Júlia Karosi's latest musical journey seeks an even more intimate sound than before, with the singer also taking on the role of keyboardist. The vocal theme is built on multiple parts, performed live by two young singers who have recently distinguished themselves with their unique voices: Rebeka Nagy-Babos and Kriszta Koncz. The lyrics of the songs are largely inspired by Japanese haiku poetry, while the music combines elements of modern classical music and minimalist art pop with the world of jazz in both style and sound. The musical producer of the project is Yank, known for his extremely diverse work.

Few visual arts rely as heavily on music as cinema does. It is no coincidence that Béla Balázs called film music the third dimension of film. The winter concert of the Egri & Pertis Piano Duo’s series “Crosstalks”, which explores the interplay of sister arts, places the synthesis of film and music at its center. How do image and sound influence each other—and how does their union affect the viewer? The history of cinema proves that film music is far more than a mere accompaniment: it has created its own formal language, shapes dramaturgy, and continues to inspire composers to create exceptional works. The program arc starts from “classical” composers who also wrote for the movies—among them Camille Saint-Saëns, Sergei Prokofiev, and Darius Milhaud—and reaches all the way to icons of film music such as Henry Mancini, Hans Zimmer, and John Williams. Along the way, the audience can recall favorite film experiences like “The Godfather,” “The Pink Panther,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “Star Wars.” The concert’s guest artist will be Ádám Balázs, the film composer honored with numerous domestic and international awards, who wrote the music for the Oscar-winning film “Sing.” In a brief onstage conversation, topics will include the workings of the Hollywood “dream factory,” his relationships with film directors, and why it is important for a film composer to learn to compose with a stopwatch. The exciting evening will once again be hosted by Szilvia Becze, the popular editor-presenter of Bartók Radio. The series is supported by OTP Bank.The photo of the Egri & Pertis Piano Duo was taken by Mátyás Baranyai.

The Legendary Album Series | Blue Note Series | Miles Davis Vol. 1. | Young Man With a Horn The title Young Man With a Horn not only refers to the film of the same name but also acknowledges that Miles Davis was already considered one of the greatest promises in jazz at the time. The 1952 recordings were later released in an expanded form under the title Miles Davis Vol. 1. On the album, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and trombonist J.J. Johnson engage dynamically and atmospherically with Davis, who later highlighted in his autobiography how satisfied he was with these recordings, despite having entered the studio without a regular band. In the MAO adaptation, the horn section will consist of Kornél Fekete-Kovács (trumpet), Kristóf Bacsó (saxophone), and Mátyás Papp (trombone), while the rhythm section will feature the familiar trio of Gábor Cseke, József Barcza Horváth, and László Csízi.

Saxophonist and composer Yvonne Moriel is one of the most exciting new voices in Austria’s vibrant jazz scene. Her recent recognition with the Austrian Jazz Prize for Best Newcomer highlights her artistic depth and growing influence. Over the past two years, her quartet sweetlife has been captivating audiences and was selected as a New Austrian Sound of Music act for 2025/26 – which acknowledges their fresh perspective and valuable contribution to Austria’s dynamic and forward-looking jazz community. The sound of sweetlife blends classic jazz elements with electronic soundscapes, complex rhythmic structures intertwine with dub effects. The instrumentation – saxophone, trumpet, synth bass/keys, and drums – presents a reimagined take on the classic, sophisticated jazz quintet. Yvonne Moriel, trained in both classical and jazz music, is a stylistically versatile musician. With her highly individual musical voice and compelling original projects, she has drawn quite some attention. Names like Shake Stew, Seb Rochford, Christian Muthspiel, Christian Lillinger and many more pop up when you are looking at her musical activities. Since 2022, she has been developing a distinctive sound with sweetlife – one that questions traditional concepts and opens up new sonic spaces. Following the release of a first EP in 2024, their debut album is set to be released end of 2025, accompanied by an international tour including Europe, America and Asia.  

The Austrian trio other:M:other (consisting of Judith Schwarz, Arthur Fussy and Jul Dillier) aims to create a rhythmic symbiosis of sound. Acoustic and electronic sounds merge seamlessly into one another, creating percussive networks of impulses that draw their inspiration equally from experimental music and beat-based club music. With unconventional instrumentation, extended playing techniques and a free improvisational approach, they explore the boundaries of musical genres and are virtuosos at translating their own sound language into a wide variety of stage settings, concert formats and stylistic contexts. Imagine a missing link between free jazz improvisation and club music and you get the idea of what makes this trio so unique.  

