back to 1983: that year, the Liszt Academy was available only during the holidays, providing an opportunity for the ensemble to make its debut. Almost every year since then, the BFO has treated audiences to a unique holiday concert at the end of December. The series is set to continue this year, and members of the audience will have a say in what ends up on the programme that evening. They will get to determine the line-up from a musical menu offering a broad selection of flavours. “This concert is like a present, all wrapped up. It is like when a child announces ahead of time what they would like for Christmas, but at the same time, of course, they also want to be surprised,” says the host of the holiday concert, Iván Fischer. The Festival Orchestra may be the only symphony ensemble in the world whose musicians play orchestra pieces, contemporary and baroque chamber music, and jazz as well as folk music. They can also sing, or in some cases even dance, making music if necessary with a couple of paint cans or thimbles. It’s an orchestra for whom nothing is impossible. Like all BFO concerts, this concert of classical music will be exciting and unusual, but also celebratory. Iván Fischer, of course, has several secret presents in store for the audience that night. As András Szecskay, member of the Festival Orchestra’s Board says: “I have great confidence in Iván Fischer’s taste, his expertise and his choices. This is his Christmas surprise. If I had to pick something, I would only get as far as a piece that I am already familiar with. Iván takes it further, and he has never disappointed.” Another member of our audience, Tamás Barta, adds: “Every time, Mr. Fischer reveals new secrets about what the orchestra is capable of. That’s the real miracle!”

Ivรกn Fischer

Robin Ticciati

Richard Strauss: Don Juan Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major Claude Debussy: Pelléas and Mélisande Suit Richard Wagner: Prelude and Love Death from Tristan and Isolde Daniil Trifonov (piano) Conductor: Robin Ticciati

January 17–18–19 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 17 th Thursday 19.45 Solti 18 th Friday 19.45 Ormándy 19 th Saturday 15.30 Reiner

R. Strauss Ravel Debussy Wagner Ticciati Trifonov

“Like a good father, he allows music to soar freely, and empowers vibrancy, momentum and the soul,” wrote Revizor about Robin Ticciati. His January concert will feature that and more. Contemporaries, adorers and the adored – all in one evening. The young conductor is talking with such fervour that he would convince anyone to listen to classical music. His concert demonstrates this passionate upbeat. Richard Strauss considered Wagner a role model, to whom he felt inferior despite his resounding successess. Don Juan, stirring and infused with eroticism, which he conducted in Budapest in 1908, made him a star at 25. In his symphonic poem, he demonstrates stunning courage in this treatment of orchestral sounds, a feat musicians and audiences are grateful for to this day. After Ravel’s shining piano concerto’s energetic, jazzy first movement, a journey inward begins, only for the piece once again to be dominated by pulsating rhythms of extroverted jazz music. Its dynamism will be brought to life by Russian soloist Daniil Trifonov, 27. Martha Argerich said of him, “He has everything and more. […] I never heard anything like that.” Debussy also adored Wagner but tried to shrug off his influence. His only complete opera, Pelléas and Mélisande, remains fresh to this day. The plot – working without time, expressed emotions and actions – balances reality and dream. The concert ends with a haunting, beautiful melody from Tristan and Isolde. The melancholic and ecstatic Prelude and Love Death immediately sweeps listeners away and “acts like a narcotic”.

January Mozart Albrechtsberger 26–27 Italian Cultural Institute Grieg 26 th Saturday 19.45 Ormándy 27 th Sunday 15.30 Reiner B Pilz Tondre Szakszon

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 136; Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Trombone Concerto in B-flat major Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite, Op. 40 Philippe Tondre (oboe) Balázs Szakszon (alto trombone) leader: János Pilz

The second performance in our Concertino series will feature two emblematic string pieces, with a concert work before and after. The oboe and the trombone will take centre stage as soloists, brought to life by two of the BFO’s principals, Philippe Tondre and Balázs Szakszon. The Divertimento in D major, Mozart’s lively and succinct masterpiece, showcasing the pure sounds of the strings, introduces the essential piece of all oboists: Mozart’s only oboe concerto. “I like the inventiveness of the piece, and how incredibly alive it is. I love its long and lyrical phrases and the gentleness they exude. These melodies are constantly in my head and have become my passion,” says the soloist, Philippe Tondre. Several structural and melodic elements of the concerto are featured in Mozart’s operas, and the theme of the closing rondo movement is also heard in The Abduction from the Seraglio. We have the classicist period to thank for the core pieces for the trombone. Balázs Szakszon will perform a rare gem: Johann Georg Albrechtsberger’s concert work for the alto trombone, one of the most difficult pieces ever written for this special instrument (smaller in size and more modest in sound than its sibling, the tenor trombone). “What is especially motivating and interesting is that I will get to perform the piece accompanied by the chamber ensemble, with no conductor leading us. Rarely do you encounter the trombone as a solo instrument. It will be an interesting challenge to incorporate its sound.” The concert will conclude with another dance-like work by the strings. The piece celebrates the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Norwegian-Danish playwright Ludvig Holberg. Like Grieg, he was born in Bergen. Rivalling the popularity of Peer Gynt, the piece begins with an energetic prelude and is followed by dances, popular in Holberg’s time: the intimate sarabande, the courteous gavotte and musette, followed by the emotional air movement, and finally wrapping up with a wild closing dance, the rigaudon.

Philippe Tondre

Claude Debussy

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

February 03 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre 03rd Sunday, 10.30–22.00

Debussy– Ravel marathon Fischer

One must pick either Ravel or Debussy: if the question arises which of the two was greater, more popular, or more French, you generally have to make a choice. Fortunately, this will not be necessary at the joint marathon hosted by the BFO and Müpa Budapest, where for an entire day, the music of the two composers will be on stage with back-to-back concerts. Yet another opportunity arises to immerse ourselves in the world of a composer for more than what a single concert would afford. This will be the twelfth music marathon jointly put on by the BFO and Müpa Budapest, this time around celebrating the music of a unique duo, Debussy and Ravel, having previously paid homage to Tchaikovsky, Bach, Beethoven, Bartók, Mozart, Schubert, Dvořák, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Schumann, Brahms and most recently Leonard Bernstein. The names of the two French composers have forever become fused. Although both are considered impressionists, neither really approved of this label. They competed with one another; and each affected, paid attention to, marvelled at and motivated the other. Both were composing music already at the age of ten; literature and the fine arts attracted and inspired them to create as well. Debussy was convinced he would have more to learn from any artist other than a musician. But what really vitalised him and filled him with a sense of religious awe was the miracle of nature. He was both a visionary, working according to his own rules to create a new musical world, and a conservative guardian of French tradition. The only love affair Ravel, this true Bohemian, ever had was with music. He drew inspiration from Spanish folklore, and used Greek, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew, Austrian and Hungarian motifs; he also looked to American jazz. His music is lyrical and smart, thorough and determined. The marathon will be realised by some of the greatest musicians in Hungary and noted soloists, bringing together symphonic orchestras and chamber ensembles. A day with plenty of sensuality, impressions, atmospheres and colours. All we have to do is let it all inspire us.

Stravinsky Fischer Cantemus

February 17–18–19 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 16 th Saturday Midnight Music 23.30 17 th Sunday 15.30 Reiner 18 th Monday 19.45 Doráti 19 th Tuesday 19.45 Solti

Igor Stravinsky: Four Norwegian Moods; Scherzo à la russe; Tango; Symphony of Psalms; Rite of Spring Cantemus Mixed Choir conductor: Iván Fischer

With his use of shockingly radical and modern language, Igor Stravinsky has changed the history of music. He was provocative and brazen; smart and humorous. His constantly changing style confused his admirers and enemies alike. The BFO will paint Stravinsky’s colourful portrait through his most popular works and some rarer pieces. The first half of the concert will feature three works that Stravinsky wrote at a time when want was the composer’s greatest muse. The Four Norwegian Moods (1944) were composed for a Hollywood movie describing the Nazi occupation of Norway. The composer never saw the film. Instead, he relied for inspiration on a collection of folksongs he found in a used bookstore – but failed to impress the producers of the movie. Compromise was not Stravinsky’s forte, so he rewrote the piece as an orchestral suite. Scherzo à la russe (1944) was also intended as a movie score, but after this collaboration also ran aground, he turned the piece into one for a jazz group and then for a large orchestra. Unique in atmosphere, Tango – an irregular Argentinian tango – was the first work that Stravinsky, hoping for royalties, wrote entirely in the USA. The real big guns come out in the second half of the concert. The Symphony of Psalms (1930) was written for the choir and orchestra, and dates back to Stravinsky’s neo-classicist period: he wanted to produce a work which would be “universally admired”. Exercise for the soul, it is both predictable yet mysterious, and its power lies in the harmony between the orchestra and the choir. According to Iván Fischer, the Rite of Spring (1913) has changed the world. Its premiere turned scandalous and descended into a brawl, with the dancers and the audience unable to hear the music because of the loud jeering; the piece itself is rich in mystical rites, lethal religious ceremonies and dances of fertility and magic.

Ivรกn Fischer

Pinchas Steinberg

Georges Bizet: Symphony in C major Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major Modest Mussorgsky – Maurice Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition Alexander Kniazev (cello) conductor: Pinchas Steinberg

February 27–28 March 02 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 27 th Wednesday 19.45 Solti 28 th Thursday 19.45 Doráti 02nd Saturday 15.30 Széll

Bizet Shostakovich Mussorgsky Steinberg Kniazev

This concert sweeps the audience from enchanting French Bohemianism to the dark, Stalinist Soviet Union and the magically grotesque atmosphere of Russian folk tales; our guide will be Israeli conductor Pinchas Steinberg. Bizet, who grew up on Montmartre, was seventeen when he wrote his first symphony, in C major, as a simple school project. The piece, however, brimming with gestures and fresh momentum, has gone on to become far more than that. The composer kept it hidden in a drawer his entire life. Once it was discovered, it outshone the oeuvre of Bizet’s beloved master, Charles Gounod. Described by critics as “enchanting and charming,” the piece has become an important part of romantic line-ups. Like Bizet, Shostakovich was a passionately devoted and highly skilled pianist. This concert, however, will feature a cello concerto, written for a friend and student of the Russian composer: Mstislav Rostropovich. The Concerto in E-flat major is one of the most difficult cello concert pieces in the world. It is a deep and personal confession, full of ambivalent emotions towards an unpredictable world (the Stalinist Soviet Union), where one never knows if one will awake as a hero or a scapegoat. The soloist for the piece, the Russian Alexander Kniazev, is regarded as a worthy successor to Rostropovich. The concert will conclude with perhaps the most popular piece from yet another Russian composer. Mussorgsky’s music became truly great following its transformation by Ravel. His daring, contrary and challenging suite, Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) was written originally for piano, following the tragic death of his friend, the painter Viktor Hartmann. Mussorgsky was inspired by a commemorative exhibition of his good friend’s paintings. The music brings to life the figure of a fantastic gnome, an old castle, a cumbersome cart, chicks, market-goers and witches: Russian tales and colourful moods.

Haydn Strukow Mozart Takács-Nagy Bazsinka

March 07–08 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 07 th Thursday 19.45 Ormándy 08 th Friday 19.45 Solti B

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 80 in D minor, Hob. I:80 Valery Strukow: Concerto for Tuba Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade in D major (“Haffner”), K. 250 József Bazsinka (tuba) conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy

Gábor Takács-Nagy has endless energy and an unbridled imagination when it comes to the music of Haydn and Mozart. Frenzy, airy elegance and Mozart’s genius are complemented at the second concert of our series with a unique tuba concerto, where everything could change at a moment’s notice. The first guest conductor of the Festival Orchestra begins the concert with Symphony No. 80 of the master of the genre, composed by Haydn at Eszterháza. The composer’s sense of humour is on display several times in the piece: after the intense emotions so typical of Sturm und Drang sweep the listener away, they are swiftly, almost shockingly replaced by quaint melodies of sunshine. And while the stormy mood does not pass completely, light comedy does triumph at the end of the symphony. The second piece of the concert is truly a delicacy, played by a finalist of the orchestra’s Sándor Végh Competition, József Bazsinka. The BFO’s musician calls Strukow’s tuba concerto a tribute to the tuba master Mel Culbertson. “The first movement projects such endless might, with excited sixteenth note beams chasing one another between the orchestra and the soloist. But when lyrical melodies also join the chase, everything changes as though by magic. The second movement is a rare gem: something so nice that people only dream of. It is like seeing a full moon in its most content calm – a real ‘full-moon movement’. It is all about touching, blessings, peace, love and gratefulness. The third movement is happy, liberated and playful, like the marching of happy young pioneers.” Mozart composed the bright and celebratory Serenade in D major for the wedding of Elisabeth Haffner, daughter of the affluent mayor of Salzburg. The light and elegant piece, incorporating violin solos, is an important work of the gallant style. According to musicologist H. C. Robbins Landon, this was Mozart’s first great orchestral work – that is, the first in which “technical ability and musical genius are perfectly wedded.”

