The trio is devoted to a general disturbance variable that appears as a random pattern in disturbances.Since time immemorial it has been, and still is, active in the background. Although it is perceived through the ears, the memory of it can trigger processes in the heart area that can be pleasant, disturbing, inspiring or painful.It can occur above and below. This is where it is at home. It can be white, brown, or red. It can be found on every beach, in every forest, and in every river.It is part of what you are reading now:[ʃelest] The Graupe - Cadotsch Duo originally formed in Berlin during the first lockdown and started interpreting timeless songs. When arranging, Ronny respected the melodies, but took great liberties in detaching himself harmonically and rhythmically from the material originally given while Lucia's subtle and sonorous voice flies gently over the pieces. For the occasion of performing at Opus Jazz Club and recording their repertoire for BMC Records, the duo morphs into a trio by inviting Kit Downes from London to join them. With the addition of a piano, the possibilities in terms of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic expression are expanded and the simplicity of the melody can be combined with harmonic complexity. In addition, a trio situation opens up further spaces for improvisation, which are explored together in a trio context.

Here is Subtones, Hungary's latest jazz-pop supergroup. You're nodding more than ever! Thanks to its special line-up, Subtones has been the mecca of the groove-listeners still so far, but more recently new colors have been added to their palette. Singers Vera Jónás and Flóra Kiss steer the band led by Gábor Subicz in the direction of songs and vocal music. Dávid Benkő, László Csízi, Zsolt Csókás and Tibor Fonay melt the new members and the various worlds of music into their own funk-jazz lava, giving way to lean song forms and large-scale improvisations. On their album Octopus, the various music worlds are merging, representing a unified and characteristic world of sound. The album soon became a favorite of savvy ears and music lovers, what is presented live every time with noisy success.   “Creative, exciting solutions, professional music performance and a very good end result” - Jazzma “Modern, modern, easily elegant jazzfunk with form-breaking solutions and outstanding instrumental play. If we can listen to live music again, Subtones will surely be there for the bustling party nights.” - Zoltán Végső / Élet és Irodalom  

Katalin Koltai, guitarist started her PhD research in 2018 as a funded researcher of the az International Guitar Research Centre, University of Surrey, working with Prof. Stephen Goss. The primary purpose of her research is to expand the boundaries of the guitar idiom through three pathways: guitar arrangements, technological innovation and collaboration with composers. One of the most significant results of her research is the invention and application of a new magnet capo system and a new guitar prototype, the 'Ligeti Guitar'. This innovation process was significantly driven by arranging modernist Hungarian piano music, in particular György Ligeti’s piano cycle, the Musica Ricercata. Ligeti’s compositional technique of pitch sets and the guitar’s transformation of open string sets can be seen as a cross-domain translation in the arrangement process.The selected arrangements of Musica Ricercata demonstrate radically new idiomatic affordances on the guitar, similarly to the complex multi-layered, cluster-based piece of Béla Bartók, The Night’s Music. The programme also includes the word premier of two new compositions written for this special instrument. Tom Armstrong’s Bartókiana is a cycle of pieces for the Ligeti Guitar. The ability to alter the open string notes of the instrument creates a very flexible medium that can be adapted to Béla Bartók’s unmistakable musical language with its chromatic and often highly dissonant harmony. The selections of Bartók’s music are all folksong settings, one each from the main territories he collected in: Slovakia, North Africa, Romania and Hungary. In selecting music from the main ethnic areas Bartók studied Armstrong hopes to mirror his polyglot ideals; in our own time the world seems in danger of retreating into various hues of separatism and individualism so the contents of Bartókiana are an attempt to accent diversities that nevertheless remain linked by common bonds. David Gorton’s Six Miniatures uses different arrangements of capos within a common microtonal tuning for the guitar, in effect creating a different ‘instrument’ for each movement. The six movements explore contrasting fragmentary ideas suggested by the individual characters of the different instrumental configurations.

The members of the band, formed in 2020, are active musicians of the Hungarian and international jazz and popmusic scene, who found each other in Budapest. Their music is instrumental jazz, which captivates fans of more powerful genres with its clearer yet dynamic themes. Their melancholic compositions are rhythmically extremely diverse, with beat-based music and contemporary musical impressions.

This French-Belgian-Hungarian program, presents a mix of styles (Aurél Holló: Blue Note, Red Note); solo instrumental work (including voice and an uncommon guitar); cultures (Francophone and Hungarian works from recent years); as well as three premieres prepared especially for the occasion (Sitzia and Gryllus); and lastly, the exciting cultural crossroads in the work of Singaporean Paris-based composer Diane Soh. The concert will be hosted by UMZE’s artistic director, conductor and composer Gergely Vajda.

Attila Gyárfás (drums) and Gabriel Zucker (piano, synth, voice) have been making music since they met in 2017 in New York. Their duo infuses sonic and rhythmic freedom into complex, maximalist compositions, with a unique blend of contemplative soundscapes, aggressive virtuosic rhythms, and singer-songwriter influences. Their debut record Cities and Deserts was released in 2022 on Hunnia Records. Avant Music News described it as “an effort that is offbeat, avant-garde, and technical, while still pulling at the emotions...Two thumbs up and highly recommended.” “Piano firebrand” (Brooklyn Rail) Gabriel Zucker is a pianist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from New York, whose work combines maximalist compositions with the progressive improvisation of New York’s creative music scene. His music has been praised in Downbeat (4.5 stars), All About Jazz (4.5 stars), Stereogum, Jazzwise, and the New York City Jazz Record. A Yale graduate and Rhodes Scholar, Zucker has performed throughout New York at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The Stone, Roulette, and the Jazz Gallery, as well as in 23 countries around the world. Attila Gyárfás is a Hungarian drummer and composer primarily focusing on free improvisation and on researching the tonal possibilities of the drum set. He has appeared on over 20 records and has performed at a great number of major venues and festivals all over Europe.  As a leader he has released three records (Cloud Factory in 2018, Randomity in 2020 and Minimal Distance in 2022). Attila teaches jazz drums at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from September 2020 and is an endorser of Dream Cymbals and Gongs since 2016.  