"Hidden Figures" explores deconstructed structures and playful reinvention: works by Schönberg, Stump-Linshalm, Bailie, and Haas merge into an audiovisual concert experience at the intersection of structured composition and chance. Tone colors, layers of sound, and reflections on travel and relocation enter into a dynamic dialogue with the audience – open, multi-layered, and colorful. The MIKAMO Central European Chamber Orchestra was founded by the critically acclaimed graduates of the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts in 2007. The ensemble considers concerts Gesamtkunstwerk and regards historic music repertory as the extrapolation of new works from our time. While dedicated to living composers and the repertory of current music, MIKAMO also promotes artistic continuity in defining a Central European musical heritage by regularly performing in defining concert halls of Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Central Europe in general. The concert is organized by the Sonus Foundation for the Support of New Music and Contemporary Performing Arts, with support from the National Cooperation Fund, the National Cultural Fund, Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport and Austrian Cultural Forum.

Pianist Verena Zeiner and drummer Ziv Ravitz met in NYC, when they both lived in the vibrant city. Since 2021 they play together as a duo and have released two albums since then: The Sweetness of Finitude (2022) and Radical Care (2025), an album on which the duo’s sound palette has been expanded to include guitar, bass and a string trio, creating a rich, immersive musical experience. Verena Zeiner, renowned for her unique and captivating piano performances, seamlessly blends improvised music with elements of chamber music and jazz. Ziv Ravitz, an exceptionally versatile drummer and composer, is one of the most sought-after musicians in modern jazz, collaborating with greats such as Avishai Cohen, Petros Klampanis or Dominic Miller. On this evening they will perform pieces from their existing albums and also brand-new music, featuring electronic enhancements to their acoustic instruments.  

All pianists agree that the Wohltemperiertes Klavier is one of the pinnacles of the instrument's repertoire, both musically and technically. László Borbély has proven on numerous occasions that he is not afraid to take on the greatest professional and artistic challenges. He has been immersing himself in the Wohltemperiertes Klavier since the beginning of his career, and now he is fulfilling his plan to perform the entire two-hour cycle, representing an inexhaustible range of Bachian inventions. Borbély has a true passion for Bach's music: in 2019 he recorded the Goldberg Variations, followed two years later by The Art of the Fugue, which he performed at BMC as well. This evening, he aims to achieve no less than to reveal inner musical connections that may not have been explored before – and of course to demonstrate Bach's genius. Borbély likes to try his hand in a wide variety of styles, as his recordings of works by Bartók, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc, Mussorgsky, Ligeti and Messiaen testify. Major composers such as György Kurtág, József Sári, Máté Balogh and Péter Tornyai have written works for him. In addition to his regular concert activities, he plays an active role in shaping the next generation of musicians as a teacher at the Liszt Academy and as head of the keyboard programme at the LFZE Doctoral School, also giving master classes and serving on the jury of international competitions. Critics have praised the richness of detail, depth, perfectionism, intellectual discipline and perfect technique of his playing, combined with an almost obsessive virtuosity. Borbély is a member of the Metrum Ensemble and the Carpathian Impressions trio, with which he has appeared on the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York.

This six-concert series for solo cello is based around Johann Sebastian Bach's suites. Alongside the well-known cello suites, Tamás Zétényi will also perform the French suites, originally for keyboard, which he and composer Marcell Dargay arranged for cello together. In addition to exploring the multifaceted suites, the cellist also aims to place the inexhaustible richness of Bach’s style in a wider context. The performance of the cello suites will be preceded by one piece from Domenico Gabrielli's Ricercar series, which, dating from 1689, are among the earliest examples of solo cello works and offer a glimpse into the virtuoso Italian music of the generation before Bach. Before the French suites, we hear a composition by the great masters of the French Baroque: Sainte-Colombe the Elder and Sainte-Colombe the Younger, François Couperin or Marin Marais (originally written for viola da gamba and continuo or harpsichord). The one-hour programme is rounded off by the Caprices of Joseph Marie Clément Dall'Abaco, working one generation after Bach. The style of the Caprices, written around 1770, represents a transition between Baroque and Classical, approaching the world of Empfindsamkeit, hallmarked by the name of Bach’s most successful son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Yet their emotional, melancholic and sensitive tone can be seen as a direct successor to Bach's suites.

“Perhaps no composer has had as great an influence on contemporary jazz as Bartók. The astonishing power and dynamism of his works almost overwhelms the listener; his music is full of thrill, mystery, boundless depth and purity. We created our arrangements with the aim to bring Bartók's music closer even to those who did not find it appealing until now,” said Péter Sárik about his first Bartók-inspired trio album, released in 2018. Since then, the band has performed the program to great acclaim in 15 countries around the world, from Finland to Kazakhstan to China, and in 2023 they followed up with the album X2 Bartók, featuring jazz adaptations of even more piano and choral works.  

The collaboration between Ági Szalóki, János Ávéd, and István Tóth is inspired by a respect for tradition and a love of freedom. Their program includes contemporary arrangements of church folk songs, Advent and Christmas carols, works by Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos, Bálint Balassi, Maurice Duruflé, and unknown 13th–18th-century English, Italian, and Hungarian composers, as well as thoughts, biblical passages, and poems related to the songs and the upcoming festive season. The cornerstone of the contemporary interpretation of the pieces is provided by Ági Szalóki, whose singing speaks several musical styles at a native level. The collective improvisations of István Tóth and János Ávéd blossom from beautiful melodies and move away from the traditional representation of the era into a more contemporary jazz context. Departure and return are seemingly two opposing processes, but they are also a necessary part of the basic experience of being a musician; we could even say that they are the journey itself.