Jรณzsef Bazsinka

Bartók Fischer Sebestyén Vizin Cser

March 21 + 23 April 01 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 21st Thursday 19.45 Doráti 23rd Saturday 15.30 Reiner 01st Monday 19.45 Solti

Romanian Folk Dances – Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances Hungarian Folksongs – Béla Bartók: Hungarian Peasant Songs Béla Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle Márta Sebestyén (vocal) Viktória Vizin (mezzo-soprano) Krisztián Cser (bass) conductor: Iván Fischer

The Festival Orchestra does not simply perform Bartók; they live and breathe his music, and now invite audiences to join them for an entire evening of fantastic spiritual richness and deeply honest music. “Iván Fischer, Márta Sebestyén, Ildikó Komlósi, Krisztián Cser and the likes make being Hungarian in a concert hall akin to being Meryl Streep at the Academy Awards gala. One simply gets used to doors opening, and the audience rising for a standing ovation,” wrote a member of the Festival Orchestra’s audience, following the 2017 performance of the ensemble in London. The BFO will now perform this concert of Bartók’s works in Budapest. The first part of the evening will be unique and unusual, placing original folk music collected by Bartók side by side with his own compositions. Joining the orchestra on stage for this will be the most authentic partner possible: Márta Sebestyén – whose mother was a student of Zoltán Kodály – will perform these traditional Hungarian folksongs, adding her own personal touch but preserving their original character. The second part of the concert will not stray too far from folk motifs either, for Bartók – even while composing his only ballad opera – remained deeply interested in folk music. Bluebeard’s Castle is the agitated dialogue of a man and a woman, a psychological mystery sweeping the audience away to the deepest reaches of the male soul. This soul is, in many ways, reminiscent of Bartók’s lonely personality, prone to melancholy. Critics had this to say of the BFO performance: “The orchestra’s performance was brilliant in every colour of the rainbow. Never in my life have I heard this many colours be brought to life. This was matched perfectly by Krisztián Cser’s wonderful, velvety bass.” This time, Cser will be joined by Viktória Vizin; a renowned mezzo-soprano, she has performed for audiences at Covent Garden, Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan.

Ivรกn Fischer

Community Week Church concerts

April 15–19

Community building is extremely important to the BFO. In the past thirty-something years, the orchestra and its audience have grown into a large and ever-expanding, music-loving family. “Bach’s cantatas are all about the meaning of life – something all of us think about from time to time when we have the opportunity for reflection. Our church concerts offer the perfect occasion for that.” (Eszter Lesták Bedő, violinist) The aim of our Community Weeks is to help the BFO family grow, to strengthen the ties within existing communities and forge new ones through the power of music. There are many people in this country who are open to music, but distance and a lack of time prevent them from enjoying the BFO’s performances. We help them by bringing our free concerts to local churches. Our musicians are constantly on the lookout for new challenges, beyond the spectrum of orchestral performances. Over five years ago, we founded our baroque ensemble, which plays on authentic period instruments. Their performances play a key role in both our regular season and our community work. And what could be more fitting for baroque music than the spirituality, atmosphere and acoustics of a church? We started our church concert series in the summer of 2014. Since then, we have visited Calvinist, Catholic and Lutheran communities. The first of these concerts was held at the Lutheran church in Budapest’s Deák square, and our subsequent nationwide tour has taken us from Pannonhalma to Kiskőrös to Debrecen, and even to the tiny Transylvanian village of Kaplony. We built the first year and a half of our series around Bach’s cantatas, but we’re now broadening out our repertoire to include other baroque composers and different genres. The Festival Orchestra is happy to be preserving this musical tradition and would be delighted to share it with new audiences.

Verdi Mozart Tchaikovsky Honeck Andsnes

April 27–28–29 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 27 th Saturday 19.45 Doráti A 28 th Sunday 15.30 Széll + Midnight Music 23.30 29 th Monday 19.45 Doráti B

Giuseppe Verdi: The Force of Destiny – Overture Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto in C major, K. 467 Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) conductor: Manfred Honeck

A fateful evening of games, romance, a dainty waltz and intimate prayer lasting until Tchaikovsky’s symphony releases the sound of victory. The Austrian Manfred Honeck, who has been leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for ten years, is a deeply devout man, which provides him with an internal compass while making music. He is deferential and generous; sincere, humorous and open. He worked at length in Scandinavia, allowing him to easily find common ground with the concert’s Norwegian pianist. According to the New York Times, Leif Ove Andsnes is the embodiment of elegance, power and insight; he is a six-time recipient of the Gramophone Award, the Oscar of classical music. The programme starts out with the overture of Verdi’s passionate and bloody opera, The Force of Destiny, where the motif of destiny, racing feverishly, fuses with a prayer-like melody. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed eleven piano concertos between 1884 and 1886, a time which also coincided with the debut of The Marriage of Figaro. It was during these prolific years that Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major was born; Mozart’s father, Leopold, found the piece “surprisingly difficult.” The melody takes the stage of the concert piece like a prima donna during the first movement. In the second, intimate and lyrical, it calms down, only for the piece to conclude with happy banter reminiscent of comic opera. The motif of destiny breaks free once again at the end of the concert. It connects the movements of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, but also undergoes a significant transformation in the process. Initially invoking a funeral ceremony, it broadens into a triumphant march. During World War II, it was precisely this fateful struggle and confidence in victory which made the piece so popular; it was even played during the siege of Leningrad. The shelling launched during the second movement at a concert in autumn 1941 could not stop the performance, either.

Leif Ove Andsnes

Mozart Bruckner Fischer Ax

May 09–10–11 Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall 09 th Thursday 19.45 Doráti 10 th Friday 19.45 Solti + Midnight Music 23.30 11 th Saturday 15.30 Reiner

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453 Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major („Romantic”) Emanuel Ax (piano) conductor: Iván Fischer

Emanuel Ax’s performance is intimate, and calls attention to Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G major in a delicate and smart way. Bruckner’s symphony, on the other hand, loudly demands attention. Both approaches are worth following. “What Emanuel Ax builds out of musical notes is not an ostentatious castle, but a reserved and cosy home, which surprises visitors with each of its rooms opening into another,” Élet és Irodalom wrote about the pianist following his last performance with the BFO. Fischer and Ax understand each other perfectly, which paves the way for their staging of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major (1784). Like Concerto No. 21 in C major, which will also be performed this season, it was composed at the peak of Mozart’s career. Both pieces conclude with a brilliant comic opera movement. However, No. 17 promises further surprises. The first movement is evocative of military marches, yet remains elegant and dainty, while the second is charged with exceptionally beautiful modulations and stunning dissonances. The pianist will be celebrating his 70th birthday with the piece. While Ax’s world is akin to a tiny house full of charming secrets, Bruckner’s music is a “romantic cathedral”, Iván Fischer says. According to the conductor, Symphony No. 4 is based on two elements: a solemn awe that can be compared to no other, and the most passionate romance following in the footsteps of Wagner. This is what gives rise to Bruckner’s exceptional magic, which is appreciated everywhere in the world. He relied on his creative logic to renew the symphony – and was thought to be either conservative or radical. Symphony No. 4 is one of the most popular pieces from this controversial Austrian composer, and the only one to which he gave a name. The “Romantic” Symphony starts out in a medieval town, moving from there to a forest filled with birdsong and the excitement of hunting, finally treating its audience to a grand meal shared afield.

Emanuel Ax

Leonidas Kavakos

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: The Hebrides Overture Robert Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor (“Pathétique”) Gautier Capuçon (cello) conductor: Leonidas Kavakos

May 31 June 01–02 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 31st Friday 19.45 Solti A 01st Saturday 19.45 Solti B 02nd Sunday 15.30 Széll

Mendelssohn Schumann Tchaikovsky Kavakos Capuçon

Leonidas Kavakos: the soloist to whom – regardless of personal taste – all members of the Festival Orchestra give five stars. The Greek violinist also boasts success after success as a conductor; now debuting with the BFO, he will demonstrate this to our audience in Budapest. The concert begins with a journey down a winding road. Mendelssohn was influenced by a European voyage he took at 22, and in particular by the breathtaking view of the islands off the coast of Scotland, inspiring him to write one of his most popular overtures. Motifs from The Hebrides Overture, evoking the sometimes tranquil and sometimes raging waves of the seas, have appeared in films, cartoons and even video games. The conductor and the soloist both make this concert special. The French Gautier Capuçon is the 21st century ambassador of the cello, an artist whose music is shaped by intuition. Dexterous, expressive and dramatic in force – yet still airy. Schumann’s cello concert, reaching its climax in the dramatic and lyrical second movement, will be brought to life on his brilliant Goffriller cello. Symphony No. 6 is Tchaikovsky’s last finished symphony. The composer worked hard at it, even breaking down in tears several times while composing; he felt he was working on his best piece. Its opening and closing movements are filled with pain and sorrow, while the middle two movements feature airy dance music and the energetic pulse of a march. According to Tchaikovsky, the symphony had a “subjective” programme, but he never revealed to anyone what this might be, which has lent itself to plenty of speculation. Following his death, which remains shrouded in mystery to this day (and which came nine days after the premier of Symphony No. 6), the notion that the dramatic piece was his farewell message has become increasingly widespread.

Vivaldi Rebel Zelenka Handel Telemann Goebel Contzen

June 08–09 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Grand Hall 08 th Saturday 19.45 Doráti B 09 th Sunday 15.30 Ormándy

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 576 Jean-Féry Rebel: Characters of Dance Jan Dismas Zelenka: Symphony in A minor, ZWV 189 Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 577 Georg Friedrich Handel: Trio Sonata in F major, HWV 392 Georg Philipp Telemann: Violin Concerto in F major, TWV 51:F4 Mirijam Contzen (violin) conductor: Reinhard Goebel

The last baroque concert of the season will feature Reinhard Goebel as our guide for stops along the Italian, French, Czech and German baroque road. The New York Times has called him a “beacon in a sea of mediocrity”. “Vivaldi did not actually compose five hundred concertos: he just wrote the same one five hundred times,” Stravinsky has said mockingly. Whether or not that’s true, concert pieces were one of the Italian baroque master’s fortes. Vivaldi wrote the two G-minor violin concertos for the extraordinarily talented Staatskapelle Dresden, renowned throughout Europe. Next up after the Italian baroque is the French, represented by its most innovative composer, Jean-Féry Rebel. His early works helped revolutionise violin techniques, and his dance music was unmatched in its popularity. His short suite, the un usually fresh Characters of Dance embodies the fashionable dances of Rebel’s time, offering fleeting glimpses of different characters in the whirlwind of a masquerade ball. Reinhard Goebel played a key role in the rediscovery of the Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, whose musical language was deeply influenced by Czech folk music. His art is closest to that of Bach, yet its abundance of unexpected turns in terms of dynamism and harmony come close to pushing the limits. The audience will witness as much in his Symphony in A minor. The works of Handel and Telemann will allow glimpses into yet another aspect of baroque. Handel was 21 when he wrote his Trio Sonata in F major, culminating in a dramatic, chromatic way. This piece was also written for the Dresden orchestra, as was the Telemann violin concerto, with which the concert wraps up. Telemann allows the solo violin to sparkle while fusing it with the orchestra.

Reinhard Goebel

Amadinda Percussion Group

André Jolivet: Suite en Concert for Flute and Percussion Lou Harrison: Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra; Concerto No. 1 for Flute and Percussion Steve Reich: Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings Jóföldi Anett, Sebők Erika (flute) Amadinda Percussion Group conductor: Zoltán Rácz

June 10 Budapest Music Center 10 th Monday 19.45

Jolivet Harrison Reich Rácz Jóföldi Sebők Amadinda

The Amadinda Percussion Group will be turning 35 in spring 2019. As part of their celebrations, they will perform a chamber concert together with the BFO. The programme at the BMC will feature two concert pieces, preceded by an exotic French opening work and followed by the Hungarian premiere of a piece by Steve Reich. Like listening to the excited song of an exotic bird, the concert kicks off with the concerto suite of the French André Jolivet, composed in 1965. The star of the piece is the brilliant flute. The comparison to the atmosphere of a distant land is no coincidence: the composer grew up on Montmartre, was attracted to cubism, esoteric philosophy and traditional African music, and travelled a great deal during his life. Amadinda has always placed great emphasis on American pieces. They established a close relationship with Lou Harrison and Steve Reich, with the latter composing several pieces for the group. Harrison was captivated by the music of Native Americans; he composed several pieces for gamelan ensembles, traces of which will be noticeable in his violin concerto (1959). The lyrical, colourful violin speaks with the percussion instruments, at times tense and rhythmic and at others soft and melodic in their tone. The percussion group brings to life flower pots, tin cans and water pipes. In his short, but often played, thickly woven flute piece, composed in 1939, Harrison makes full use of all the attributes of this instrument: he offers plenty of occasions for the highest notes of the flute to shine. The second half of the concert will offer Hungarian audiences the first opportunity to hear a 2005 composition by the first master of minimalist music, Steve Reich. Typical of the composer’s pieces, the work is repetitive and features the silvery sounds of four vibraphones intertwined with three string quartets. Their radiance is counterbalanced by the double-bass-like deep sounds of two pianos.