The Teis Semey Quintet is not really only about Semey. In fact, all of the five musicians in the quintet lead their own groups and are not only skilled musicians, but also impressive composers. There is a strong personality behind every instrument, and that is what makes the band such an impressive experience. The band was formed in 2017 in Amsterdam, and has performed regularly in the Netherlands and Belgium. The initial vision was a punky DIY attitude to music making – and this vision carries through into their most recent work on Mean Mean Machine. As Semey said: “I kind of wanted to show that I could do everything myself, that good content is more important than fancy wrapping”. The explosive and radically lyrical music that the quintet embodies is thus a product of this mindset. While all music is written by Semey, the band takes the music into its own hands, and there is never any guarantee of where it will lead. Only that it will be magical. Amsterdam-based Danish guitarist Teis Semey returns this November with Mean Mean Machine, his third album in just three years. Lauded and awarded for his experimental approach, the album is an attempt to fuse the punk and free jazz that he buried himself in during lockdown, with the Scandinavian songs of his childhood, found in a book his grandmother left him when she passed away. The result is guitar-fuelled, nearly-danceable jazz with a finger on the pulse and a fist in the air. A flaming response to the critical state of the world and an homage to the extreme beauty that still exists. It’s no surprise that Semey often refers to the quintet as his family: whilst hailing from 5 different countries, they have forged a close relationship together on the hotly-tipped Dutch jazz scene over the last years. Interestingly, all five are bandleaders in their own right, bringing a deep understanding of what it takes to turn melodies and chords into a unique and happening set of music. This concert is made possible thanks to Footprints, a project funded by the European Union within the framework of the Creative Europe program. 

The Péter Cseh Trio was formed in 2019 with three active members of the Hungarian jazz scene, who had already performed together many times before the formation of the band. Péter's compositions are the starting point for their joint work. These songs, despite using mostly traditional formal solutions and sounds, do not become predictable or clichéd. Instead, through contrasting moods – contemplative and soaring, childlike or even wildly scratchy – they present a unique aspect of modern mainstream jazz. Each member plays an essential role in shaping the band's sound; by tuning into each other, they can achieve a rich, sensitive and dynamic sound. The music of the Péter Cseh Trio is influenced by the great guitarist generation of the '70s and '80s (John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell) and by Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Brian Blade. The trio recorded their debut album, Plains to See in the autumn of 2022. The album's material has been gradually assembled from Péter's compositions over the past two and a half years. Drawing from a wide range of influences (including mainstream jazz, rock, contemporary classical and world music), the songs are unified by the trio's sound world. The Péter Cseh Trio, together with János Ávéd, present the album at this concert.  

Balogh Máté, Sándor László és Tornyai Péter immár hagyományszerűen év elején megrendezésre kerülő szerzői estjének középpontjában az irodalom áll, előadói apparátus tekintetében pedig a zongora, az énekhang és az elektronika. Ahogyan próza és költészet között sem minden esetben könnyű a határvonalat meghúzni, ugyanúgy nehéz a megzenésítés, feldolgozás, szabad továbbgondolás, zenei reflexió fogalmak elkülönítése. Amikor egy zenei folyamat példának okáért egy verset szavaló színész hanglejtéseit imitálja, az eredmény magától értetődően hasonlítani fog ahhoz, amikor egy dallamvonal a természet hangjaival teszi ugyanezt. A vers ugyanannyi hangulatot képes közvetíteni, amennyi akkord rakható ki a 12 tagú hangrendszerből kiválasztott 8 tetszőleges hangból, az elektronikus zene árnyalatgazdagsága pedig a végtelenhez közelít, akárcsak a költészeté. Balogh Máté elhangzó művei egyazon tőről fakadnak. A Blake's Tygers című, négy tételből álló dalcsokor az angol költő alighanem leghíresebb, Tigris című versének négy prózai előadásán alapul. A dalok négy angol anyanyelvű színész nagyon különböző dallamvezetésű, deklamációjú és tónusú interpretációját imitálják. A 4x1 Chanson című ciklus nagyon hasonló módon készült, Pierre Louÿs francia költő Bilitis című versét véve alapul. A Miközben 1969, 2018 és 2022 című zenés színpadi mű Bertók László interjúját zenésíti meg, melyben a nemrég elhunyt pécsi költő Miközben című, lokálpatrióta versének keletkezési körülményeiről mesél. 1969 a vers keletkezésére, 2018 az interjúra, 2022 pedig a zenemű elkészültére utal. A recitált és énekelt szövegek kellően differenciált kísérete érdekében a zongora mellett alternatív hangszereket is alkalmaz a szerző: melodikát, kéziharangokat, zenélő dobozt, dobokat és triangulumot. Sándor László három kompozíciója, Korálfantázia kövekre és szelekre, Út jegenyékkel, illetve Famulus harangjai egybekomponált zenei folyamatként szólal majd meg, ahol az egyes művek elmosódott határokkal tűnnek át egymásba. A Korálfantázia kövekre és szelekre 4 csatornás hanginstalláció, melyben a természet hangjai (kövek, szélfúvás, víz) elektronikus processzusok segítségével keverednek össze a szerző korábban írott műrészleteivel. A szóban forgó mű időben rögzített változata egy olyan végtelenített zenei folyamatnak, mely az elképzelés szerint képzőművészeti kiállításokon funkcionálhat majd „kiállítási tárgyként”. A másik két mű szóló zongoradarab, mely a szerző saját előadásában fog megszólalni, de ezúttal az elektronikus hangokkal többé-kevésbé szabad „kamarazenélés” módján. A Famulus harangjai cím Hesse Üveggyöngyjátékának egyik elbeszéléséből származik, ahol a sivatagi remete, Famulus alakja mögött minden bizonnyal Remete Szent Antal személye rejtőzik. Tornyai Péter Sirató intarziával című darabja két Bertók László verset használ fel – a Csorba Győző halálára írt Siratót és A kijáratot építik címűeket – de nem egymás után, hanem a Sirató szövegtörzsébe intarziaként ékelve be a másik vers szavait. A dal-kompozíciók esetében gyakran használt megzenésítés kifejezés itt semmiképpen sem helyénvaló, a Sirató intarziával sokkal inkább annak a regiszternek a felerősítése, ami egy elképzelt „prózai” elmondásban is megjelenne (beszéd, lihegés, sírás, zihálás határán, elakadó szavak, stb.). A darabban megjelenő másik réteg – A kijáratot építik című vers „intarziadíszei” a halálértelmezés teljesen más aspektusával ellenpontozzák a Sirató textúráját. A Hymne à la nuit Pierre Louys versére komponált éjszaka-zene szoprán hangra és a zongora szélső regisztereire, a Glasperlen pedig félig nyitott mű preparált zongorára és elektronikára, melynek inspirációs forrása ismételten Hesse Üveggyöngyjátéka, illetve azon belül a Három életpálya.