László Dés, Miklós Lukács, Márton Fenyvesi, and András Dés formed their free jazz band in early 2019. Their idea is to push the boundaries of jazz, a genre that already allows for great musical freedom, to the absolute limit. Relying solely on their instrumental skills, their ears, and their sensitivity, they play without any prior rehearsals or coordination, with the joy of complete freedom. This requires great external and internal focus, as the music takes shape during the performance. The themes, structure, and form are all born in the moment, which is a tremendous experience for both the musicians and the audience, as the music that is created can never be reproduced in that form again. This shared experience is like a great magic, the magic of improvisation – four outstanding musicians finding each other through their instruments, concert after concert.  

It has become a tradition at Opus to end the year with a concert by the Dresch Quartet, which has been playing in its current lineup for six years, and its founder, the highly acclaimed Mihály Dresch, has been a key figure in etnojazz and in Hungarian music in general since the 1980s. His quartet consistently and confidently treads its own unique path with an individual fusion of Hungarian folk music and African-American jazz, jointly developed by Dresch and the band members. Commitment to the musical concept, respect and humility towards the sources, outstanding musicians, new and evergreen compositions, standards in the Dresch manner – all these combined create the musical experience that strikes the audience again and again with its freshness.  

Áron Tálas, who is, even by European standards, an outstanding pianist in the generation of young Hungarian musicians, is a rare exception: though he writes and playes music deeply embedded in tradition, the quality of his music admitted him into the catalogue of BMC Records, which comprises mainly modern productions. His trio has already released two albums on the label: on both Little Beggar (2018) and New Questions, Old Answers (2023), tracks with groove, melodies, and full of emotion represent the cream of the world of traditional jazz piano trios. At this concert, in addition to performing their favorite songs from the two albums, the trio will also offer a glimpse into the bandleader's new compositions.  

Concerto Budapest will be holding its three-day violin festival featuring Hungarian violinists in January 2026. In addition to showcasing the inexhaustible range of possibilities the instrument has to offer, the Violin Festival also provides an opportunity to encounter our nation’s finest violinists, including several combinations of teachers and students.

Concerto Budapest will be holding its three-day violin festival featuring Hungarian violinists in January 2026. In addition to showcasing the inexhaustible range of possibilities the instrument has to offer, the Violin Festival also provides an opportunity to encounter our nation’s finest violinists, including several combinations of teachers and students.

After the successful release of their album Calaveras y Boom Boom Chupitos on BMC Records in January 2025, the European ensemble Bonbon Flamme now returns to the Budapest Music Center for an exceptional, never-before-seen concert. For this third repertoire, titled “simplement possible” – recorded in the concert hall over the preceding days – Fulco Ottervanger, Luís Lopes, Étienne Ziemniak, and Valentin Ceccaldi invite us to drift into the wondrous realm of simplicity. A naïve, raw, and generous approach – where lullabies entwine with the feverish energy of a jazz tempest; where diamond-like sounds glimmer in a cloudy, scribbled sky. A way of moving forward without detours, straight to the heart and body – guided by the elusive totem of childhood’s creative force, and by that still-blurred threshold between dreams and reality. As simply as possible.  

Károly Binder is a musician of high calibre, who puts his talents at the service of the synthesis of new trends, different musical cultures, compositional techniques and improvisational systems, not forgetting his own musical roots. He is an autonomous composer whose piano playing and compositions cannot be classified by style or genre. With unrelenting consistency, Binder has pursued the path he set for himself since the late 1970s, a path on which he had no Hungarian predecessors. In his musical development, alongside the immense oeuvre of Béla Bartók, we can clearly trace the influence of the folk music of the Carpathian Basin and the melodic world of the Volga-Kama region, and even the American repetitive school hallmarked by Steve Reich. This time, the Binder Trio's program is based on two pillars: pieces from the For Children series, the centre of the band's latest five-disc release, as well as compositions by the bandleader, in which Bartók's legacy and contemporary jazz engage in dialogue.

The Jamaican-born, New York-raised pianist Wynton Kelly (1931–1971) rose to global fame playing with Wes Montgomery and as a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, all while creating timeless recordings with his own trio. His first recordings as a leader, made in 1951, featured the stunning bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Lee Abrams. Blue Note released this session under the title New Faces, New Sounds, which was later retitled the more appropriate Piano Interpretations. Kelly was influenced by the rhythm and blues school and technically brilliant performers like Teddy Wilson: his playing is cheerful, quick, attractive, and even crafty – perhaps because he was not yet twenty years old at the time. He excels in his harmonization on the blues numbers and in the quick, rolling runs on the faster pieces. This material is a rewarding opportunity for the always precise and clearly articulating pianist, Gábor Cseke, and the rhythm section.