Community Week Synagogue concerts

June 10–14

Each season, the BFO makes every effort to take music out of the confines of concert halls. The orchestra introduces unique concert variations, and performs at ever more unconventional venues to build ties with audiences. “Although we have been touring the country for five years now, I know that each and every time, we will be performing concerts in yet another unusual venue. The sense of time travel that we experience at each of these events is always a special and unforgettable experience for all of us.” (Ákos Ács, clarinetist) Since the summer of 2014, our Community Weeks have seen us perform in provincial synagogues that have been abandoned or no longer serve their original purposes. We found our concerts in Bonyhád, Baja, Karcag, and Albertirsa to be hugely significant experiences. Our goal is to fill synagogues that were laid bare by the Holocaust with life, music and culture once again. Tunes, stories and flavours can introduce local communities to the one-time diversity and tolerance that used to be so typical of Hungary. Our concerts will be featuring works by composers with Jewish connections, as well as klezmer tunes. As Iván Fischer summarised the essence of the concert series: “Synagogues still stand in many villages and small towns which have not had Jewish inhabitants for a long time. Some places are in ruins, while others have been turned into furniture stores or a gym. We visit these places, and give free concerts. People are curious, and the music entices them in. The orchestra plays and a rabbi speaks about how things used to be, about how cohabitation with the Jewish community looked. With the beauty of our music and those stories we hope to bring the memories of the former Jewish community closer to those who now live near the building.” The series is a joint production of the BFO, EMIH and Mazsihisz. Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne is the platinum partner of the Synagogue concerts.

Dancing on the Square Fischer

June Heroes’ Square

“The Budapest Festival Orchestra includes people – instead of excluding them.” Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra launched the Dancing on the Square project in 2015. This initiative is not just about music and dancing, but also about mutual acceptance, tolerance, and the experiencing of moments created together. The stars of the initiative each year are the 500 children who dance together to the orchestra’s music at Heroes’ Square in Budapest and become real heroes themselves for a day. The performers spend months working towards a common goal, getting ever closer to each other, and enjoy the fruits of being part of a community with thousands of members. In 2019, we will be organising our fifth free open-air extravaganza. The participating schools are with us in the effort to include as many Roma and non-Roma, underprivileged and better-off children as possible. In addition to the weekly dance rehearsals, we organise regional meetings and summer camps with drama, music, dance and board game sessions. We cooperate with the Foundation for Democratic Youth to strengthen community ties and social skills and also to give the children the opportunity to meet the BFO’s musicians and thus bring them even closer to classical music. Based on feedback from the kids and the teachers working with them, we are on the right track: “Children from various parts of the country became true teams”, “Lifelong friendships were built”, “What goes on here is truly wonderful”, “I’ve never seen the girls laugh like that”, “Children accept each other”, “These children are able to create things from nothing”, “The Dancing on the Square camp opened my mind to things”, “Music gives the most in life”. All this confirms our belief that music can build special bonds between people regardless of gender, social status or ethnic background. It teaches us to cooperate with, be open to and look after one another.

November

April

February

May

21 th Wednesday 23.30 Castle Garden Iván Fischer

16 th Saturday 23.30 Castle Garden Iván Fischer

28 th Sunday 23.30 Castle Garden Manfred Honeck

10 th Friday 23.30 Castle Garden Iván Fischer

Midnight Music Fischer Honeck

“Listen to great works by great composers, surrounded by the orchestra, lounging on beanbags and learn what to listen for!” Balázs Bujtor, violinist Some prefer listening to music at night. At our Midnight Music concerts, audiences enjoy classical music from a new perspective with unique acoustics, lounging on beanbags by our musicians in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The BFO also presents some of its concerts at 23.30 for young members of our audience who are open minded, enjoy engaging with arts in an unusual setting and are also night owls. In addition to a beautiful, high-quality classical performance, the audience is provided with short, insightful and entertaining introductions. Midnight concerts are also a great experience for the musicians, since they can see every tiny reaction by the audience from smiles to rhythmic finger drumming and drowsy breathing. Everything is personal and genuine, with no stage to create distance and no one scolded for accidentally nodding off. “Midnight Music concerts are living proof that a classical music concert can be a relaxed and informal affair. Everyone here feels ‘magically liberated’, and you never feel like leaving at the end,” said one audience member. For those who have never heard the BFO perform live, Midnight Music is the perfect opportunity to get to know this world-renowned orchestra. Instruments are but an arm’s length away as you are embraced by music – a perfect setting for a date.

“The members of this orchestra are in a permanent process of rethinking and transformation, always open for discovery and to turn new findings into a shared experience.” Csaba Czenke violinist

“We are living in and for music and every piece of sound is considered a personal matter. We are deeply unified in the respect for everybody whose sound clearly is of honest expressiveness.” István Kádár violinist

Chamber music

Chamber music Sunday Chamber Music

2018 SEPTEMBER 30

2019 OCTOBER 21

JANUAR 06

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 17.00

Haydn, Debussy, Brahms

Takemitsu, Lajtha, Živković, Ravel, Mozart

Haydn, Françaix, Dohnányi, Crespo

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D Major (“The Lark”), Op. 64, No. 5, Hob. III:63 Claude Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34

Toru Takemitsu: Bryce László Lajtha: Trio No. 1 for Flute, Harp and Piano, Op. 22 Nebojša Jovan Živković: Trio per Uno, Op. 27 Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte (arranged by István Kurcsák and László Herboly) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516

Joseph Haydn: “Lobkowitz” String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 77, Hob. III:81 Jean Françaix: Octet Ernő Dohnányi: Sextet in C major, Op. 37 Enrique Crespo: Suite Americana No. 1

Antónia Bodó, violin Mária Gál-Tamási, violin Tibor Gátay, violin Erika Illési, violin Anikó Mózes, violin Ágnes Csoma, viola István Polónyi, viola György Kertész, cello Gabriella Liptai, cello Mária Kovalszky, piano Brigitta Taraszova, piano

Zsófia Lezsák, violin Noémi Molnár, violin Ágnes Csoma, viola Csaba Gálfi, viola Lajos Dvorák, cello Rita Sovány, cello Anett Jóföldi, flute Boglárka Fábry, percussion László Herboly, percussion Dániel Janca, percussion István Kurcsák, percussion Ádám Maros, percussion Ágnes Polónyi, harp Kinga Katinka Szilágyi, harp

NOVEMBER 04

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 17.00 Brahms, Borodin, Dvořák Johannes Brahms: Four Serious Songs, Op. 121 (arr. by Barnaby Kerekes) Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin: String Quartet No 2. in D major Antonín Dvořák: Klid (Silent Woods), Op. 68 Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8

Antónia Bodó, violin Violetta Eckhardt, violin Noémi Molnár, violin Csaba Gálfi, viola Orsolya Mód, cello Péter Szabó, cello Csaba Wagner, trombone Dávid Báll, piano István Lajkó, piano

Bence Asztalos, violin Ágnes Biró, violin Györgyi Czirók, violin István Kádár, violin Anikó Mózes, violin Erika Illési, viola István Rajncsák, viola György Kertész, cello Orsolya Mód, cello Rita Sovány, cello László Lévai, double bass Ákos Ács, clarinet Dániel Tallián, bassoon Dávid Bereczky, horn Zoltán Szőke, horn Tamás Póti, trumpet Zoltán Tóth, trumpet Balázs Szakszon, trombone József Bazsinka, tuba Dávid Báll, piano

Chamber music

Sunday Chamber Music

Contemporary Chamber Music

2019

2018

MARCH 17

APRIL 14

DECEMBER 16

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 17.00

Röntgen, Frühling, Mozart, Beethoven

Haydn–Salomon, Mozart, Saint-Saëns

Blench, Szabó, Antal, Penderecki, Lutosławski, Plog

Julius Röntgen: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 100 Carl Frühling: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 40 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Trio in G major, K. 564 Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quintet in C major (“Storm”), Op. 29

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G major (“Surprise”), Hob. I:94 (arranged by Peter Salomon) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade in E-flat major, K. 375 (original version) Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 92

Ágnes Biró, violin Krisztina Haják, violin Pál Jász, violin Eszter Lesták Bedő, violin Zsófia Lezsák, violin Cecília Bodolai, viola Péter Kostyál, viola Kousay Mahdi, cello Rita Sovány, cello Péter Szabó, cello Rudolf Szitka, clarinet Gábor Farkas, piano Emese Mali, piano

Tímea Iván, violin István Kádár, violin Noémi Molnár, violin Barna Juhász, viola Yanghee Lee, cello Kousay Mahdi, cello Gabriella Pivon, flute Roland Csalló, clarinet Rudolf Szitka, clarinet Sándor Patkós, bassoon Dániel Tallián, bassoon Dávid Bereczky, French horn András Szabó, French horn Zoltán Fejérvári, piano

Karl Blench: Four Monologues Csaba Szabó: Five Duos for Violin and Cello Mária Antal: Hymn for the Coming Months Krzysztof Penderecki: Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio Witold Lutosławski: Subito; Mini Overture Anthony Plog: Four Sketches

Zita Váradi, soprano Violetta Eckhardt, violin Mária Gál-Tamási, violin Erika Illési, violin István Kádár, violin Gyöngyvér Oláh, violin György Fazekas, viola István Polónyi, viola György Kertész, cello Gabriella Liptai, cello Péter Szabó, cello Berta Bánki, flute Ákos Ács, clarinet Zoltán Szőke, horn Tamás Póti, trumpet Zoltán Tóth, trumpet Balázs Szakszon, trombone József Bazsinka, tuba László Herboly, percussion István Kurcsák, marimba Ágnes Polónyi, harp Gábor Gyülvészi, piano

Chamber music

Back to Nature chamber music on period instruments

2018 OCTOBER 20

2019 APRIL 21

BFO Rehearsal Hall, 17.00

Dall’Abaco, Porpora, Handel, Rameau, Boismortier, Telemann

Castello, Corelli, Telemann, C. P. E. Bach, Biber, Rosenmüller, Jarzębski, Vejvanovský, Schmelzer

Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco: Concerto a quattro da chiesa, Op. 2, No. 5 Nicola Porpora: “Alto giove” (aria from the opera Polifemo) Georg Friedrich Handel: Organ Concerto in F major, HWV 292 Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco: Concerto a piu istrumenti, Op. 6, No. 5 Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concerts, No. 5 Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Sonata in G minor, Op. 10, No. 3 Georg Philipp Telemann: “Paris” Quartet No. 6 in E minor, TWV 43:e4 Nóra Tatai, soprano Eszter Lesták Bedő, baroque violin Anikó Mózes, baroque violin Zsolt Szefcsik, baroque violin István Polónyi, baroque viola Rita Sovány, viola da gamba György Kertész, baroque cello Csaba Sipos, baroque double-bass Gabriella Pivon, baroque flute Gergely Hamar, oboe Csaba Nagy, oboe István Győri, baroque guitar, lute Soma Dinyés, harpsichord Augusztin Szokos, harpsichord Dávid Homolya, organ

Dario Castello: Sonata concertata, Libro II, No. 12 Arcangelo Corelli: Sonata in D major, Op. 1, No. 12 Georg Philipp Telemann: Trio Sonata in A minor, TWV 42:a4 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Trio Sonata in D minor, H. 569 Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (?): Sonata a tre, C App. 117 Johann Rosenmüller: Sinfonia seconda Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Sonata IV in C major (Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes); Sonata VI in A minor (Fidicinium sacro-profanum); Sonata X in G minor (Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes) Adam Jarzębski: Sentinella Pavel Josef Vejvanovský: Sonata in G minor Johann Heinrich Schmelzer: Polish Bagpipes; Sonata a cinque