„Túl, túl, messze túl, mi van a hegyen messze túl?” Gyöngyszemek, igazi különlegességek, rituálék és tradíciók. A földrajzi határokon és az érzékelés határain túlra tekint a debreceni Kodály Kórus kortársak szemüvegén keresztül, és megvizsgálja, hogy mi található az ébrenlét–álom, az élet–halál, a képzelet–valóság mezsgyéjén. Ehhez a virtuális kilométerekkel sem spórolnak: programjukban elkalandoznak nyugatra az Egyesült Államok felé, majd fel északra egészen Izlandig, hogy aztán a távoli kelet, Japán is helyet kapjon. A három koncertből álló sorozat első hangversenye egyszerre nyújt könnyedséget és mélységet.

Chalga is the kind of music that would be heard from an imaginary Kuruc military camp in the late 1600s on a night after a successful siege, with a couple of rock, jazz, and seventies funk records mixed in the loot. The band uses Balkan and Hungarian folk music unscrupulously. It might as well be pop music, like the original Bulgarian chalga, if they had a regular 4/4 song that could be danced by everyone. But fortunately the band has its eyes on something much more complex. Chalga's history dates back to the mid-2000s. After numerous festival performances and two CDs (Sabir, 2006; Erdő, erdő, 2010), the band went on a hiatus. They reactivated in 2018: significantly transformed, playing music that's more fresh and less folky. The band's members are well known musicians from the Hungarian rock, jazz, folk and world music scenes. Their 2022 album, Ezért van az (Therefore it is) made its way on the World Music Charts Europe, and mesmerized audiences.  

The series of Classicus Quartet, arriving in its fifth year, offers a unique cross-section of quartets from music history in the BMC Concert Hall. Having performed various works arranged by tonality, now for the last season of Das Wohltemperierte Streichquartett (The well-tempered string quartet), the quartet combines works of contemporary composers and those undeservedly omitted from the original plan. The Classicus Quartet's February programme strays from the string quartet's territory. The concert opens with arrangements by the composer and violist Péter Tornyai: this time, the string quartet's prism sheds new light on the chiseled, elegant and intimate music of Couperin, known for his harpsichord pieces, and Rameau, famous for his operas. At the center is the melodious and delightful string quartet of another French master, Ravel. The piece, with its classical four-movement structure, was written towards the end of the composer's studies, but it already reveals Ravel's dazzling sense of timbre and orchestration in all its glory. In the second half of the concert, the Classicus Quartet extends to a quintet to play Schubert's sublime chamber music swan song. Although the composer chose the same key in which Mozart and Beethoven each wrote a string quintet, unlike them Schubert added an extra cello to the quartet instead of a viola.

The Electronic Music Media Specialisation is a very special branch of creative music education. Established at the Liszt Academy of Music more than ten years ago, the aim of this specialisation is to enable composers and sound designers using electronic instruments and computers to acquire the knowledge specific to this field at university level. During their studies, students acquire theoretical and practical knowledge of electronic music and its related arts. This education, which also pays close attention to individual orientations, will help future electronic music composers to start their careers with a unique, distinctive and mature artistic vision. In putting together the programme for the concert, we aimed to ensure that it reflected the diverse, individual ideas and solutions of the young artists. The concert includes multichannel pieces, stereo fixed media pieces, live performance and informal free improvisation by students of the programme. The concert will give audiences a glimpse into the work of the next generation of electronic composers, and an insight into the present and future of electroacoustic music.

The Alpine musical cosmos is practically inhabited with extremists and specialists which often are already defined by the instruments. The here to be described and actually unable to be described case, brings the sound of tuba to our ears – this time not from the proverbial Huber but rather from a certain Johannes Bär. Thrown in, so to speak is the marching sound of Alfred Vogel’s drums as well as the sometimes phlegmatic and yet time and again the ambush like, from ADHS suffering saxophone by Andreas Broger – if, and when he is not suddenly playing the clarinet. OK, no more right now: it’s simply the Blechbaragge! Perhaps the world’s only trio with such an audacious line-up. Never-the-less, the three musicians play whatever they want to and feel like. The reason why their first album is named We Play the March for You, without including a single march. It’s not that anyone would miss it – after all, one is fully and enough occupied to compare this crude, virtuoso, humorous and almost totally to an excess played music, disregarding borders and genres with all that boring stuff which can be heard everywhere. And to top it, this Alfred Vogel stands up and declares: The best of the Blechbaragge is, “that all those guys are from my home environment”.   Although the band has existed for ten years already, it took a break in between for nine years and 364 days. Last year however Alfred was invited to the “South Tyrol Jazz Festival”, with the request to form a band. As it turned out, Joe and Andreas were also there and quickly the idea was formed to re-animate everything again. The other two were immediately fully intoxicated about it.  Right away we played a few more concerts and had thus found our special hobby although each one of us had also some other projects going. And now we present the albums: Besides the studio recordings, the march is also strongly blown sideways for a Vinyl-LP. “Here we release under the same title free improvisations” says Vogel “which are so to speak two faces of one band.” The borders of both sides become blurred at times since „Joe and Andreas have been making music together for 20 years and are therefore able to guess afore-head where the other may probably go to. All of this in this fresh mountain air. For me, our mutual work is a natural course of action and that in itself is something very special. It’s so terribly close and tight together”. It is also very tightly weaved with Austria, although it isn’t immediately evident. “My gut feeling tells me: It is fed by the tradition of many Austrian musicians who were influenced by brass bands” Vogel thinks. “Plus we have studied improvisation, played with US-musicians from what a new territory was created for us. But clearly, the tuba, saxophone and clarinet  have folk music elements with even a marching drum and cinelles. And yet, whatever we do with it, is clearly deriving from jazz. Let me tell it like this: The album has definitely a punk attitude while simultaneously we pay respect to our tradition and also very consciously to the headwind.”  Alfred Vogel is evidentially living in the best, for him, conceivable environment. “Each one has his own suitcase filled with his own toys resulting in an unbelievable wealth”, he raptures. “And to top it, all of this at home in the Bregenz Forest! Where the incredible sounds of said tuba are reaching beyond a frequency which no bass, incidentally also substituted by the tuba, could ever produce. And whatever Johannes with his additional effect gadgets produces sounds almost like a band synthesizer”. It appears as if each member of the Blechbaragge does whatever he feels like. There are no stops or empty talks like: “no this is not fitting for us” – anything goes and is tested. And all of this not in a secret and remote quiet chamber: The creative test lab stays wide open for every music lover. With its complicated rhythm, free improvisations and unexpected melodies. It is of course only barely suited as preparation for the live-experience with the Blechbaragge, “since we are certainly no musicians who time and again wind up the very same thing” explains Alfred Vogel. “We are activating within an open space where not always a railing is available”. So, let them blow you a march!