Daniel Mester travelled around the world to find his own musical universe, which accommodates the melodies of Anatolia, Indonesian scales and imaginary Hungarian folk songs. He began his musical studies as a classical clarinetist, and later started to learn jazz saxophone playing. He graduated at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and he not only had the opportunity to perform in many parts of the world (South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Morocco), but also to learn about musical heritages outside of Western musical traditions. He composed a couple of filmscores, and studying Turkish classical and folk music is another current inspiration for him, the impact of which is echoing in his compositions. His long-cherished dream of founding his own trio came true with the pandemic. He invited two talents of the young Hungarian jazz generation, guitarist Péter Cseh and drummer Tamás Hidász into this musical adventure. This evening, they will also be joined by the virtuosic master of the cimbalom, Kálmán Balogh. www.mesterdaniel.com

In 2026, Santa Diver, one of the most unique bands on the Hungarian jazz scene, will celebrate its 20th anniversary. The band consists of jazz violinist Luca Kézdy, multi-instrumentalist and composer Dávid Szesztay, and drummer Dávid Szegő, who has also been active as a composer in recent years. The three instruments and personalities represent a truly unique musical world, found at the intersection of jazz, world music, and modern creative. Their sound is defined by the unusual lineup (violin, bass guitar, drums), Luca Kézdy's unique violin playing with its wide emotional spectrum, colorful and melodic bass lines, and experimental, sometimes extreme, delicate yet energetic drumming. Besides Hungarian festivals and clubs, the trio has also performed at numerous festivals abroad: Chelsea Music Festival, NYC (US), Cairo Jazz Festival (EG), Südtirol Jazzfestival (IT), Sparks & Visions Jazz Festival (DE), Amersfoort World Jazz Festival (NL), Voll Damm Festival Jazz Vic (ES), Gaume Jazz Festival (BE).  Their 20th anniversary will be marked with a new album release and a series of concerts, beginning at the Opus stage. In addition to their latest compositions, they will of course also perform a selection of their most memorable songs from the past 20 years. The album is planned for release in the fall of 2026.

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matter 100 was a commission by the Bimhuis, Amsterdam. In matter 100, Kaja moves towards song and sound; song on the level of form and sound as a navigator and idea generator. She is interested in using basic harmonic structures, coloured and expanded through microtonality, and working with amplification and audio effects to shape the sound of the group. Dean Young’s poetry, sometimes sang, other times narrated, moves between experimentation and surrealism. The choice of the individuals generated inspiration and direction in writing music; Kaja invited musicians across generations and musical backgrounds to open the possibilities, provide freshness, and challenge her composing. All the members of this international group have a pronounced sound of their own and a rich musical history, regardless of the age and country of origin. In the days of the concert, the band also records an album to be released on BMC Records.

This six-concert series for solo cello is based around Johann Sebastian Bach's suites. Alongside the well-known cello suites, Tamás Zétényi will also perform the French suites, originally for keyboard, which he and composer Marcell Dargay arranged for cello together. In addition to exploring the multifaceted suites, the cellist also aims to place the inexhaustible richness of Bach’s style in a wider context. The performance of the cello suites will be preceded by one piece from Domenico Gabrielli's Ricercar series, which, dating from 1689, are among the earliest examples of solo cello works and offer a glimpse into the virtuoso Italian music of the generation before Bach. Before the French suites, we hear a composition by the great masters of the French Baroque: Sainte-Colombe the Elder and Sainte-Colombe the Younger, François Couperin or Marin Marais (originally written for viola da gamba and continuo or harpsichord). The one-hour programme is rounded off by the Caprices of Joseph Marie Clément Dall'Abaco, working one generation after Bach. The style of the Caprices, written around 1770, represents a transition between Baroque and Classical, approaching the world of Empfindsamkeit, hallmarked by the name of Bach’s most successful son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Yet their emotional, melancholic and sensitive tone can be seen as a direct successor to Bach's suites.

The music of Dsilton consists of energetic arrangements in microtonal tunings with modulating rhythms. At Dsiltons current program, cycles of Georg Vogel & David Dornig are interlocked. Concerning the techniques of composition and the frames for improvisation all pieces share together complex grooves and the extended tonality of 31-tone tuning. The repertoire shows a range from enharmonically entangled improvisation forms, 31-tone serial compositions to arrangements of processed field recordings. This enharmonic microtonal journey is played on special instruments: newly built 31-tone keyboards called Clavitone, drumset and a new eight string electric guitar with 31 frets per octave. With the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Springing off a sound reminiscent of acoustic piano trios of the 50s and 60s, Oùat explores the memory and perspectives of hand crafted, collective music making. Jazz in its most open operative meaning, in which improvisation is a real necessity, stimulates the trio to confront and investigate our times of sounds and movements. Oùat's music is transmitted through consistent listening and risk taking. An inviting work that gesticulates the most obvious as well as surprising in coming together. Being one of many groups made possible due to the venue Au Topsi Pohl (2019-2022) in Berlin, Oùat started off with performing the music of Ellington, Hasaan Ibn Ali, Elmo Hope, Per Henrik Wallin and Sun Ra. A chatty trilogy instantaneously finding the sonorous meanings of what, where and when, Oùat continues to praise the sound and momentum of collective concentrated creativity, making as much as possible out of an idea, a shared place and time. In the days of the concert, they are recording a new album for BMC Records.    