Zsuzsanna Szlávik, baroque violin Emese Gulyás, baroque violin, baroque viola Gyöngyvér Oláh, baroque violin, baroque viola Nikoletta Reinhardt, baroque viola Rita Sovány, viola da gamba, baroque cello György Kertész, baroque cello Kousay Mahdi, baroque cello Csaba Sipos, baroque double-bass László Lévai, baroque double-bass Gabriella Pivon, baroque flute Gergő Farkas, baroque bassoon Fruzsina Hara, baroque trumpet Attila Sztán, baroque trombone László Herboly, percussion Gábor Tokodi, lute, guitar Soma Dinyés, harpsichord, positive organ Angelika Csizmadia, harpsichord Judit Varga, harpsichord

Antónia Bodó, baroque violin Eszter Lesták Bedő, baroque violin Noémi Molnár, baroque violin Gabriella Nagy, baroque violin János Pilz, baroque violin

“Belonging to this ensemble means to care about each other on and off the stage, to build strong ties with the audience and to tear down walls wherever we find them.” Barna Juhász viola player

“Iván’s tremendous creativity is the source of the orchestra’s many colours and vitality. It is wonderful for me to experience the joy and playfulness in all of our performances.” Orsolya Mód cellist

On tour

The world encounters BFO

“When the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer, its founder and music director, are in town, it is best to expect the unexpected. A performance by the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Fischer is always going to be worth seeking out,” says Richard Fairman, the critic of the Financial Times. Journalists use words such as “exquisite” and “extraordinary”, social media is awash with appreciative and warm comments after our concerts and we are welcomed back by all the major European houses again and again. Our musicians always have the feeling that the audience not only demand more and more encores from the BFO but are reluctant to allow the orchestra to leave the stage at the end of the evening. But the cheering and applause can make for a very overwhelming experience for some people. As we do at home, therefore, we offered a sensory-friendly concert designed for young people on the autistic spectrum and with other developmental disabilities and their families, in New York. These special audiences are equally important to us: we want everyone to be able to enjoy a BFO concert! And that sums up the amazing impact that the BFO continues to have on its audiences, in whatever country we find ourselves. This season will see us return to London, start our new and very exciting opera venture in Vicenza and the first part of our project with András Schiff, pairing Beethoven’s piano concertos with Dvořák’s orchestral works, which will take us all over Europe. We will perform in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and return to New York – this time to Carnegie Hall – with two Bartók programmes which will include Bluebeard’s Castle and Concerto for Orchestra. We will take this project to Paris, Hamburg and Luxembourg, too. Every concert is a new and unique encounter which we cannot get bored of. The BFO is warmly welcomed all over the world and is considered one of the top major orchestras in the world!

On tour

2018

2019

August 18–31 Italy Great Britain Spain

February 12–13 Belgium The Netherlands

18th Naples, Ravello Festival – Belvedere di Villa Rufolo 19th Naples, Ravello Festival – Belvedere di Villa Rufolo 22nd London, Royal Albert Hall 23rd London, Royal Albert Hall 25th Santander, Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria 26th San Sebastián, Kursaal 27th San Sebastián, Kursaal 29th Stresa, Palazzo dei Congressi 31st Merano, Kursaal October 12–15 Italy 12th Vicenza Opera Festival, Teatro Olimpico 13th Vicenza Opera Festival, Teatro Olimpico 14th Vicenza Opera Festival, Teatro Olimpico 15th Torino, Lingotto November 25 – December 03 Germany Poland Austria 25th Frankfurt, Alte Oper 28th Munich, Philharmonie am Gasteig 30th Baden-Baden, Festspielhaus 01st Warsaw, Filharmonia Narodowa 02nd Vienna, Musikverein 03rd Vienna, Musikverein

12th Antwerp, Koningin Elisabethzaal 13th Amsterdam, Concertgebouw March 13 Germany 13th Berlin, Konzerthaus March 25 – April 06 Germany Luxemburg France USA 25th Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie 26th Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie 28th Luxembourg, Philharmonie 30th Paris, Philharmonie de Paris 31st Paris, Philharmonie de Paris 05th New York, Carnegie Hall 06th New York, Carnegie Hall May 16–21 Belgium France 16th Bruges, Concertgebouw 17th Bruges, Concertgebouw 18th Bruges, Concertgebouw 20th Toulouse, Halles aux Grains 21st Grenoble, Maison de la Culture

Reviews of the BFO

“Mr. Fischer had become a New York favorite for his virtuosity and his expansive ideas of what concerts can be. In 80 percent of the cases, my right eyebrow is going up as there is yet again a new idea, and every single time, it turns out to be unbelievably powerful.” Jane Moss, the artistic director of Lincoln Center “At the end, Fischer led chorus and orchestra to a quiet final chord that was startling in its total refusal of the grand manner. He got his reward, in the stunned silence of the audience.” The Telegraph “There was no encore, just a massively satiated feeling of having heard superb music, superbly played and thoughtprovokingly programmed.” Seen and Heard International “That Leonard Bernstein called Das Lied Mahler’s ‘greatest symphony’ made every bit of sense, for the BFO’s concert was an absolute triumph.” Bachtrack 83

“Working with children proves that music has no borders. It opens young people’s hearts, making them more approach able, as if you have stepped into another dimension of mutual understanding.” László Herboly percussionist

BFO cares

Young BFO

Listening to music, singing and playing an instrument can all contribute to the development of speech, language and creativity, as well as to the upkeep of our spiritual health. The Festival Orchestra’s globally unrivalled programme of musical education endeavours to introduce the treasures of classical music to children and young adults. During these action-packed adventures, younger learners become familiar with some instruments and short tunes, while older ones get the chance to acquaint themselves with operas and symphonies. Whether it’s our melodies ringing around a small village during Music Castle, or the Choose your Instrument programme in one of Budapest’s top schools, the children’s sparkling eyes show us the beauty and importance of our work. Our mission is to share the joy of music with both younger and older children, whether they are from the capital or the countryside, well-off or disadvantaged. The exchange of culture and values forms the basis for building a community, but without education, there can be no culture. The 2018–19 season will see us continue our renowned and popular youth programmes. We are strengthening ties with a growing number of partner schools in order to show the multi-coloured world of instruments and music literature, as well as the creativity and playfulness of the orchestra. We organise Teacher’s Cafés, where we discuss current educational issues with teachers over a cup of coffee. Over the course of our Community Weeks we play in children’s institutions, churches, synagogues and nursing homes. In 2015, we decided that we shouldn’t just visit disadvantaged regions, but give the chance to those who live there to come to Budapest and create an important and grand event together, the Dancing on the Square project. Through mutual understanding and dedication, we endeavour to bring culture to all members of society. Discover the moment together! Orsolya Erdődy, Deputy Executive Director

Young BFO

FOR 6-8 YEAR OLDS CHOOSE YOUR INSTRUMENT “Life is about vibrations. To introduce a child to the miraculous world of music-making is a chance to make their life better.” (József Bazsinka, tuba player) We recommend this programme for kids who have not yet decided which instrument they would like to take up. Our musicians visit schools and perform miniconcerts to introduce their instruments, which the kids may then try out. The singing violins, the vibrations of the cymbals and the squeals of delight speak for themselves. FOR 8-18 YEAR OLDS BFO REACHES OUT! “During my time as a music academy student I was involved with the world-renowned Festival Orchestra’s concerts. I’d like it if as many young people as possible could share in the same experience I had: the joy of making music together.” (Rudolf Szitka, clarinetist) As part of the programme, BFO artists will visit young people in the countryside, offering master classes and encouraging them to follow in their musical tracks. The joint rehearsals provide an opportunity to find new talent; the musicians also perform chamber music at unusual venues, including baths, zoos or hospitals.

FOR 8-18 YEAR OLDS OPEN REHEARSALS “Young students learn teamwork, creativity and choir music – and through this, they experience the joy of creating music together.” (Emese Gulyás, violinist) But it is not just the BFO ‘reaching out’; children can also reach out to the orchestra. Open rehearsals are a great opportunity for students from our partner schools to gain first-hand experience of how a symphony orchestra works and to get a glimpse behind the scenes. We provide a guidebook to participants to optimise their learning experience. FOR 12-19 YEAR OLDS SEE WHAT YOU HEAR! “The purpose of our film competition is the same as the goal of our musical events: to become engrossed in the music, and to capture its atmosphere and message – all in the right rhythm.” (Ágnes Polónyi, harpist) The BFO has been inviting film submissions from secondary school students for eight years. Our goal is to connect the artistic genres and to bring classical music and film closer to young people. The jury has been chaired by a number of renowned directors, including Ildikó Enyedi, Kornél Mundruczó and Szabolcs Hajdu.

BFO in the community

September 03–09 April 15–19 June 10–14

Over the past 35 years, the Budapest Festival Orchestra has become a regular guest at the world’s most significant and prestigious concert halls. Whether in New York, London or Abu Dhabi, they are always welcomed with open arms. However, for Iván Fischer and the musicians of the BFO, the priority is to allow Hungarian audiences – of all ages and segments of society, living under any circumstance – to enjoy their music. Because of that, in addition to our loyal regular audience, we also try to involve those who cannot make it to the concert halls. Such groups include disadvantaged young people, who neither are familiar with nor have access to classical music; disabled children, who would require great efforts to attend a concert; the elderly, who often find that live violin music is the best medicine; families who cannot afford to buy tickets; and the inhabitants of small towns and villages as well as church communities. In other words, everyone who might find music important. “I can no longer make it to the opera from here, even though I used to love going. My wheelchair keeps me confined to the home. That’s why it is so nice to be able to listen to beautiful classical music, especially when played so well,” said a resident at a nursing home after our Playtime concert. For her and for everyone living with limitations, BFO organises three free Community Weeks. Our chamber ensembles give more than 20 concerts a week at nursing homes, children’s institutions, schools, churches and synagogues. We believe that music can build special relationships between people, and we work to enable as many as possible to experience the positive effects of music.

Cocoa Concerts

September

February

November

April

23rd Sunday 14.30 and 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Iván Fischer

03rd Saturday 14.30 and 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Erika Illési

16th Saturday 14.30 and 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Iván Fischer

13th Saturday 14.30 and 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Erika Illési

May

12th Sunday 14.30 and 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Iván Fischer

FOR 5-12 YEAR OLDS COCOA CONCERTS “Let’s play to become children!” (Erika Illési, violinist) Many of our adult audience members learned to love classical music at our concerts. Their children now make up the core of Cocoa Concert audiences. The series can now look back at more than two decades of weekend afternoons of music and storytelling in a family atmosphere, introducing the world of music to young audiences. This season, we once again welcome families to our interactive concerts, and after the music and applause have died down, the young audience will be able to queue up for polka-dot mugs of hot cocoa. AUTISM-FRIENDLY COCOA CONCERTS “My son looks forward to these events almost as much as he looks forward to Santa (and he spends much of the year waiting for Santa)! They have really helped him grow fond of classical music.” With the help of the International Cseperedő Foundation, Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra have, in recent years, developed a unique concert format that provides a safe and fun environment for autistic children and their families alike. Before the concerts, we send some helpful materials to the families so that they can prepare for the visual and audio effects and make sure the children do not encounter anything unexpected during the concert. By the time they enter the orchestra’s rehearsal hall, they will already be familiar with the musicians’ faces as well as their instruments. We also offer a hand to guide them during the concerts: story-like explanations and colourful visual tools help the little ones follow the music. COCOA CONCERT SEASON TICKETS In addition to the regular Cocoa Concert Season Tickets, family season tickets are also available for committed concertgoers. For details, see pages 119 –125 of this booklet.

“Nothing in the world is more important than culture. It remains, while everything else fades with the passing of time. And culture in the form of music brings people together in a spirit of peacefulness.” András Szecskay Board member

“Music unifies wherever it takes place around the world, even if it happens in a Chinese nursing room. This happened to be one of the most uplifting concert experiences I have ever been part of.” Antónia Bodó violinist

Support

Together we can do more Without the dedication of our music-loving friends, the BFO wouldn’t be what it is today: an open-minded, constantly reinvented, world-renowned orchestra. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to meet our artistic, educational and community goals. In exchange for their donations, we offer exclusive discounts and experiences to BFO Patrons, who can become part of our life by attending intimate meetings and rehearsals. They can get to know one another and our musicians more closely, and make lifelong friendships. Join this extraordinary community! BFO cares The Dancing on the Square project has hundreds of kids dancing together in the spirit of tolerance; our synagogue concerts advocate acceptance and loving coexistence; and our church concerts bring the ecclesiastical music of past centuries to life. “Choose your Instrument” and “Music Castle” introduce young schoolchildren to the magic of music. Our community and youth programmes are free. This way, even those who cannot make it to the concert halls can enjoy them. Our foundation spends each donation to fund the BFO’s concerts as well as community and youth programmes. Generous donations can help more and more people benefit from the joy of music.