Stefano Gervasoni is one of the leading contemporary composers of his generation in Europe. Winner of numerous prizes, including the recent "Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation Award" (2018) and Premio della Critica Musicale "Franco Abbiati" (2010). Since 2006 Stefano Gervasoni has held a regular teaching position as professor of composition at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. "I consider myself a pure composer, not in the sense that I wish to claim the purity of my sources of inspiration, which are instead numerous and wide-ranging, or that the results of my artistic research are in any way absolute (which is far from my case), or in the way I conceive the task (or rather the "mission") of a composer. I write music and teach composition, and I view both as an expression of thought – with a strong will to recount and bear witness to the aspirations of our time – respecting history and endeavoring to act on the present to leave traces that are as "clear" and efficient as possible to the future of humanity." Stefano Gervasoni, 2017 Stefano Gervasoni will highlight his musical vision and talk about his composition process. The public can also hear live music and some recordings of the Italian composer who is coming to Budapest following the personal invitation of Peter Eötvös.Program:Stefano Gervasoni: ODOI II for two saxophone soprano Featuring: Erzsébet Seleljo, Viktor Nagy - saxophoneHost: Gergely Fazekas, music historianLanguage of the talks: EnglishPartners: Istituto Italiano Budapest, Institut français de BudapestWe are grateful for the help of Concertgebouorkest, Camerata RCO and Gutman Records.

Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players at the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience. Legendary Albums – Miles Davis: My Funny Valentine & Four and More These two records are actually one. They have been recorded at a single concert. Neglecting Davis’s artistic intentions is not the only sin that the recording industry committed against an otherwise very assertive artist and bandleader. The two records have not been issued representing the original order, as first only the slow and mid-tempo numbers were picked and released, becoming an  immediate hit nevertheless. Only two years after the concert, in 1966 were the fast tunes issued on a separate record, entitled ’Four’ and More. This period can be considered an intermediate time in the career of Davis’s as a bandleader. The sax player of the band, George Coleman was about to depart from the legendary band. On the other hand the rhythm section consisting of pianist Herbie Hancock, bass player Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams has already joined the Davis quintet. The concert was scheduled in the newly inaugurated Philharmonic Hall of the Lincoln Center in New York City. Expectations, which proved well-founded in the  meantime, were that the new concert venue would rise in prestige to the level of the Carnegie Hall. This was the first major concert for the young rhythm section with Davis, and they were quite nervous. In addition, the concert was given political significance, as it was a charity event for black civil rights organisations, a cause Davis and his associates wholeheartedly supported. Less motivating was the fact that the musicians did not get paid at all. No one really regretted anything in hindsight, Davis’s My Funny Valentine became one of the best selling records, sold in the thousands even in the cheap CD editions, while its counterpart, featuring breath-taking tempi and fresh instrumental interactions has become the favourite of collectors.

BEREMÉNYI'S HAT(Bereményi kalapja)Hungarian documentary, 2022, 82 min. - In Hungariandirector: Zsigmond Papp Gáborcinematography: Zoltán Lovasi editor: Bence Bartosmusic by Tamás Cseh, Ferenc Darvas, Márk Járaiproducer: Dániel Hernercreative producer: András Csejdy Featuring: Géza Bereményi, Márk Járai, György Cserhalmi, Frigyes Gödrös, Can Togay, Lajos Jánossy, Bertalan Bagó, Sándor Sőth, András Cserna-Szabó, Eszter Ónodi Géza Bereményi is a unique, cult figure of Hungarian culture. He first became nationally known with the lyrics written by Tamás Cseh, then with his short stories, screenplays, plays, and film direction, and in recent years she has also risen to the top as a novelist. In the portrait film, Barnabás Tóth accompanies and questions Beremény throughout her life. Bereményi is his interlocutor as a young director colleague, and as a former child actor - who at the age of ten in Eldorádó in his film, he played the child Géza - he reveals his secrets. The screening will be introduced by film- and music critic László Kolozsi (in Hungarian).Guest: Zsigmond Papp Gábor, director, script writer, producer

Three years ago, three musicians, who were also at home in theater circles, thought that they would call the sounds, rhythms and melodies they played in the plays directed by János Mohácsi to an independent life. They thought that the stringed strings of different origins, tearing apart from the system of a theatrical performance, could also come into contact with each other and tell further stories to both the musicians and even more so to the audience. And over time, more and more new melodies and rhythms emerge in the sometimes seemingly endless sound maze of the Trio Sordini. Composition and improvisation, traveling from everywhere to everywhere: More than an hour and a half of unstoppable sound streams in two parts. In the first half of the concert, the compositions of Márton Kovács will be performed, while in the second half, a fresh record of Bp. Folk, composed by Ádám Móser, will debut. "As a composer in my compositions, I am looking for the answer to how folk music can be present in Budapest today or in any part of the world as part of contemporary culture. What does the same rhythm mean in Transylvania, Szék if it sounds on a viola, and what does it mean in the tram when played on an accordion? I'm interested in the deep structure of folk music. The deep structure of different music, and their meeting and merging. The kind of structure that is behind the melodies. Tension of sounds, harmonies, and rhythms. What happens when the rhythm of the invertita meets the repetitive sequences of Astor Piazzolla. They are both fed by the same tension. These interest me. We are on this road with my friends, Márton Kovács and Csaba Gyulai" - said Ádám Móser about the album entitled Bp. Folk.