Following his trio, which has been performing since 2019, guitarist Péter Cseh has formed a new band, which will make its debut on the Day of Hungarian Culture. True to its name, the HIDAK (Bridges) Trio strives to connect different points: the members of the band with each other, the performer with the listener, and tradition with innovation. The band's sound covers a wide range, and almost anything can serve as inspiration for its members, so their repertoire includes the rich harmonies of modern jazz, the rhythmic rattle familiar from minimalist music, and slowly flowing streams of sound. All three members contribute to the program as composers, so roles within the band can be exchanged – thanks to the bridges that have been built.  

The European Orchestra Academy is a joint initiative between the Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) and the European Union Youth Orchestra, founded under the visionary guidance of Iván Fischer. This prestigious program provides talented young musicians from around Europe with invaluable orchestral experience alongside the BFO, while also offering them the opportunity to perform as chamber ensembles across numerous European countries. Participants refine their artistry through masterclasses led by renowned professors, ensuring they are exceptionally well-prepared for chamber music performances on the international stage.

The Kristóf Bacsó Triad's music blends elements of jazz and contemporary music with an Eastern European feeling; in addition to carefully composed sections, improvisations also play an important role. Their latest album features the bandleader’s songs, whose magic lies in the multitude of unique melodies, sensitive harmonization, and individual forms, as well as the high level of (ensemble) playing. However, their greatest virtue is perhaps the accessibility that they are able to preserve and even bring to the fore despite all musical sophistication. Let It Go not only expresses deeply human feelings and experiences through its central theme – grasped and missed opportunities, taking responsibility for decisions or letting them go, the limits and unlimitedness of freedom in music –, but also gives space to personal statements such as Soulbird, an homage to Mátyás Szandai. 

Serendipity is not only the closest meanings of Nasip Kısmet, but also the best way to describe this international band’s authentic, multi-genre music: an ancient folk melody turns into a psychedelic outburst by a sudden chord progression, then eases into a mild jazz-fusion breeze by a touch of masterful musicianship. Nasip Kısmet was founded in Budapest in 2019 by Turkish musician Arif Erdem Ocak, who is also the founder and guitarist of the famous Turkish band Seksendört. The band consists of high-caliber jazz musicians from the Hungarian jazz scene, such as Daniel Mester (saxophone & clarinet), David Szegő (drums) and Marton Eged (bass guitar); and Turkish folk/rock musicians, siblings Arif Erdem (guitar & vocals) and Derya Ocak (vocals). Nasip Kısmet plays Turkish psychedelic-folk/jazz/fusion genres and continues to grow its audience throughout Europe.

In music history narratives or concert programs, Chopin and Mendelssohn are rarely put side by side. This is somewhat understandable, since although they were contemporaries, met several times and greatly admired each other (Mendelssohn once called Chopin a "perfect musician"), their musical styles and worldviews were quite different. If they are connected at all, it is primarily through their ties to music history: through Bach and Mozart. The gravitational center of Gábor Csalog's concert will be Chopin's Scherzo in E major, accompanied by Mendelssohn's songs without words: works that at first glance – and according to their function – appear to be mere salon pieces, but are in fact compositions of just as high a caliber as any of Mendelssohn's or Chopin's large-scale works. In the first half of the evening, during a conversation with Gergely Fazekas, the question of where the boundary lies between salon music and high art will certainly be raised, as well as whether a scherzo can be considered a "joke" in the original sense of the word if Chopin is the composer. The language of the discussion is Hungarian. Further concerts in this series:23 November 2025 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Mahler and Schubert22 March 2026 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Schumann and Brahms17 May 2026 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Kurtág and the Music History

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The concert will feature significant works from the contemporary cello repertoire. Brian Ferneyhough led the "new complexity" movement while Jonathan Harvey is known for his music inspired by Buddhist perspectives. Works by Mark Andre and Brice Pauset, which explore noise and timbre, will be performed alongside the serialist composition of Roger Sessions. Johannes Schütt's new piece for fixed media, inspired by Schubert, will also be featured. Lucas Fels will also premiere two works by Macarena Rosmanich and Dániel Péter Biró, the latter integrating Jewish numerology and microtonality. Lucas Fels is one of the premiere interpreters of contemporary music. He was a founding member of Ensemble Recherche, joining the Arditti Quartet in 2006. He has been a Darmstadt summer course lecturer for 20 years and is Professor for Contemporary Music at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.With the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