Volunteer programme Those who would like to have closer ties to the BFO and volunteer their time to help our foundation are welcome to join our volunteer programme. They can also help by contri buting home-made cookies, translations, office work and organisational work. Young friends of the BFO Let’s discover the magic of music across generations! From the 2018/19 season forward, we are encouraging young members of our audience to join the ranks of the BFO’s supporters. Friends under 35 will get a 50% discount from the annual fee of BFO Patrons, and can enjoy events organised specifically for them. For further information: tamogatoiklub@bfz.hu +36 1 489 4330

BFO Patrons

The BFO’s electronic newsletter for supporters Online programme booklet for BFO concerts Discount at Bohém Restaurant Admission to Müpa Budapest’s VIP room during the intervals of certain concerts Invitation to the annual Benfactors’ Dinner A signed BFO CD Opportunity to join the orchestra on an international tour (includes discounted travel offers)

gold

silver

bronze

Conductor’s Circle

gold

Benefactors silver

gold

Invitations to open rehearsals Exclusively for BFO Patrons, discounted tickets are made available twice a year

silver

days time pcs.

bronze Purchase season tickets before they go on general sale in 2018

Supporters

bronze

Benefits and levels

19 19 1500 1200 2 4

19 900 4

19 19 1500 1200 4 4

19 900 4

· · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

· · · ·

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Opportunity to buy BFO single tickets before they go on general sale (days)

Invitation to the annual Benefactor+ Dinner

· · · · ·

Invitation to a BFO concert with the CEO (# occasions /season)

Invitation to a post-concert reception with the Music Director (# occasions /season) Support amounts by level: Supporters: bronze 25.000 HUF Benefactors: bronze 150.000 HUF Conductor’s Circle: bronze 1.200.000 HUF

silver 50.000 HUF silver 300.000 HUF silver 2.000.000 HUF

gold gold gold

100.000 HUF 600.000 HUF 5.000.000 HUF

The BFO reserves the right to make occasional modifications or withdraw specific club membership benefits as it sees fit. Due to circumstances beyond the BFO’s control, at some performances the full range of membership benefits may not be available. Please contact tamogatoiklub@bfz.hu or +36 1 489 4330 about instalment plans.

BFO Patrons

The conductor’s circle – gold Walter Katalin and Cornelius

The conductor’s circle – silver John and Caroline Flüh Isolde Schröder Simor András Sylvia Toth Jutta von Falkenhausen

The conductor’s circle – bronze Stephen and Radka Benko Bojár Gábor and Zanker Zsuzsanna dr. Élő Nóra Bernhard Hulla Hubertus von Wulffen

Szecskay Law Firm Kertész Gabriella dr. notary Kohlrusz Milán and Szabó Dária Marschall Miklós dr. Mártonfi Attila Mécs Endre and Andrea Mészáros János Nyitrai István Richard and Michelle Pelly Reichardt Ibolya and Lengyel Péter Rényi Andrea and Straub Elek SBGK Law Firm, Szamosi Katalin dr. Steiner László and Zsuzsa David and Petra Thompson Varga Ildikó dr. and Nagy Péter dr. Vámos György dr. Vihar Judit dr. Zoltán István and Ágnes

Gold Benefactors Bottka Erzsébet dr. and Feldmájer Péter dr.

‫אליעזר יצחק בן אברהמ‬

Juhász Zoltán instrument maker Nicholas Kabcenell and Gudor Orsolya Meinczinger-Krug Zsuzsanna and Armin Krug Mosonyi György and Mosonyi Ágnes Rosta Ildikó dr. and Ferjentsik Miklós dr. Szecskay Law Firm Szelényi Iván Varga Júlia Zsámboki Gabriella dr.

Silver Benefactors Bíró Ágnes Bognár Péter – Vaya Travel Ltd. Richard Brasher Bródy Péter dr. and Ildikó Csík Gabriella dr. and Hudecz Ferenc dr. John Farago and Jeanne Martin

100

Bronze Benefactors Arriba Taqueria Bakró-Nagy Marianne Balázs Árpád and Dénes Andrea Beghetto Oreste Paolóné Berger Györgyné Loreta Bernabei-Reynolds Boros István Bőcs Ferenc and Sárdy Ágnes Cseszkó Magda Csépe Valéria dr. and Molnár Imre Dornbach Alajos dr. and Zachár Zsófia Egervári Gábor dr. and Mezei Ilona Nancy and Stephen Fuzesi Göncz Kinga and Benedek László Gyarmati György dr. and Kuti Katalin György Pál dr. and Simon Ágnes Győri Zsuzsanna dr. and Garai Ferenc

Hanák Gábor and Tatai Ágnes Havass Miklós and wife Horváth Ágnes dr. Huebner Charles and Suzanne Jankovich József Béla Kalmár György Kelemenné dr. Visky Katalin Király Júlia David Kirkby Ruth Kirkby Komáromy Péter and Pollák Katalin dr. Kozula Zsuzsa and Mészáros Balázs Kökény Mihály dr. and Stiller Mária Lantos István dr. and Misius Magdolna Markovich György dr. and Sátai Anikó dr. Mester Éva and Hancz László Molnár Gábor dr. Németvölgyi Ágnes Pre-Tax Ltd. Professional Medical Ltd. Salgó Judit Sarkadi Ágnes and Gergely Pál dr. – Fortuna Gallery Somfai Éva dr. – Somfai and Co. Industrial Property Ltd. Sólyom Éva dr. Surányi Sándor and Sándorné Szauer Péter Szántó Csaba and Szántó-Kapornay Emőke Székely Zoltán and Leposa Csilla Geoffrey Thomas Tóth Gábor and wife Török Zoltán Varsányi Pál and Katalin

Gold Supporters Anonymous Bálint Andrásné dr. Bánáti Mária Baráth Barna and Szemerédy Viktória dr. Bársony Farkas dr. Bittner Péterné

BFO Patrons

Burger Balogh Ingeborg and Balogh Tibor Csillag György dr. and Keszthelyi Alexandra dr. Drexler Miklós and Lengyel Gabriella Eisler Péter dr. Fekete István and Horváth Jánosné dr. Gál Borbála Gálné Győrfi Gabriella Anna and Gál György Garics Zoltánné Gyergyák György and Haiman Ágnes Karl Philip Hall Holéci József Kertész Viktor and Terézia Király Éva Kocsány János Richard and Julia Lock Madar Gyula and Batta Mária Matskási István dr. Nagy Károly dr. Nyárádiné dr. Szabady Judit Pallag Tibor and Karner Anikó Palotai János and Soltész Anikó dr. Pálfia Judit dr. Sáfár László dr. Sápi Hedvig Sápi Lajosné Seres Béla Soltész + Soltész Ltd. Somogyi Éva and Horváth László Szabó Gábor dr. Szabóné dr. Szomor Erika Szegvári Mária dr. Szever Zsuzsanna dr. and Dalos Mihály Szilágyi Béláné, Szilágyi Éva and Horváth Péter Tanos Zsuzsa Tárnok Gyöngyi Varga Péter

Silver Supporters Albáné Feldmájer Lívia dr. and Alba Mesulam Alföldi István Ambrus Ágnes dr. Anonymous Apáthy István B. Nagy András Bacher Gusztáv Barczikay László Barkóczi Jolán Barta Andrásné Barta Éva Barta Pál Bende Zoltán Benedek Andor Benedek János and Molnár Magdolna Berecz József Bereczki Éva Berényi Gábor and Pető Katalin dr. Bertalan Éva dr. Bérczi Gábor Böszörményi Katalin dr. Csanádi Judit and Gyabronka József Csernay László dr. Dögei Anna Farkas Zoltán Feldmájer Lea and Kocsis Tamás Feuer István Feuer Mária Fogarasi Norbert Futó Judit Füredi Gábor Gabriel Szilvia dr. and Kalmár Lajos dr. Gadzsokova Kraszimira Galambos Éva dr. Garai Péterné Gálosi György and Júlianna Géta Center Ltd. Gordon Pál Gosztákné Plank Mária and Madaras Olga Görgényi Judit and Dénes Miklós Greiner Ákos Gyulai András Hargitai Tibor and Ilona

Hámori Ferenc and Ács Éva Hegyes Erzsébet dr. and Szolnoki Gábor Hollay György Hornung Hajnalka and János Horváth Anna Horváth László Horváthné Szakonyi Mirella Ihász Márta and Spollár József Jáger Gyula Jáger Zsuzsanna Kabódi Erzsébet Kabódi Ferenc Kabódi Mátyás Kádi Anna and Sziráczky Zoltán Keviczky László Kiss Attila Kiss Erzsébet Klauber András dr. and Szigeti Éva dr. Komlósi Júlia and Zsolt Kőszegi László Krausz András Lastofka Péter and Patkós Katalin László János dr. and Péley Bernadette Lázár József and Belényi Zsuzsanna Lövenberg Gábor and Radó Júlianna dr. Madách Zsuzsánna Makai Katalin dr. and Ungár János Malatinszky István Márton János Mitsányi Zoltán and Juvancz Beáta Müller György and Bárd Anna Nagy István Nagy Mária Éva Németh György Ottó Mária Paksy László dr. Pappné Radics Edit dr. Patyánik Mihály dr. Pártos Oszkár dr. Pelle Gáborné Pető Katalin dr.

101

BFO Patrons

Petrucz György Révai Péter dr. and Maya Rimanóczy Zoltán and Csala Éva Rónai Márton and Bereczki Éva Rónai Tiborné Schagrin Tamás Sitkei Éva dr. Sívó Róbert Spohn Ferenc Szabó Klári Szegedi András Szent-Martoni Mária Szűcs András Tokaji Nagy Erzsébet Torma Kálmán and Halász Anna Tóth Katalin Tóth Mihály and wife Valis Éva Márta Varga Péter Varsányi Gyula Váradi János Váradi Mónika dr. and Varjú Gabriella Végh Józsefné Vígh János Vörös Imre Rolf Wessel

Bronze Supporters Abonyi Iván dr. and wife Alföldy Zoltán and Szász Erika Almási József dr. Almási Józsefné Ábrahám Zoltán and Ábrahámné Hovancsák Éva Árpási Krisztina and Somfai Gábor Márk dr. Árvay Jánosné Balázs Gabriella Balázsné Szücs Judit Balogh Edit Banász Andrásné Baranyi Éva dr. Barkóczi Jolán Barsi Gusztáv dr. Bánki Ervinné Benedek Zsolt Benkő Judit dr.

102

Béres Károlyné Biksz Péter Birman Erzsébet and Tóti Magda Boda Zsuzsanna and Kohut Tibor Bodor Aranka and Liliom Károly Bodor József Bogdán Istvánné Bogdány Éva Bognár Béla dr. Borissza József and wife Boryné Laczkó Ágnes Bölöni Eszter and Felsmann Balázs Bumberák József dr. Buzás Viktória Búzás Józsefné Csillag Beáta Csurgó Ottóné dr. Dalmy Dénes Danziger György dr. Deák János Dorogi Gabriella Dósai Tamara Duba Andrea Duba Jenő dr. Egri István Erdős Gáborné Fadgyas Ildikó dr. and Magyar Iván dr. Fahidi Éva and Andrási Andor Fáberné Fejes Katalin Fábián András Faragóné Ható Katalin Farkas Gábor Fazekas László Fehéregyházi Zsuzsa Feldmájer Ágnes and Sándor Feldmájer Benjámin

‫בנימין פלדמיר‬

Feldmájer Györgyi and Benedek Zsolt Feldmájer Máté and Bán Petra Félegyházi Pál Félix László Földényi Éva and Korda Péter Francsicsné Czinege Erzsébet dr. Frank Péter

Furmann Gergely Fülöp László dr. Gál Nóra dr. Galambos Imréné Gallasz József and Edit Gál Mátyásné Gecse Jolán Gecsey Dezsőné Genti György dr. Gerő Judit and Reich Tamás Gidáli Júlia dr. Glatt Gábor Görög Tamásné Gurubi Imre and Jónás Katalin Guti Péter Gyulai József Hajdu András dr. Halász Gábor Halász Péterné Halbrohr Pál Halmos Judit and Magyar Mihály Harkányi Mária Havas Ágnes Havas István dr. Havas Katalin and Élő Sándor dr. Hámori Rudolf dr. Hegedűs Andrásné Hetényi Ágnes and Bender Györgyné dr. Hollós Sándor dr. and Marosi Judit dr. Horváth István dr. Horváth László Horváth Sándor Horváth Vilmos and Kőszegi Anna Horváth-Lindberg Judit Hőnig Gábor Jakob Károly Jankó Katalin and Béla Jáki János and Jáki Marika Jeney Sarolta Jórend Judit dr. and Herczeg Ferenc Kalivoda Imre Kappelné Haraszty Noémi and Kozmer Margit Kardos István Kádár Lászlóné