Imre Kőszegi belongs to the first generation of musicians in Hungary who were allowed to approach modern jazz as a self-contained genre, independent of entertaining dance music. His playing was most influenced by bebop and free jazz. A self-taught artist, he is one of the most important drummers and teachers in the Hungarian jazz scene, with a career spanning now more than six decades, having played with such Hungarian and foreign stars as Aladár Pege and Dezső Lakatos “Ablakos”, Jenő Balogh “Csibe”, György Vukán, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, Gusztáv Csík, Frank Zappa, Teddy Wilson, Kenny Wheeler, Art Farmer, Frank Foster, Charlie Mariano, Steve Grossman, Gary Bartz, Lew Tabackin, Trilok Gurtu or Michael “Patches” Stewart. Throughout his career, he has performed in the most important concert halls, festivals and clubs in Europe and Hungary and has received a series of awards. A living legend of Hungarian jazz, he is still very active today, often playing with younger musicians, whom he consciously chooses to renew his formations and pass on his experience. This time, he brings the first band bearing his name.

Rianás (főnév)  Tavak, folyók felszínén keletkezett jég felszakadását, törését kísérő hangjelenség.Rianás címmel jelenik meg yibai, azaz Gerlei Dávid elsőéves elektronikus zenei médiaművészet szakos hallgató bemutatkozó kislemeze az EXILES kiadó gondozásában. Az albumborítót Papp Péter képzőművész festette. „Az album a pillanatnyi felismerésből táplálkozik: nem kerülhetem el a rianást. Ami szilárd, mindig széthasad. Ami áramlatba olvad, az irányt keres, majd újra visszafagy.”Megjelenés: 2023. február 17.

More than a trio, Space Galvachers is a small collective of musician-composers gathered around a common culture, improvisation, and a popular vision of music. The vocation of the trio – to be a platform to welcome artists and various formats – is the result of a sound research whose goal is to re-enter the various influences from which it comes in a natural way. Thus, the projects of the Space Galvachers collective will navigate from contemporary to urban without ever cutting back on its singular approach. This approach has been shaped by Clément Janinet, Clément Petit and Benjamin Flament for more than ten years. They crossed paths in projects ranging from improvised music to traditional music (Radiation 10, Le Banquet, Ze Jam Afan, Ray Lema, Duo Flament-Janinet, Richard Bona, Olivier Araste, Rido Bayonne, Simon Winse, etc.) and engaged in a personal process to develop a sound and a singular game on their respective instruments: They work on the development of original instrumental techniques, which they mix with the preparation of their instruments and with electro-acoustic treatment. Benjamin Flament has taken the experience to the point of making a percussive instrument using metals. Space Galvachers was born spontaneously from the association of their work on sound and improvisation, with their common appetite for popular music.

A Dohnányi Quartet koncertsorozatának új évadában három történet állomásai kerülnek egymás mellé. Mind a négy hangversenyen megszólal Bartók és Dvořák gazdag vonósnégyes-termésének egy-egy darabja, valamint egy kvartett az elmúlt év(tized)ekből. A kortárs vagy majdnem kortárs darabok két különlegessége, hogy szerzőik tanár-tanítvány-láncot alkotnak, Goffredo Petrassitól a mai magyar fiatal generációig, illetve hogy mindegyik kapcsolatban áll a közös mester, Bach művészetével.

This is already the third project together with Ars Nova Ensemble, we are grateful for the support and dedication towards our Mentoring Program with young composers and conductors. This concert will be conducted partly by our new conductor mentee Gabriel Hollander and the program will feature a new piece by our mentee composer, Sebastian Black who will write a new piece around cimbalom. Young conductors and composers will work together with Peter Eötvös, Gregory Vajda and Stefano Gervasoni for a week before they show their talent during the concert at BMC. Partners: Istituto Italiano Budapest, Institut Francais de BudapestWe are grateful for the help of Concertgebouorkest, Camerata RCO and Gutman Records.

This double bill concert introduces two groups of the Pégazz & l’Hélicon French jazz collective performing for the first time at Opus Jazz Club. Led by trumpet player Quentin Ghomari, Ôtrium is a close band with an acoustic, raw and direct sound, made of pure melodic phrases which resonate and play with silence. Sometimes contemplative and dreamlike, sometimes wild and determined, its music lets expressiveness, exchanges and spontaneity come first. The very strong connection between the three musicians of Players, lead by Julien Soro, forged a common desire to play a kind of music where freedom, playing games and having access to a form of trance are essential: the result is a trio with an original and adaptable instrumentation. The electronic contribution of the keyboards gives the trio the possibility to mutate and opens larger and richer possibilities of sounds, creating a real pocket orchestra. https://www.pegazz.com/projets/otrium/ https://www.pegazz.com/projets/players/

The repertoire of Károly Gáspár Trio consists mainly of the bandleader's own compositions and jazz standards. The music of his trio is fresh and progressive, romantic and aestheticist, but they also respect the traditions of mainstream jazz. They have recorded three albums so far. The Outsider (2017) and Salvation (2019) were both nominated for the Fonogram Award, while Philosophy (2021) became the first jazz album to make its way to the top 40 selling list of the Hungarian Recording Industry Association. In March 2022, Károly Gáspár published his first solo piano album, Centuries Suite. 

In the season of 2022/23, Modern Art Orchestra presents excellent Hungarian composers to the audience of Opus Jazz Club. In their series of six concerts, they invite composers who experiment with orchestral sound and look for new ways of expression. They will also be the soloists of the concerts, presenting their new works. The artistic director, Kornél Fekete-Kovács and all the musicians in the outstanding MAO treat music with an attitude that transcends borders of genres. Musical creativity and free expression of musical thought takes the centre in their playing and compositions. During this season, they work with autonomous creative minds of modern Hungarian music, whose way of thinking falls close to theirs.

This evening, the Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra will perform European, American and Asian works that have already been met with loud applause at last year's festival concerts. Upbeat, ecstatic and profound passages are alternating, with thought-provoking beauty and at times sadly poignant – as our world goes, so goes its music. The stylistic framework is the 20th-21st centuries, but the eternal musical ideas are a warning against impermanence. So the orchestra is working with a tried and tested recipe, with a few updates. Everyone is welcome to try, or to enjoy again, or even to comment on how the ensemble sounds now in works by Jörg Widmann, Miho Hazama, Christopher Cerrone and Pavel Fischer.