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In this concert, piano and chamber music works by Béla Bartók, Jenő Takács, Werner Schulze, and Zsolt Keresztury-Albert will be performed, harmonizing tradition and modernity, presented by the renowned Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra together with outstanding soloists. The figure of Franz Liszt stands symbolically for the cultural bond that unites Austria and Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian composer Jenő Takács was both a friend and a creative partner of Bartók, while also serving as mentor to Austrian composer Werner Schulze. The oeuvre of Zsolt Keresztury-Albert integrates organically into the Hungarian compositional tradition founded by Bartók (and Kodály), which draws its inspiration from authentic folk music material. Thus, on this evening, the works of the four creators come together in a shared intellectual space, marked by “cosmopolitan openness” and respect for tradition.

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Franz Schubert: String Quartet Movement in c Minor („Quartettsatz”), D 703 – in a string orchestra performanceFranz Schubert: „Arpeggione” Sonata in a Minor, D 821 – transcription for cello and string orchestraEdvard Grieg: Holberg Suite, op. 40

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The more we immerse ourselves in György Kurtág's music, and the more this music moves us, the clearer it becomes that – as pianist Gábor Csalog puts it – “the old and the new intertwine, blurring the boundaries between the past and the present.” Thus, on the evening with cellist Miklós Perényi and pianists András Kemenes and Gábor Csalog, it is not the music of Bach and Kurtág, Schubert and Kurtág, or Mozart and Kurtág that is heard, but “pure” music, free from all stylistic and genre constraints, which draws both performer and listener into its spell. It is uplifting to realise that, in Csalog's words, as Kurtág's contemporaries, “we were and still are witnesses to the continuity of music history.” It is often said that Kurtág's art is in lively dialogue with tradition, but it may simply be that the questions that can be raised and answered in music have not changed since Bach or Schubert. According to András Kemenes, only those who deeply understand Mozart “can truly understand Kurtág. That is why I cannot separate them from each other. These are inseparable qualities.” For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

Benjamin Appl recorded songs by Schubert, Brahms, and Kurtág on his album Lines of Life, released in 2025. On the album, the composers and their works are closely intertwined in the truest sense. Listeners will not only marvel at how Kurtág's music keeps the world of 19th-century German songs alive in various ways, but will also notice that at times Schubert or Brahms seem to continue or develop phrases, motifs, or ideas from Kurtág. The critic of Le Monde, for example, did not hesitate to state that the material on Lines of Life can be considered Kurtág's work from the first note to the last. In the first half of the concert, Benjamin Appl performs a partially reworked version of this uniquely effective series, while in the second half he sings Schumann's incredibly complex song cycle, Dichterliebe, accompanied by pianist Dániel Villányi. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

In June 2025, BBC Music Magazine selected Pierre-Laurent Aimard's album as its Recording of the Month. The album features selections from György Kurtág's cycle Játékok (Games), including the then-unreleased 11th volume. According to a critic in The Guardian, “Játékok is one of the most significant works of the past half-century, and Aimard is the perfect guide to it.” On the occasion of György Kurtág's 90th birthday, English cellist Steven Isserlis said: “György Kurtág is music itself. He slowly, irresistibly flows from the depths of his being, bursting to the surface with an exceptional, all-encompassing intensity. I have never met a musician in my life for whom every single note was so important; whether it is his own work or a piece by one of the great composers he admires, for him every single note carries a whole world of meanings, events and intense emotions.” Pianist Dénes Várjon made a similar statement: “With Kurtág, even a single note is about the whole. In fact, if you study with him for many years, it becomes clear that there is much more to that particular note. A chain of connections emerges from a single note, leading to important insights into the composer’s entire oeuvre.” For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