BFO Patrons

Kádár Zsuzsanna dr. Káldor Mária Kálmán Istvánné dr. Kárpáti András and Fehér Márta Kelemen Antal Kerékgyártó Kálmán Kerényi Gyula Kertész Zsuzsanna Keve Károly and Urbán István Kirsch Bertalanné Kiss Andrea Kiss Mariann dr. and Szamarasz Theodorakisz dr. Kiss Róbert Gábor Klinga Ágnes Kocsis György and Hídvégi Gizella Komlósné Hlatky Katalin Korda János Korodi Mihály and Magyar Zsuzsanna Kónya Katalin dr. Kovács Katalin Kovács Zsuzsanna dr. Kósa Jánosné Kriston József dr. Kutas Magdolna Lantos Bálint dr. Lantos Gáborné dr. Lantos Zsolt dr. Láner Judit Láng Béla László Júlia Lehel Erzsébet Katalin Lellei György dr. Lendvayné dr. Győrik Gabriella Levente Péter and Döbrentey Ildikó Liptay-Wagner Sándor Lovas Jánosné dr. Maár Judit dr. and Krokovay Zsolt dr. Major György Matos Lászlóné dr. Máté András Meitner Tamás Meleghegyi Józsefné Merényi Gábor Mészáros Sándorné Mituszova Ludmilla dr. Mohácsi Endréné

Molnár Gáborné Monoki Klára Mosonyi Anna Mária dr. Nagy Ákos and Papp Izabella Nagy Anna Nagy Boldizsár Nagy Ervinné dr. Nagy Gábor Nagy Gyuláné Nagy Károly Nagy László Nagy Margit and Lantos György Nagy Pál Németh Zsófia Németujvári Lászlóné Palotai Valéria Pankotai Csaba Pankotainé Lux Margit Pap Ágnes Papp Adrienn dr. and Hámori Rudolf dr. Papp Szabolcs Pál József and Székely Anna Pálné Kutasi Éva and Banász Andrásné Pável Iván dr. and Pável Ivánné Pernesz Péterné Piller Tibor Pongó Judit Potzmann János Prágai Éva Radnóti István dr. Radó Andrásné Radó János dr. Rácz Zsuzsanna Rimanóczy Kálmán and Szomor Márta Rózsa Gyula Rudas Jánosné Ruttkai Ágnes Sáfár Judit and Kocsis Sándor Sárdi Gyula Segesváry Gábor and wife Sikóné dr. Horváth Ágnes Soltész András Solti Series Circle of Friends (B. Nagy Anikó, Barna István dr., Csanádi Mária, Hárs Ágnes,

Inzelt Annamária, Klaniczay Gábor, Kövendy Mária, Laki Mihály, Lőrincz András, Lőrincz Andrea, Papp Tamás, Sántha Vera, Sáska Géza, Sáska Vera, Szalai Juli, Turi Ágnes, Vági Eszter, Wollák Katalin) Süveges Márta dr. Szabó Daniella Szabó László Szabó Márta Szabó Piroska dr. and Oláh Ruben dr. Szabóné Farkas Anikó and Vértesné Bachler Ottilia Székely József dr. Szemenyei Klára dr. Szepesi András Sziráki Edit Szőke András and Helga Szőnyi Péterné dr. Theatrum Mundi Theatre and Literary Agency Thuróczy Györgyné dr. Török Ilona Törő Andrásné dr. Ujvári Tibor and Erika Ungár Péter Vajda János dr. and Radnai Mónika Vajda Julianna dr. Varga Pál Varga Veronika Vass Gabriella Vágó Júlia dr. Várnai Györgyi dr. Várnai Magdolna and Kajtár István dr. Végh Anna Vidák Jánosné Vince Ferencné Volenszky Paula Wéber László and Arányi Zsuzsanna dr. Zahorán Pál and Komáromi Éva Zeidler Gerdné Zelczerné Déri Erzsébet Zlatniczky Tamás dr. Zoltai Józsefné dr.

103

Supporters of our highlighted projects

Supporters of the fundraising event „Concert for Budapest” Agárdi Péter Amoser Erika dr. Banai Endréné Bánáti Mária Bányász Csilla Báthory Németh Andrea Bencze Júlia Benkő Judit Berczik Imréné Berger Györgyné Billus Daniela Bíró Ibolya Richard Brasher Bródy Péter dr. Brutyó Mária Central European University Csák Gábor Csáki Judit Csémi Mária Csillag György dr. Csík Gabriella dr. Csorba Miklós Endre Csöngedi Katalin Dalmy Dénes Deák Ágnes Ducsay Zsuzsanna Egervári Gábor dr. Elekes Ágnes Élő Nóra Embassy of the Netherlands in Hungary Embassy of Sweden in Budapest Engel Zsófia Eszes Nándorné John Farago Fényi Tibor Galambos Péter Garics Zoltánné Gelencsér Anna Gergely György

104

Gombos Éva dr. Gödri Enikő Gyulai András Halasi Edit Halmai Gabriella Hartai Krisztina Hausel Pál Helybéli Zoltán Hitesy Ágnes Hornung János Huebner Charles and Zsuzsánna Inkei Péter Jin Kaheui Kalmár György Kaszó Klára Kádi Anna Kerékgyártó István Kertész Gabriella dr. Kiss Eva Klug Annamária Knopp János Kobács Judit Kocsány János Kollárovics Ágnes Kovács Réka Kökény Mihály dr. Armin Krug Lakszner Katalin Lambrecht Beáta Marcus Lawrence Lányi Tamás Lengyel Intézet Richard Lock Ludvai Judit Lukács Tibor dr. Lycée Français Gustave Eiffel De Budapest Marton István dr. Matos Lilla Mártonfi Attila Márványi Katalin Máthé Csabáné Mihályné Molnár Zsuzsanna Mohácsi Endréné

Molnár Gáborné Moran Ildikó Nagy Elek András Nagy István Naszádos Edit Nádasdy Ádám Nemes Terézia dr. Neulaender Márta Némethné Judit Oláh Gyöngyvér Orehoczki László Pallos Gábor Parusef Imre Pászka Zsuzsa Pelle Gáborné Prosits László Rényi András Rényi Andrea Révész György Riedl Annamária Ruszthy Ádámné Sajósi Krisztina Éva Salgó Judit Veronika Sági Anikó Sánta Lívia Sápi Lajos Schmelcz Gabriella Schwenk Zsuzsanna Segesváry Gábor Sellyei Anna Sieber-Fazakas Eszter Simon Judit Simonyi Miklós Soltész Anikó Speer Walterné Stejer Viktória Surányi Erika Szabó Klári Szabó Lia Szabó Márta Szalay Julianna Szauer Jánosné Szecskay András dr. Szednicsek János

Supporters of our highlighted projects

Szőnyi Péter Tánczos Péter and Márta Tárnok Gyöngyi Tátray Kata Tihanyi Ferenc Dieter Uesseler Varga Marianna dr. Varga Júlia Váczi Vilmosné Vámos György dr. Váradi Júlia Várnai Györgyi dr. Varsányi Pál dr. Vidos Márta Vidos Mihály Vojnich Erzsébet Zakariás István

Supporters of Dancing on the Square Bálint Ferencné Boros Istvan – Cegos PLC Budapest Bortársaság Ltd. Futó Judit Galambos Éva dr. Galambos Péter Hornung Hajnalka and János Huebner Zsuzsánna and Charles Huebner Kertész Gabriella dr. notary Major Péterné dr. Mayer Andrea Mo Ortiz – Arriba Taquería Varga Júlia

VIP Supporters of the Season Opening Gala Alexandra Könyvesház Bajnai Gordon Bradley Bell Colleen Bell Stephen Benko

Radka Benko Nicolette Bingham Csépe Valéria Hajdu Judit Hajdú Mónika Horváth Vera Bernhard Hulla Cornelia Hulla Illés Gábor Kelen Anna – Virág Gallery and Auction House Wolfram Krohn Kathryn Livingston Forgan Mary McFadden Daisy Merey John Merey Miklósvári Andrea Molnár Imre Mosonyi György Mo Ortiz Sandy (John) Parkerson Matteo Peirone Porsche Hungaria PwC Judit Sauer Seres Béla Simor András Stephanie Stokes Varga Zoltán Vámos György Velencei Renáta Vígh Mónika Hubertus von Wulffen Katrin von Wulffen Cornelius Walter Walter Katalin

Supporters of the Season Opening Gala Ábel Tatjána Bakró-Nagy Marianne Balázs Árpád

Bálint Csilla Richard Brasher Bródy Ildikó Bródy Péter dr. Csermely Lili Csontos Beáta Dénes Andrea Francesco Fiorito Eric Fournier György Tibor Heal Edina Stephen Heal Andrea Huebner Charles Huebner Huebner Zsuzsánna Katerina Iliadi Roland Jaksch Karagich István Kádár Gabriella dr. Károlyi Zsolt Kohut Noémi Lányi Zoltán dr. László Csaba Markovich György dr. Marschall Miklós Martin Csilla Dale A. Martin Dimitrios Moulavasilis Pethe Ferenc Sátai Anikó dr. Konstantin Schimert Simák Mónika Simák Pál Alexander Strohmayer Strohmayer János Szamosi Katalin dr. Szecskay András dr. Széver Szófia Széver Szonja Tihanyi Ferenc Sylvia Toth Sophia Verykios Zwack Izabella Zwack Sándor

105

Corporate sponsorship

The Budapest Festival Orchestra’s close and valuable cooperation with its corp orate sponsors contributes to its success. The BFO is grateful for the corporate support enabling us to fulfil our artistic visions. We are proud of the relationship with our partner companies, which realised the sponsorship opportunities with one of the best orchestras worldwide. Our exclusive cooperation strengthens each other’s values to become part of a stronger and more successful community. To quote the BFO’s new corporate partner, BNP Paribas: “We are committed to encouraging artistic expression and supporting those who embody our core values of creativity, innovation and commitment. We are glad to accompany Budapest Festival Orchestra to manifest Hungary’s exceptional talents to all audiences around the world.”

106

As a corporate partner, you can support the BFO’s activities not only with direct donation but also with barter cooperation. Additionally, your employees can become intimately acquainted with the BFO’s culture of risk taking, unconventional ideas and discoveries as part of our voluntary programmes, gaining insight into the exciting background work of each projects. Let’s join the employees of Morgan Stanley and PwC, who assisted powerfully in the creation of one of the season’s most spectacular and wonderful programmes, Dancing on the Square! Further information: zsofia.koczan@bfz.hu +36 1 489 4331

Corporate sponsorship Thank you for your support! Platinum class partner

Platinum class partner of the Synagogue concerts

Diamond class partners

Silver class partners

Supporting partners

State partners

Emberi ErĹ‘forrĂĄsok MinisztĂŠriuma

Strategic partners

Media partners

“When we play, the outside world ceases to exist, time stops and we fully devote ourselves to music. This sole moment of joy should be shared with everybody.” Emese Gulyás violinist Ákos Ács clarinetist

„I very much support the orchestra’s multifaceted approach to culture and the fact that it builds a pluralistic community, making art and creativity accessible for all levels of society.” Paula Volenszky BFO supporter

Single and season tickets

111

Single and season tickets

For the 2018–19 season, we are offering six types of season tickets, two of which are available as family season tickets. For details on our season tickets, see pages 119–125 or visit our website at www.bfz.hu

Ticket prices Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall; Liszt Academy

Premium

II.

III.

IV.

15.300

9.400

6.600

5.100

3.000

Haydn–Mozart Plus

11.800

7.100

5.000

4.000

3.000

Baroque Concerts

11.800

7.100

5.000

4.000

3.000

Concertino - Italian Cultural Institute

11.800

7.100

5.000

4.000

3.000

Debussy–Ravel marathon

1.500

Cocoa concerts

3.000

Contemporary concert – BMC; Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre

3.200

Baroque concert – Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre

3.300

4.000

4.700

Midnight Music

2.000

Chamber music

3.200

Ticket and season ticket purchases can also be paid by bank transfer. Season tickets can also be purchased on instalments. The administration fee is 5% of the total purchase price.

112

Single and season tickets

Purchasing single and season tickets My first BFO season ticket You will receive a gift for your very first BFO season ticket purchase. We will issue a voucher that can be redeemed for a concert of your choice (subject to the availability of seats). For further information, visit www.bfz.hu Choose your subscription Upon the launch of single-ticket sales, you will be given the opportunity to purchase your own personal season ticket, allowing you to choose the 5 to 10 performances you want to visit. This includes a discount of 15 to 20% versus the price of solo tickets. E-season ticket If you buy your season ticket online, you will receive an e-season ticket. E-season tickets are fully valid electronic season tickets that grant concert admission. If you would like to exchange your e-season ticket for a paper ticket, you can do so in person at the BFO Secretariat. Guests in wheelchairs Subject to the availability of seats, guests in wheelchairs may request a free ticket up to one week before the concert by sending an email to rendeles@bfz.hu. Compa nions are eligible for a 50% discount.