After their critically acclaimed first album The living loving maid, the three internationally very requested artists finally found time to reunite during lockdown in their hometown Berlin to elaborate their second album to be released on BMC Records later this year. While The living loving maid mainly focused on songs and arias from the baroque and renaissance era, their second album draws a bow to the iconic pop music of our adolescence. The titles include songs and arias by Georg Friedrich Händel, Henry Purcell, Antonio Vivaldi, Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins and The Police. They are mostly sung in English, creating a crisp, mysterious and ageless world of sound, wandering subtly between styles and époques. For example, Johnny Grey is a song based on Cleopatra’s aria, Se Pietà, from Georg Friedrich Händel’s opera, Giulio Cesare in Egitto. While the scheme of the aria is almost entirely kept, the text is by contemporary writer Essi Kalima and tells us the story of a homeless man who lives on the streets of Berlin. In Walking on the moon from The Police, the guitar draws a minimalistic chromatic Jacobs ladder that weaves with a delicate vocal line into a floating timeless braid. Soundgarden’s Black hole sun is an apocalyptic ode at the gate to the underworld, with a resolution in a Monteverdi style coloratura.  

A reneszánsz madrigál a zenetörténet egyik megosztó műfaja: lelkes amatőr kórusok éneklik magyarított szövegekkel, miközben sokakat taszít a körötte kialakult pecsenyeillatú művidámság. Pedig a madrigál a későreneszánsz legfontosabb zenei műfaja – a kritikai élű megjegyzés a zenén keresztül talán a korszakot minősíti? Nem. A madrigál világa mély és elsőrendű, csak friss tekintettel kell szemlélni: felfedezni benne Petrarca követésének nyelvteremtő erejét, a manierizmusnak a lét sötétségével szembenéző tekintetét, az ébredő modern „én” kifejeződésre való törekvését. Észrevenni benne a populáris zene és a zeneipar létrejöttét, és ezek recepcióját a kor legnagyobb komponistái részéről. Előadás- és koncertsorozatunkkal szeretnénk kiszabadítani a madrigált a közkeletű előítéletek köréből; rámutatni, hogy benne a legfelnőttebb tartalom jelenik meg a legkifinomultabb formákban. A téma óriási, s a madrigál szemlélete állandó változásban van. Sorozatunk előadásai nem arra törekszenek, hogy tankönyvként vezessenek elő mindent a műfajjal kapcsolatban, hanem négy különböző szempontból vizsgálják a reneszánsz madrigált. Lax Éva, a 16–17. századi olasz nyelv legkiválóbb hazai tudósa segít a madrigál nyelvhez való viszonyának tárgyalásában. A koncertek ugyan kapcsolódnak valamelyest az előttük elhangzó előadásokhoz, de nem azok illusztrációi, önálló vonulatot képeznek, s az olasz reneszánsz madrigál három kiemelkedő alkotóját és egy nevezetes korabeli antológiáját tárják a hallgatóság elé.

The Moroccan Saïd Tichiti was the first to introduce gnawa music to the Hungarian audience and made it popular through his world music group Chalaban. In Morocco, Gnawa was a part of the slave culture and that of their decendents and is closely related to healing rituals. William Borroughs describes this ancient, sacred trance-music form of the Moroccan Berbers as „4000-year-old rock and roll”. The mysterious power of Moroccan trance music has come into the spotlight in the past fifty years. Led Zeppelin, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman all helped to let the secret of this culture out. Gnawa is based on rhythm structures that are at once fixed but constantly changing. Though the basic patterns remain the same, varying accents consistently feed the constantly accelerating music with new pulsations. Saïd Tichiti, who has established a name in the Hungarian world music scene since 1998, has gathered together outstanding musicians from the creative / jazz / Hungarian folk music scene to form his new group. They can freely improvise on gnawa musical patterns and have the ability to call forward the strong emotional effect of trance rituals. Crossbreed by Tariqa

"This trio is one of the most thrilling groups I’ve heard on the ECM label in a long time"Mike Gates, UKVibe 5/5 "With Elastic Wave, he takes the last step all the way to the top"Tor Hammerø, (Nettavisen) 6/6 "It’s a superb summer soundtrack and one of the highlights so far this year"Espen Løkeland-Stai (Dagsavisen) 5/6 ☆☆☆☆☆Jazzthetik Magazine (5/5) The Norwegian Grammy nominated trio Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity has since the beginning in 2014, released three critically acclaimed albums: Firehouse, Live In Europe, and To Whom Who Buys a Record. On 15th July 2022 they released their debut album Elastic Wave for the world’s most important record label for jazz, ECM records, which is receiving great feedback from listeners and journalists all over the world. The trio has performed more than 100 concerts in Norway, Europe, Japan, USA, Canada and Brazil. After receiving great reviews for their concerts at Winterjazz in New York, at Jazzahead in Bremen, the concert together with Joshua Redman and Ambrose Akinmusire at Nilssen’́s residency at Molde International Jazz festival in 2019, they are pointed out as one of the most exciting trios on the European jazzscene these days. The three musicians are very active and sought after, and you might have heard them in the following bands and acts: Django Bates, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Trondheim Jazzorkester, Koma Saxo, Susanne Sundfør, SKRIM, Friends & Neighbors, Bushman’s Revenge, Peter Evans or Enemy. The music is original and composed by all three band members, with a focus on interplay, groove, creativity, dynamism and energy with plenty of room for improvisation. Acoustic Unity uses the mirror to maneuver towards the future. “Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity is one of the best trios in Europe” – Phil Freeman (Stereogum, The Wire, Burning Ambulance) “This turbulent album takes the craziness of Bitches Brew and adds a punk-style attack. If three well-schooled jazz musicians were force-fed Motörhead, this would be the result.” – Kieron Tyler (The arts desk) “It was thrilling stuff and it all ended just a little too soon.” – Ian Patterson (All about jazz) Photo by Chris Charpenel  

Drummer-composer Balázs Bágyi is one of the leading artists of Hungarian jazz. The music of his latest band, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is dominated by acoustic, contemporary jazz based on post bop elements. His partners are a prominent representative of the middle generation of Hungarian jazz: the saxophonist Soso Lakatos Sándor, the Junior Prima Prize-winning pianist Dezső Oláh, and one of the greatest bassists in Central Europe, Péter Oláh. The band has played at a number of European jazz festivals in recent years, as well as performing regularly in China - their collaboration with trumpet player Li Xiaochuan in Shanghai has been going on for several years. In 2016, their album Homage To Shakespeare with singer Kriszta Pocsai, was awarded the Gramophone Prize by the international professional jury. The repertoire of the formation is based on the compositions of the bandleader, Balázs Bágyi, who became the composer of the year in 2016. As in the previous years, they play some of the older compositions, as well as presenting their recent music in Opus Jazz Club.