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15.00–16.00 Launch of Volume 11 of Játékok (Games), "K.M. hangjegy könyvetskéje" (K.M.’s Music Booklet), and the kurtag.hu websiteContributors: Tünde Mózes-Szitha, music historian, director of UMB Editio Musica Budapest, and musicologist Gergely Fazekas.   16.00–17.30 Plenary lectures: Simone Hohmaier (D): A-Z. The alphabet of Kurtág's musical mother tongue between musical history and private cosmos. (With a gentle emphasis on the letter B.) Paul Griffiths (UK): Kurtág's Lichtenberg Karol Berger (USA): What is the game that is supposed to end in Endgame?   Participation in the event is free, but prior registration is required. The sheet music and website presentation will be in Hungarian, the plenary lectures will be in English, with simultaneous interpretation provided.   Two new Kurtág scores and a website collecting information about Kurtág's oeuvre will be launched, and a German, a British, and an American musicologist will give a lecture on Kurtág aimed at the general public on the day after his 100th birthday at the BMC Concert Hall. UMP Editio Musica Budapest, which has published Kurtág's music for more than seventy years, will release the new volume of the Játékok (Games) series – growing since 1973—to mark the anniversary. This volume contains pieces written since 2012 and some newly discovered older piano works. The publisher will also issue a facsimile edition of K. M. hangjegy könyvetskéje ('K. M.'s Music Booklet'). This latter work is perhaps the most personal in Kurtág's output, containing piano pieces intended for or written specifically for Márta from 1973 onward. The scores will be presented by Tünde Mózes-Szitha, music historian, director of Editio Musica Budapest. Also in preparation for the 100th birthday is the kurtag.hu website and database, which will bring together the most important information about György Kurtág's oeuvre in one place. The website, which includes a list of works, discography, bibliography, interviews, early reviews, biography, and previously unpublished video recordings of Kurtág's pedagogical work, will be presented by musicologist Gergely Fazekas, leader of the professional team developing the site. The presentation of the scores and the website will be followed by three lectures on Kurtág’s music. Simone Hohmaier, a researcher at the Berlin Institute for Musicology, will highlight the music-historical connections in Kurtág's oeuvre, with particular emphasis on the most significant composers whose names begin with the letter B. British musicologist Paul Griffiths, a renowned expert on 20th-century music, will discuss the relationship between Kurtág and late 18th-century polymath Georg Lichtenberg in connection with Kurtág's new opera, which will be performed that evening at Müpa Budapest. Karol Berger, professor emeritus at Stanford University, will give a lecture on Kurtág's place in music history and his role in today's musical culture in connection with Kurtág's first opera, Endgame. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

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A full-day conference on the music, life, career and historical connections of György Kurtág, with the participation of Hungarian musicologists living both in Hungary and abroad. The language of the presentations will be Hungarian. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

As in Anton Webern's work, the short piece, short movement, or musical miniature in György Kurtág's oeuvre is not the result of any form of reduction. It is well known that, for neither composer, brevity refers to the duration of musical processes, but rather to the density of musical communication. The large-scale cycles composed of these dense communications – from The Sayings of Péter Bornemisza to Kafka Fragments and beyond – are particularly characteristic of Kurtág's output. Some of these cycles present a serious yet ironic panorama of human existence (such as S.K. Remembrance Noise), while others focus on the tragedy of this existence (such as Attila József Fragments), or reveal the inexhaustible richness of musical expression without words (Officium breve in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky). This rich and representative selection of Kurtág's chamber music is performed by a young generation of musicians wholly dedicated to the composer's art, who may be considered Kurtág's musical grandchildren. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

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A series of lectures in which practising musicians introduce the audience to the art of György Kurtág; the day will conclude with a roundtable discussion featuring composers two generations younger than Kurtág. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

“What does Ligeti mean to me?” asks Kurtág. “The sense that there is something higher, something more perfect than I can even imagine, that there are connections in art, science, and the universe that he can account for, and here the sentence breaks off.” If the works are truly capable of interacting with each other, if this dialogue can faithfully reflect the private conversation between the two composers, then the programme compiled from the compositions of György Kurtág and György Ligeti can give us a taste of how Ligeti guided Kurtág throughout his life, or, as Kurtág put it, how “I followed him, sometimes directly, sometimes with a delay of a few years or even decades. Yet – I call this my ‘Imitatio Christi’ syndrome – the early years of our friendship were not characterised solely by his intellectual guidance. Without directly influencing me, his example shaped my tastes and even the direction of my private life.” The concert will feature solo string works, songs, piano pieces, and a trio from each composer, all key works in the Kurtág and Ligeti oeuvre. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

Baroque violinist Maya Homburger and her composer-double bassist husband Barry Guy regularly perform Kurtág compositions in their unique concerts, which span various periods and styles of music history. Their album Acanthis, recorded with Swiss percussionist Lucas Niggli, features medieval music as well as early Baroque and jazz-inspired contemporary works. One German critic described Acanthis as “a lively floating between free improvisation, new and old music. It is a joint performance full of tension and surprises, embellished with delicate, lyrical moments. It is impressive how harmoniously the violin and double bass breathe together; few are capable of such a thing.” However, not only the first half of the concert will be characterised by “lively floating” and “music-making together full of surprises.” In the second half, the Kelemen Quartet will perform string quartets by Beethoven and Bartók, conveying the experience of György Kurtág's high-voltage master classes, which they attended for more than 50 hours in the past couple of years. For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

Violinist and conductor Peter Rundel is a welcome guest with leading European symphony orchestras. He is equally comfortable in a range of styles and brings exceptional sensitivity to even the most complex musical works. He is an active opera conductor and has collaborated with theatre artists such as Peter Konwitschny, Calixto Bieito, Philippe Arlaud, Peter Mussbach, Heiner Goebbels, and Willy Decker. Peter Rundel was a violinist with Ensemble Modern for over a decade and studied conducting under the mentorship of Michael Gielen and Péter Eötvös. As a guest of the UMZE Chamber Ensemble, he can apply his dramatic imagination in Four Poems by Anna Akhmatova and his analytical thoroughness in Karlheinz Stockhausen's compositions. The concert will also feature a rarely performed piece, Luigi Nono's work for voice, wind instruments, and electronics (Omaggio à György Kurtág), written between 1983 and 1986. With this composition, the Italian master responded to Kurtág's choral work Omaggio a Luigi Nono. However, it is likely that there is more behind this gesture, as Nono himself said: “Kurtág's music convinced me that I had to find new ways to bring sounds to life.” For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