Season tickets are available from 9 April 2018. Solo tickets are available from 28 May 2018.

Online Solo and season tickets can be purchased online at www.bfz.hu. Online purchases are not subject to an administration fee. Collection in person or by post You can place your order by sending an email to rendeles@bfz.hu or by calling +36 1 489 4332. A HUF 500 administration fee is charged for personal collection, while postal orders are subject to an additional postage cost of HUF 610. You can collect your items in person at the BFO Secretariat at District III, Polgár utca 8–10, Building B on weekdays from 9.00 to 13.00; between 9 and 13 April from 9.00 to 18.00; and between 28 May and 1 June from 9.00 to 18.00. We accept credit/debit cards, SZÉP Cards, Erzsébet Cards, OTP Cafeteria Cards, Erzsébet gift or leisure vouchers, and Ticket Culture & Sport vouchers.

At ticket offices Single and season tickets can also be purchased nationwide through Interticket offices and at the Rózsavölgyi Zeneműbolt (District V, Szervita tér 5., tel. +36 1 266 8337). Rózsavölgyi ticket office is our preferred ticket vendor.

113

Concert calendar

2018 Concerts The colour-coded dots indicate which season ticket(s) are valid for which concerts. Doráti A and B Solti A and B Reiner A and B Ormándy Széll

September

October

21st Friday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bridging Europe Čiurlionis, Pärt, Vasks Fischer, Schwartz, Cantemus Doráti

20th Saturday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Back to Nature – chamber music on period instruments

22nd Saturday 15.30

Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bridging Europe Čiurlionis, Pärt, Vasks Fischer, Schwartz, Cantemus Reiner

23rd Sunday 14.30 + 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Fischer 24th Monday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bridging Europe Čiurlionis, Pärt, Vasks Fischer, Schwartz, Cantemus Solti 25th Tuesday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre Bridging Europe Kõrvits, Tüür, Tubin Elts, Carneiro 26th Wednesday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre Bridging Europe Jarzębski, Bach, Żebrowski, Gorczycki Lesták Bedő 30th Sunday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music 114

21st Sunday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music 27th Saturday 19.45

Italian Cultural Institute Mozart, Weber, Bottesini, Mendelssohn Pilz, Szitka, Fejérvári Ormándy

28th Sunday 15.30 Italian Cultural Institute Mozart, Weber, Bottesini, Mendelssohn Pilz, Szitka, Fejérvári Reiner A

Concert calendar

November 03rd Saturday 14.30 + 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Illési 04th Sunday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music 08th Thursday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mozart, R. Strauss, Haydn Takács-Nagy, Bereczky Ormándy 10th Saturday 19.45

Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mozart, R. Strauss, Haydn Takács-Nagy, Bereczky Solti A

20th Tuesday 19.45

Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Dvořák, Beethoven Fischer, Fejérvári Doráti

December 21st Wednesday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Dvořák, Beethoven Fischer, Fejérvári Solti 21st Wednesday 23.30 Castle Garden Midnight Music Fischer 22nd Thursday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Dvořák, Beethoven Fischer, Fejérvári Reiner

08th Saturday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Reinecke, Corigliano, Schumann Korsten, Sipos Doráti 09th Sunday 15.30 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Reinecke, Corigliano, Schumann Korsten, Sipos Reiner 14th Friday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Hasse, Geminiani, Torelli Seiler, Suh, Bettini, T’Hooft Ormándy 15th Saturday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Hasse, Geminiani, Torelli Seiler, Suh, Bettini, T’Hooft Doráti A 16th Sunday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Contemporary Chamber Music 26th Wednesday 19.45 Budapest Congress Center Christmas concert – audience choice programme Fischer

115

Concert calendar

2019 January 06th Sunday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music 17th Thursday 19.45

Müpa Budapest, BBNCH R. Strauss, Ravel, Debussy, Wagner Ticciati, Trifonov Solti

February

March

03rd Sunday 10.30 – 22.00 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Müpa Budapest, Festival Theatre Debussy–Ravel marathon Fischer

02nd Saturday 15.30 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bizet, Shostakovich, Mussorgsky-Ravel Steinberg, Kniazev Széll

16th Saturday 14.30 + 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Fischer

18th Friday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH R. Strauss, Ravel, Debussy, Wagner Ticciati, Trifonov Ormándy

16th Saturday 23.30 Castle Garden Midnight Music Fischer

19th Saturday 15.30

Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Stravinsky Fischer, Cantemus Reiner

Müpa Budapest, BBNCH R. Strauss, Ravel, Debussy, Wagner Ticciati, Trifonov Reiner

26th Saturday 19.45 Italian Cultural Institute Mozart, Albrechtsberger, Grieg Pilz, Tondre, Szakszon Ormándy 27th Sunday 15.30

Italian Cultural Institute Mozart, Albrechtsberger, Grieg Pilz, Tondre, Szakszon Reiner B

116

17th Sunday 15.30

18th Monday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Stravinsky Fischer, Cantemus Doráti 19th Tuesday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Stravinsky Fischer, Cantemus Solti 27th Wednesday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bizet, Shostakovich, Mussorgsky-Ravel Steinberg, Kniazev Solti

28th Thursday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bizet, Shostakovich, Mussorgsky-Ravel Steinberg, Kniazev Doráti

07th Thursday 19.45

Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Haydn, Strukow, Mozart Takács-Nagy, Bazsinka Ormándy

08th Friday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Haydn, Strukow, Mozart Takács-Nagy, Bazsinka Solti B 17th Sunday 17.00

BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music

21st Thursday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bartók Fischer, Sebestyén, Vizin, Cser Doráti 23rd Saturday 15.30 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bartók Fischer, Sebestyén, Vizin, Cser Reiner

Concert calendar

April

May

June

01st Monday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Bartók Fischer, Sebestyén, Vizin, Cser Solti

09th Thursday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Mozart, Bruckner Fischer, Ax Doráti

13th Saturday 14.30 + 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Illési

10th Friday 19.45 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Mozart, Bruckner Fischer, Ax Solti

01st Saturday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mendelssohn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky Kavakos, Capuçon Solti B

14th Sunday 17.00 BFO Rehearsal Hall Sunday Chamber Music 21st Sunday 17.00

10th Friday 23.30 Castle Garden Midnight Music Fischer

27th Saturday 19.45

11th Saturday 15.30 Müpa Budapest, BBNCH Mozart, Bruckner Fischer, Ax Reiner

BFO Rehearsal Hall Back to Nature – chamber music on period instruments Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Verdi, Mozart, Tchaikovsky Honeck, Andsnes Doráti A

28th Sunday 15.30 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Verdi, Mozart, Tchaikovsky Honeck, Andsnes Széll 28th Sunday 23.30 Castle Garden Midnight Music Honeck

12th Sunday 14.30 + 16.30 BFO Rehearsal Hall Cocoa Concert Fischer 31st Friday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mendelssohn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky Kavakos, Capuçon Solti A

02nd Sunday 15.30 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Mendelssohn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky Kavakos, Capuçon Széll 08th Saturday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Vivaldi, Rebel, Zelenka, Handel, Telemann Goebel, Contzen Doráti B 09th Sunday 15.30 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Vivaldi, Rebel, Zelenka, Handel, Telemann Goebel, Contzen Ormándy 10th Monday 19.45 Budapest Music Center Jolivet, Harrison, Reich Rácz, Jóföldi, Sebők, Amadinda

29th Monday 19.45 Liszt Academy, Grand Hall Verdi, Mozart, Tchaikovsky Honeck, Andsnes Doráti B 117

BFO Friends Card o im ss rti e Fo rt Fo o an Pi o m si is an Pi

What do we offer? Bimonthly newsletter

The Budapest Festival Orchestra has relaunched its loyalty programme under the name “BFO Friends Card”, intended to be even more attractive, modern and functional than the earlier BFO Card. Joining the programme continues to be free and will bring you closer to the BFO community and give you a new perspect ive on one of the world’s top orchestras. Following your registration, you will be able to earn points with each ticket or season ticket you purchase, and through your active engagement with the Festival Orchestra. You can redeem your points for exclusive experiences beyond concerts and discounts. Your points will automatically add up in your profile. As you collect more points and progress through the corresponding levels, you will get more and more benefits. Depending on the number of points earned and the tier reached, we will host you at Müpa Budapest’s VIP salon during intermissions; you will be able to meet the musicians of the orchestra; and we will also hold a Black Friday, during which you will be able to purchase concert tickets at discounted prices. In addition, you will become eligible for discounts and unique events offered by our partners. Experiences from the Pianissimo to the Fortissimo level – become part of the large family of the BFO and join the BFO Friends Card programme! For further information, see: www.bfz.hu/en/loyalty-program

118

· · · ·

Personal BFO Friends Card

· · ·

Mailing of the quaterly magazin upon request

· · ·

Opportunity to shop at a discount price at least once a year Discount offered by BFO’s partners * 1 Opportunity to buy BFO single tickets early Invitation to meet the BFO’s artists and managers

10%

15%

20%

· · · *2

· ·

Invitation to the Müpa Budapest VIP room

Black Friday (once a year with all of the season’s single tickets available at a discount price)

*1 Bohém Restaurant (Müpa): 10% discount Bello Café (Liszt Academy): 10% discount Rózsavölgyi Szalon: 10% off tickets, 7% off books Magvető Café: 10% off tickets, 7% off Magvető books in the Café ResidentArt: free participation in Contemporary Encounters walk organised for BFO Friends; participation in the Street of Antiquities walk with a 50% discount for 2 persons Zwack Museum and Visitor Centre: 15% off tickets, 5% off spirits The list of partners keeps growing. *2 1 day before tickets go on public sale *3 2 days before tickets go on public sale

Doráti A+B 9 concerts + a bonus concert: one Sunday Chamber Music concert

2018

FEBRUARY 28 Thursday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bizet: Symphony in C major Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition Steinberg, Kniazev

SEPTEMBER 21 Friday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Čiurlionis: Miške (In the Forest) Pärt: Como cierva sedienta Vasks: Epifania Pärt: Te Deum Fischer, Schwartz, Cantemus

MARCH 21 Thursday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Romanian Folk Dances – Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances Hungarian Folksongs – Béla Bartók: Hungarian Peasant Songs; Bluebeard’s Castle Fischer, Sebestyén, Vizin, Cser

NOVEMBER 20 Tuesday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Dvořák: Legend in C-sharp minor, Op. 59/6; Slavonic Dance No. 5, Op. 46/5; The Forsaken Lover – for mixed choir, Op. 29/4 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 Fischer, Fejérvári

APRIL 27 Saturday 19.45 (A) APRIL 29 Monday 19.45 (B) LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Verdi: The Force of Destiny – Overture Mozart: Piano Concerto in C major, K. 467 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor Honeck, Andsnes

DECEMBER 08 Saturday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Reinecke: King Manfred – Overture Corigliano: The Red Violin Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major Korsten, Sipos

MAY 09 Thursday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mozart: Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453 Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (“Romantic”) Fischer, Ax

DECEMBER 15 Saturday 19.45 (A) LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Hasse: Larinda e Vanesio – intermezzo in three parts Geminiani: Concerto Grosso in D minor (“La Follia”) Torelli: Concerto in G minor (“Christmas”), Op. 8, No. 6 Seiler, Suh, Bettini, T’Hooft

JUNE 08 Saturday 19.45 (B) LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 576 Rebel: Characters of Dance Zelenka: Symphony in A minor, ZWV 189 Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 577 Handel: Trio Sonata in F major, HWV 392 Telemann: Violin Concerto in F major, TWV 51:F4 Goebel, Contzen

2019 FEBRUARY 18 Monday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Stravinsky: Four Norwegian Moods; Scherzo à la russe; Tango; Symphony of Psalms; The Rite of Spring Fischer, Cantemus

PRICES: Save 30% off of single ticket prices Premium category: HUF 96.000 I: HUF 60.000 II: HUF 43.000 III: HUF 33.500 IV: HUF 21.000