The musical world of Sára Nina Horváth, also known as NinShar, is shaped by folk music, jazz and soul. The young folk and jazz singer and folk dancer has appeared in several bands of the Hungarian underground in recent years (Beshodrom, Tóth Viktor Tercett), and has sung with world-famous musicians such as Eric Truffaz. With her folklore theatre company Bahorka, she creates interactive shows for children and families, incorporating dance, storytelling and music. However, the project Crescendo of the Sacred, inspired by mythological and archetypal female figures, is aimed at adult audiences: it reveals the subconscious world whose laws sometimes break through the walls of everyday life, and we involuntarily give in to their drift – following our instincts as if we were stepping into the skin of female archetypes and mythological characters. The musical material of Crescendo of the Sacred features seven female musicians singing the most famous female figures of Hungarian and European mythology with a unique sound and visual world. The combination of electronically based jazz improvisations, neo-soul grooves, folk magic lyrics and early music instruments weaves together the stories of Boldogasszony, Aphrodite, Hera or even Baba Yaga in a mystical sound. Bringing to life the archetypal figures hidden in the depths of womanhood is not only theater, but also a dialogue with the everyday scenes of our secret, inner lives.

Mint tudjuk, Beethoven a zene Mozartja. Magyarul: minden klasszikus zenészek alfája és omegája, a legnagyobb lázadó, a legvagányabb rocker, aki a zenét a sarkaiból fordította ki, aki a sorssal is dacolt: pá-pá-pá-páááám! Ezt a szuperhőst hozzuk el szűk egy órában Szemenyei János színész és Hámori Máté házigazda-karmester segítségével, bemutatva, hogy hogyan is lehet egy kétszáz éves zene ma is kemény, feszes, forradalmi, pörgős és megdöbbentően érzékeny egyszerre. Lesz zongorázás, zenekari lárma, siketség-szimulátor és sok minden más. Csak erős idegzetűeknek!

Félénk, szemüveges, dundi figura, aki titokban, egy apró szoba mélyén a valaha írt legszebb dallamokat találta ki. Mit tud elmondani egy dal? Hogyan lehet két hangszerrel párbajozni? Na, és szerelmet vallani egy hegedűvel és egy csellóval? Mindez kiderül, amikor megismerjük a legnagyobb franc, Franz Schubert gyönyörű zenéit. Ifjúsági sorozatunk alkotója és házigazdája Hámori Máté, a Danubia Zenekar művészeti vezetője.

Az Art Classic Harangegyüttes „Harangoznak délre című koncertjén ismert népdalok, gyermekdalok, mesezenék csendülnek fel Gryllus Vilmos és a Kaláka együttes feldolgozásában, amelynek meseszép harangzenei átiratait id. Lajhó Gyula, az együttes művészeti vezetője készítette. Képzeljük el, hogy a hangokat leszedegetjük a hangszerről és szétosztjuk a zenészek közt. Minden zenész a saját hangjaiért felel, azokat a megfelelő pillanatban szólaltatja meg. Mintha mindannyian egy hangszeren játszanának, teljes összhangban, szinte együtt lélegezve. Ennek a csodának lehet fül- és szemtanúja a közönség - a koncertet követően pedig „zenészként” próbára is teheti magát.

A Rímes bál a zenekarban egy rímekbe szedett interaktív hangszerbemutató Benjamin Britten műve nyomán. Mennyiféle hangszer csücsül egy nagyzenekarban, és mindegyik egészen mást csinál… Hogyan lesz ebből összhang, és miben különböznek egymástól a hangszerek? Melyik tud csiripelni, és melyiknek „acélosan brutál” a hangja? Melyik nagytestű hangszer rejt érzékeny szívű játékost, és mire való egyáltalán a karmester? Erre a sok kérdésre ad szórakoztató választ a Danubia Zenekar koncertje, ahol rímekbe szedve mutatja be a házigazda, Hámori Máté a zenekar hangszereit és műhelytitkait. Ráadásul egy szerencsés hallgató karmesterként is kipróbálhatja magát a zenekar előtt.

She’s Analog explores the sound possibilities offered by a particular declination of the most classic ensemble: the trio. Collectively creating music, the group is inspired by a tenuous compositional starting point, which is enriched by the practice of free improvisation. The musicians all contribute to the development of rich and coherent sound textures, which are the result of an accurate process of braiding and blending instrument’s voices, to the point where it is no longer possible to distinguish their source. Compositions are shaped as fragile architectures that never become a limitation for creative expression: these structures carry feelings and suggestions, and let catch a glimpse of an inner space. The group’s own language is constantly fed by the different influences and backgrounds of the individual musicians: contemporary classical, jazz, post-rock, minimalism and electronics all represent languages that interact dialectically, creating precious landscapes and textures that are always different, emotional and never abstract. For this evening, they combine forces with Hungarian drummer and composer Attila Gyárfás, who is keen on experimenting, improvising and exploring the sound possibilities of his instrument.  

A Budapesti Vonósok 2022–2023-as évadának utolsó kortárszenei estjén Sosztakovics és Takemitsu művei képviselik a történeti távlatokat. Sosztakovics 1960-ban komponálta a 8. c-moll vonósnégyest (op. 110). Egy karmester, Rudolf Barshai később vonószenekari átiratot készített ebből a vonósnégyesből, és erre az átiratra gyakran úgy hivatkoznak, mint Sosztakovics Kamaraszimfóniájára. Az avantgárd japán művész, Tōru Takemitsu 1957-ben írta vonószenekari Requiemjét, amely – miután Stravinsky megismerte – nemzetközi hírnevet szerzett a komponistának. A Klasszikusok tükrében sorozat utolsó kortárs mester–tanítvány párosát Vajda János (*1949) és Zarándy Ákos (*1982) alkotja. Vajda János ezredfordulón komponált Kamaraszimfóniája zárja az estét.

Besides the Grencsó Collective, István Grencsó is also the leader, member and intellectual driving force of several other bands. Recently, he has been working more and more often with Barnabás Dukay, one of the most unique contemporary composers in Hungary. Dukay and Grencsó have recently given several chamber concerts with varying instrumentation, in which the organic, inseparable unity of compositions and improvisations and the magical sound of the special arrangements have been combined into a kind of sacred music, deeply touching the listener. In this concert, they sail out into the open with Tibor Szemző and Bálint Bolcsó.