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Founded in 1946, the SWR Vokalensemble (Stuttgart Radio Choir) is a leading interpreter of 20th- and 21st-century choral music. In recent decades, it has premiered more than 250 new choral works, including compositions by Maurizio Kagel, Heinz Holliger, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Wolfgang Rihm, among others. In 2006, it recorded three large-scale choral compositions by György Kurtág (Omaggio à Luigi Nono; 8 Choruses on Poems by Dezső Tandori; Songs of Despair and Sorrow) with its then principal conductor, Marcus Creed. The current director, Yuval Weinberg, is equally committed to contemporary choral music, and the SWR Vokalensemble is perhaps the only choir in the world currently capable of performing one of the key works in Kurtág's oeuvre, Songs of Despair and Sorrow. Musicologist Márta Papp wrote about the piece: “In it and through it, it is not a lonely person who shares his feelings and visions with the listener, as in the great vocal series of the past, but a multitude of singing voices, a real crowd that speaks, shouts, whispers and, above all, sings magically to the listener: sometimes making intimate, mysterious communications with each other, sometimes storming through a single word or fragment of a sentence with the many, often 16–18 voices of the two choirs.” For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

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“All week long I sat at the piano, composing and writing and laughing and crying, all at once.” Robert Schumann wrote these words in March 1839 in a letter to his beloved Clara, and the work that gave her a glimpse into his creative process was published at the end of the year as a cycle entitled Humoreske. It is rarely played by pianists, and critics are divided in their opinions: some consider it a dead end in Schumann's oeuvre, while others regard it as an undeservedly neglected piece. What is certain is that it is extremely exciting music, like everything that came from Schumann's hands, so it is worth talking about it and, above all, listening to it. Gábor Csalog and Gergely Fazekas's dialogue will also draw on Brahms's works alongside Schumann's, to see how the two composers are connected beyond the figure of Clara, and how the simultaneous state of crying and laughing can be represented in music. Not only Schumann, but Brahms was also a great master of this.The language of the discussion is Hungarian. Further concerts in this series:23 November 2025 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Mahler and Schubert25 January 2026 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Chopin and Mendelssohn17 May 2026 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Kurtág and the Music History  

This six-concert series for solo cello is based around Johann Sebastian Bach's suites. Alongside the well-known cello suites, Tamás Zétényi will also perform the French suites, originally for keyboard, which he and composer Marcell Dargay arranged for cello together. In addition to exploring the multifaceted suites, the cellist also aims to place the inexhaustible richness of Bach’s style in a wider context. The performance of the cello suites will be preceded by one piece from Domenico Gabrielli's Ricercar series, which, dating from 1689, are among the earliest examples of solo cello works and offer a glimpse into the virtuoso Italian music of the generation before Bach. Before the French suites, we hear a composition by the great masters of the French Baroque: Sainte-Colombe the Elder and Sainte-Colombe the Younger, François Couperin or Marin Marais (originally written for viola da gamba and continuo or harpsichord). The one-hour programme is rounded off by the Caprices of Joseph Marie Clément Dall'Abaco, working one generation after Bach. The style of the Caprices, written around 1770, represents a transition between Baroque and Classical, approaching the world of Empfindsamkeit, hallmarked by the name of Bach’s most successful son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Yet their emotional, melancholic and sensitive tone can be seen as a direct successor to Bach's suites.

György Kurtág is often placed alongside avant-garde composers of the Second World War – Boulez, Stockhausen, Ligeti – and although in many respects he truly belongs among them, in terms of his connection to music history, Kurtág can be considered the odd one out in this company. For him, the search for novelty was never possible without a close connection to the classical tradition. His early viola concerto begins with the iconic timpani strokes of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and there is no piece of his that does not reveal the presence of some important composer from the past thousand years. In addition to Kurtág's works, Gábor Csalog's concert will also feature classical pieces, making it clear that these connections are sometimes so concrete that Kurtág's musical universe is populated by fragments of music history like stars in the night sky. The discussion in the first half of the evening will not only focus on György Kurtág's relationship with music history, but also on a number of more general issues, as Gábor Csalog has been playing Kurtág for half a century and has been part of the hundred-year-old Kurtág's life and work for fifty years.The language of the discussion is Hungarian. Further concerts in this series:23 November 2025 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Mahler and Schubert25 January 2026 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Chopin and Mendelssohn22 March 2026 6 PM – Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Schumann and Brahms