At Müpa Budapest on 29 March, three works were performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, directed by Thomas Adès, in his Hungarian début.
Eyes and Ears on Budapest
„All views on this blog represent the opinions of the author, and not Papageno.hu. Alexandra Ivanoff is an American music journalist who has degrees and musical training from the Eastman School of Music (NY) and Yale University (CT). She has contributed to the New York Times, Bachtrack.com, Hungarytoday.hu, the English edition of TimeOutIstanbul, and was a music and art journalist for seven years for Today’s Zaman in Istanbul. Ms. Ivanoff is grateful to Papageno for hosting this column.”
On 19 March, the Danubia Zenekar scheduled the “Harmonielehre” on their program along with Schönberg‘s “Theme and Variations” Op. 43/b, and Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1.
The unveiling of the spectacular building was celebrated with a red-carpet, champagne-flowing grand gala opening, attended by VIPs and press from around the world.
Hearing Wayne Marshall perform on Müpa Budapest’s great organ on 8 February will completely rearrange your thinking about what the ‘King of Instruments’ is capable of.
When listening to old recordings of pianist György Cziffra, one is transfixed at not only his extraordinary technique, but also his combination of fearlessness and sympathetic awareness of the composer’s most soulful demands. If any pianist now is to inhabit that same mix of incredible bravado, lyricism, and the occasional moody Hungarian brooding, it is János Balázs.
French conductor Laurence Equilbey is one of the lucky ones in the conducting world. Her domain is Le Seine Musicale, on the Île Seguin, an island on the Seine river between Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres in the southwest corner of Paris.
Pianist Géza Anda, was celebrated on the 100th anniversary of his birth, at the Liszt Academy on November 20.
Concerto Budapest Orchestra (directed by András Keller) has long deserved kudos for sticking their necks out to challenge the system to do what they feel is necessary for the survival of new voices.
During Müpa Budapest’s October Liszt Festival, two evenings – one in the Budapest Music Center…
Less than a week apart, two pianists detonated their surprise bombshells of keyboard genius on…