119

Solti A+B 9 concerts + a bonus concert: one Sunday Chamber Music concert

2018 SEPTEMBER 24 Monday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Čiurlionis: Miške (In the Forest) Pärt: Como cierva sedienta Vasks: Epifania Pärt: Te Deum Fischer, Schwartz, Cantemus NOVEMBER 10 Saturday 19.45 (A) LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Mozart: Symphony in G major, K. 318 R. Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11 Haydn: The Desert Island – Overture, Hob. XXVIII:9; Symphony No. 52 in C minor, Hob. I:52 Takács-Nagy, Bereczky NOVEMBER 21 Wednesday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Dvořák: Legend in C-sharp minor, Op. 59/6; Slavonic Dance No. 5, Op. 46/5; The Forsaken Lover – for mixed choir, Op. 29/4 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 Fischer, Fejérvári

2019 JANUARY 17 Thursday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall R. Strauss: Don Juan Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major Debussy: Pelléas and Mélisande Suite Wagner: Prelude and Love Death from Tristan and Isolde Ticciati, Trifonov FEBRUARY 19 Tuesday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Stravinsky: Four Norwegian Moods; Scherzo à la russe; Tango; Symphony of Psalms; The Rite of Spring Fischer, Cantemus

120

FEBRUARY 27 Wednesday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bizet: Symphony in C major Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition Steinberg, Kniazev MARCH 08 Friday 19.45 (B) LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Haydn: Symphony No. 80 in D minor, Hob. I:80 Strukow: Concerto for Tuba Mozart: Serenade in D major (“Haffner”), K. 250 Takács-Nagy, Bazsinka

APRIL 01 Monday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Romanian Folk Dances – Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances Hungarian Folksongs – Béla Bartók: Hungarian Peasant Songs; Bluebeard’s Castle Fischer, Sebestyén, Vizin, Cser MAY 10 Friday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mozart: Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453 Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (“Romantic”) Fischer, Ax MAY 31 Friday 19.45 (A) JUNE 01 Saturday 19.45 (B) LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor (“Pathétique”) Kavakos, Capuçon PRICES: Save 30% off of single ticket prices Premium category: HUF 96.600 I: HUF 60.000 II: HUF 43.000 III: HUF 33.500 IV: HUF 21.000

Reiner A+B 7 concerts + bonus concert – Reiner A: 28 October 2018; Reiner B: 27 January 2019

2018

Bonus concert for the Reiner B season ticket: JANUARY 27 Sunday 15.30 (B) ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 136; Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 Albrechtsberger: Trombone Concerto in B-flat major Grieg: Holberg Suite, Op. 40 Pilz, Tondre, Szakszon

SEPTEMBER 22 Saturday 15.30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Čiurlionis: Miške (In the Forest) Pärt: Como cierva sedienta Vasks: Epifania Pärt: Te Deum Fischer, Schwartz, Cantemus

FEBRUARY 17 Sunday 15.30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Stravinsky: Four Norwegian Moods; Scherzo à la russe; Tango; Symphony of Psalms; Rite of Spring Fischer, Cantemus

Bonus concert for the Reiner A season ticket: OCTOBER 28 Sunday 15.30 (A) ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE Mozart: Divertimento in B-flat major, K. 137 Weber: Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34 Bottesini: Concerto No. 2 in B minor for Double Bass Mendelssohn: String Symphony No. 7 in D minor Pilz, Szitka, Fejérvári

MARCH 23 Saturday 15.30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Romanian Folk Dances – Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances Hungarian Folksongs – Béla Bartók: Hungarian Peasant Songs; Bluebeard’s Castle Fischer, Sebestyén, Vizin, Cser

NOVEMBER 22 Thursday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Dvořák: Legend in C-sharp minor, Op. 59/6; Slavonic Dance No. 5, Op. 46/5; The Forsaken Lover – for mixed choir, Op. 29/4 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 Fischer, Fejérvári

MAY 11 Saturday 15.30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Mozart: Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453 Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (“Romantic”) Fischer, Ax

DECEMBER 09 Sunday 15.30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Reinecke: King Manfred – Overture Corigliano: The Red Violin Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major Korsten, Sipos

2019 JANUARY 19 Saturday 15:30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall R. Strauss: Don Juan Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major Debussy: Pelléas and Mélisande Suite Wagner: Prelude and Love Death from Tristan and Isolde Ticciati, Trifonov

PRICES: Save 28% off of single ticket prices Premium category: HUF 86.000 I: HUF 52.500 II: HUF 37.000 III: HUF 28.500 IV: HUF 17.500 Introduce your children to symphony orchestra concerts and save 50% off the price of the children’s tickets by pur chasing the Reiner Family Season Ticket. (The discount is only available on season ticket purchases for at least two adults and one child. For further details, please send an email to rendeles@bfz.hu.)

121

Ormándy 6 concerts + a bonus concert on 18 January 2019

2018 OCTOBER 27 Saturday 19.45 ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE Mozart: Divertimento in B-flat major, K. 137 Weber: Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34 Bottesini: Concerto No. 2 in B minor for Double Bass Mendelssohn: String Symphony No. 7 in D minor Pilz, Szitka, Fejérvári NOVEMBER 08 Thursday 19.45 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Mozart: Symphony in G major, K. 318 R. Strauss: Horn concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11 Haydn: The Desert Island – Overture, Hob. XXVIII:9; Symphony No. 52 in C minor, Hob. I:52 Takács-Nagy, Bereczky DECEMBER 14 Friday 19.45 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Hasse: Larinda e Vanesio – intermezzo in three parts Geminiani: Concerto Grosso in D minor (“La Follia”) Torelli: Concerto in G minor (“Christmas”), Op. 8, No. 6 Seiler, Suh, Bettini, T’Hooft

2019 Bonus concert for the Ormándy season ticket: JANUARY 18 Friday 19.45 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall R. Strauss: Don Juan Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major Debussy: Pelléas and Mélisande Suite Wagner: Prelude and Love Death from Tristan and Isolde Ticciati, Trifonov

122

JANUARY 26 Saturday 19.45 ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 136; Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 Albrechtsberger: Trombone Concerto in B-flat major Grieg: Holberg Suite, Op. 40 Pilz, Tondre, Szakszon MARCH 07 Thursday 19.45 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Haydn: Symphony No. 80 in D minor, Hob. I:80 Strukow: Concerto for Tuba Mozart: Serenade in D major (“Haffner”), K. 250 Takács-Nagy, Bazsinka JUNE 09 Sunday 15.30 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 576 Rebel: Characters of Dance Zelenka: Symphony in A minor, ZWV 189 Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 577 Handel: Trio Sonata in F major, HWV 392 Telemann: Violin Concerto in F major, TWV 51:F4 Goebel, Contzen PRICES: Save 25% off of single ticket prices Premium category: HUF 56.000 I: HUF 34.000 II: HUF 24.000 III: HUF 19.000 IV: HUF 13.500

Széll

ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE

3 concerts + a bonus concert: one Back to Nature concert

2019 MARCH 02 Saturday 15.30 MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Bizet: Symphony in C major Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition Steinberg, Kniazev APRIL 28 Sunday 15.30 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Verdi: The Force of Destiny – Overture Mozart: Piano Concerto in C major, K. 467 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor Honeck, Andsnes JUNE 02 Sunday 15.30 LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor (“Pathétique”) Kavakos, Capuçon PRICES: Save 20% off of single ticket prices Premium category: HUF 39.300 I: HUF 25.200 II: HUF 18.400 III: HUF 14.800 IV: HUF 9.800

Stage 1

Premium I. category

Cocoa Concert Family Season Tickets Single tickets for our Cocoa Concerts sell out quickly, but a season ticket can secure you a seat for the entire season. Buy three cocoa season tickets and save 20%!

II. category III. category IV. category Reserved places

Seats for persons with disabilities

123

MÜPA BUDAPEST Béla Bartók National Concert Hall

1st FL OOR s tage b alcony LEFT

2nd FLO OR

RIGHT alcony stage b

Stage

OR 2nd FLO

RIGHT alcony tage b OOR s 1st FL

stage b alcony LEFT

Orgonaülés

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8

9 10

11 12

13 14

15 16

17 18

2nd FLOOR side balcony LEFT

1st FLOOR side balcony LEFT

19 20

GROUND floor boxes LEFT

GROUND floor boxes RIGHT

2nd FLOOR side balcony RIGHT 1st FLOOR side balcony RIGHT

21 22

GROUND floor LEFT

GROUND floor RIGHT

24 25 1 2

1st FLOOR middle balcony LEFT

2nd FLOOR middle balcony LEFT

3rd FLOOR middle balcony LEFT

124

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

1st FLOOR middle balcony RIGHT

2nd FLOOR middle balcony RIGHT

3rd FLOOR middle balcony RIGHT

LISZT ACADEMY Grand Hall

Choir seats

Stage

Side balcony LEFT

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII

Side balcony RIGHT

Ground

Premium I. category

Middle balcony

II. category III. category IV. category Reserved places

Seats for persons with disabilities

125

Our BFO/Imprint Budapest Festival Orchestra Artistic Direction Music director: Fischer Iván Personal assistant to the music director: Juliane Stansch* Artistic planning consultant: Jennifer Spencer* Executive Direction Executive director: Stefan Englert Deputy executive director: Erdődy Orsolya Personal assistant to the executive director: Kóczán Zsófia Orchestra Management Operational manager: Magyarszéky Dóra Operational assistant, community programme coordinator: Szani Szolongo Youth programme coordinator: Juszt Anita Tour manager: Pócs Bence Tour assistant: Wolf Ivett Stage manager: Zentai Róbert Stage technicians: Kathi Sándor, Siba István Personnel manager: Kelemen Éva Marketing /Communications / Customer Service Art director: Andreas Schimert* Marketing director: Kolesár Krisztián Marketing manager: Tihanyi Kinga PR manager: Tossenberger Adél PR, Communications: Váradi Júlia* Audience relations: Molnár Adél, Máthé Kiss Simona Sponsorship Individual donations / BFO Patrons: Deák Zsuzsanna* Finance Chief accountant: Maglódi Györgyné Accountant: Szalai Lászlóné Secretariat Office assistant: Aranyosné Boros Angyalka *independent consultant

126

Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation Chair of the Board: Simor András Board of Directors: Boros István, Heal Edina, Marschall Miklós, Konstantin Schimert, Strohmayer János, Szecskay András, Sylvia Tóth, Varga Zoltán, Hubertus von Wulffen, Zwack Izabella

Patrick Reich Konstantin Schimert (Chairman) Wolfgang Schlenter Roland Schmidt Siegmar von Schnurbein Isolde Schröder Sabin und Eberhard Weiershäuser Franz Willnauer Hubertus von Wulffen

Members of the Supervisory Board: László Csaba (Chair), Jalsovszky Pál, Juvancz Beáta, Terták Ádám

BFO is qualified as an organisation with foreign supporters based on LXXVI/2017 law.

Chair of the Budapest Festival Orchestra Association: Bánffy Eszter

BFO contacts Secretariat: Polgár utca 8–10 (Flórián Udvar Office Blocks), Block B, mezzanine H-1033 Budapest, Hungary Telephone: +36 1 489 4330 Fax: +36 1 355 4049 Email: info@bfz.hu Bank IBAN number: HU58 10918001-00000089-59160000 (Unicredit Bank Ltd) Website and online ticket sales: www.bfz.hu

International Friends of the BFO US Friends of the BFO Colleen Bell Susan Bender Stephen E. Benko (Chairman) Aaron Feinstein Aniko Gaal Schott Sylvia Hemingway Andrew D. Komaromi (Treasurer) Heidi Lee-Komaromi Kathryn Livingston Forgan Kati Marton Nicolette Pathy Bingham (Secretary) Terez Rowley Christine Schott Ledes Laine Siklos Daisy M. Soros (Director Emeritus) Stephanie Stokes Emese Tardy-Green David M. Tobey Die Freunde des Budapest Festival Orchestra (Germany) Berthold Albrecht Patrick Bellenbaum Gräfin Andrea von Bernstorff Silke Cölln Jutta von Falkenhausen John Flüh Karin Hansen-Becker Thomas Kexel Lorenz Kiefer Wolfram Krohn Friedrich Kuhn Inga Petersen

Published by the Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation Publisher: Stefan Englert, executive director of the BFO Texts: Adél Tossenberger Graphic design: büro für mitteilungen Pictures: Marco Borggreve (21, 30, 36, 56); Böröcz Balázs (47); Miguel Bueno (27); Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (16); Csibi Szilvia (60); Farkas István Péter (47); Pedro Gonzales (44); Hajdú D. András (91, 93); Maike Helbig (33); Gregor Hohenberg (53); Martin Jehnichen (39); Kurcsák István (23); Lisa Marie Mazzucco (55); Félix Nadar (40); Németh Dániel (51); Sárosi Zoltán (24); Wolf Silveri (59); Stiller Ákos (2–3, 4, 9, 10–11, 15, 19, 35, 43, 49, 65, 66, 68–69, 73, 76–77, 81, 84–85, 94–95, 108–109, back cover); Zentai Róbert (63)