Cromwell és a puritánok zavaros időszaka után az angol monarchiát 1660-ban állították vissza. Ekkor lépett a trónra II. Károly, aki franciaországi száműzetéséből magával hozta a művészetek, különösen a zene szeretetét. Az udvarba csakhamar francia és olasz zenészek érkeztek, akik jelentős hatással voltak angol kollégáikra. Ebben a korban kezdtek el kísérletezni a szerzők a hangszeres szonáta műfajával, amelynek leghíresebb művelője Henry Purcell lett. A koncertre viszont olyan szerzők műveit válogattuk össze, akik Purcell kortársai voltak, így szeretnénk bemutatni a kor ritkán hallott zenei gyöngyszemeit.

Duo SeRa was formed in 2012 from the saxophone and harp duo of Erzsébet Seleljo and Anastasia Razvalyaeva. The duo, with their unique instrumental combination, launched their concert series Encounters eight years ago, partly because of their interest in contemporary music and partly with the aim of building their own repertoire. Over the years, they have presented nearly 30 new works by national and foreign composers. The programme for the concert on 10 March will include works by composers of widely differing musical backgrounds – László Sáry, Tibor Szemző, András Hamary, Miklós Maros and Yehuda Yannay –, as well as six movements from Zoltán Kodály's Seven Piano Pieces, arranged for the duo by Marcell Dargay. Tibor Szemző's Izmail Scrolls is also accompanied by visual material, which the composer filmed in the Danube Delta in spring 2019.

Those attempting to describe Mario Rom’s INTERZONE seem to be looking constantly for superlatives. After a concert at the famed Rochester Jazz Festival in New York, the festival’s main critic declared that "I have yet to hear a group of musicians – anywhere – with a more serious sense of play. Interzone is almost too much fun – if that's even possible: They play fast and intense, like repeated shots of musical adrenaline. Mario Rom is an absolutely dazzling trumpet player, dispensing extended melodic runs that are magic, plain and simple. Lukas Kranzelbinder continues to be one of the most riveting double bassists I've seen, and Herbert Pirker is as nimble a drummer as you're likely to hear." Such a reaction from the American press is anything but self-evident for an Austrian band with a mean age of just over 30 years old, but the trio has undeniably received a great deal of attention from critics and media around the world as the ovations did not stop there. German's prestigious newspaper DIE ZEIT stated that "Mario Rom plays solos like no one else in Europe" and went on to call them "three young daredevils, marked by a life they couldn’t yet have lived, ready for anything" while the bands unusual instrumentation (trumpet, bass and drums) did not stop them from "spinning virtuosity and humor into an entertaining whole" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and "giving the impression of being four, five, or more musicians on stage." (Jazzthing) Their motto "Everything is Permitted" runs like a golden thread through all their concerts in the last decade, taking the trio from Mexico to Europe, Morocco, South Africa, Argentina, China, Canada and the USA and leading the Süddeutsche Zeitung to claim: "Mario Rom plays his instrument as if his life would depend on it. The amount of spontaneous ideas and inspiration that is used in a single tune here would be more than enough to serve other instrumentalists for decades." If these reviews sound a little exaggerated, consider this reaction from PNP after their concert at the INNtöne Festival in 2014: "Their flawless interaction breathes a vitality that leaves the audience clamoring for encores until their repertoire is exhausted. This is probably how immortality begins." One might be forgiven for thinking that this kind of hyperbole leads to enormously high expectations. But one might also consider the following: these three musicians are playing jazz at 180%, as if their life hung in the balance every night. After Nothing is True (2012), Everything is Permitted (2015) and Truth is Simple to Consume (2017), the now 12-year-old band released their fourth studio album Eternal Fiction in early 2021 and continues to enthrall audiences worldwide. Enter the INTERZONE – you won’t regret it.  

Az UMZE kamaraegyüttes sorozatának márciusi hangversenye a magyar zeneszerzők különböző generációit képviselő két alkotótól frissen rendelt művek köré rendeződik. Tihanyi László Örök álom című, két narrátort és két nyelvet – japán és magyar – foglalkoztató darabja Akutagava, japán író Biszei hite című novellája ás annak Vihar Judit féle fordítása alapján készült. Balogh Máté alt szólóra és kamaraegyüttesre íródott kompozíciója James Joyce híres, hírhedt regénye, az Ulysses utolsó fejezetének szövegét használja. A Molly álma prózában, énekbeszédben és énekben jeleníti meg a könyv főhőse feleségének, Molly Bloomnak központozás nélküli, asszociációs gondolatfolyamban megfogalmazott erotikus hatású álmát, illetve e női alak három személyiségét. A műsort Toru Takemitsu szintén álomszerű Rain Spell-je, valamint Hans Abrahamsen magyarországi bemutatóként felhangzó Wald című ensemble darabja teszi teljessé.

Petra Várallyay is a returning guest of Opus with her fusion jazz trio, but this time she presents her solo project. Her programme includes her own pieces, jazz standards, early music and folk arrangements. The rhythmic and harmonic complexity of Petra's music is coupled with a direct, instinctive performance style, an exciting cavalcade of instruments and vocals that range from melancholic soundscapes to asymmetrical ethno-jazz grooves and live looping. Petra Várallyay achieved her first great success as a classical violinist, but later her interest increasingly led to improvisational fusion music and composition. She studied jazz piano and jazz music at the Bartók Konzi, then jazz composition and classical violin at the Academy of Music. With her characteristic playing, she is as present in the cult concert venues of the underground music scene as she is on the stage of the most prestigious concert halls. In addition to her own trio, she is a regular composer of the Jazzation acappella formation, having worked with Bobby McFerrin, Uri Cainen and Yo-Yo Ma, performing at numerous domestic and foreign festivals, touring a wide range of genres. In recognition of her musical work, she received the Orszáczky Prize in 2016, the Junior Artisjus Prize in 2017, the Junior Prima Prize in 2020, and the Creative Art Prize, in the piano improvisation competition founded by György Vukán in 2021.

Acsai Tímea, a Bambergi Szimfonikusok fuvolaművésze és Simon Dávid, a Magyar Rádió Szimfonikus Zenekarának fuvolaművésze vezetésével 2023. március 10. és 12. között a Budapest Music Center Könyvtárában kerül megrendezésre a IV. Fuvola Mesterkurzus Budapest. A kurzus elsődleges célközönsége a zeneművészeti szakközépiskolák és főiskolák hallgatói, anyaga szabadon választott előadási darabok, versenyművek, próbajáték állások. A koncerten a mesterkurzus aktív résztvevői lépnek fel, a műsor összeállításában a két kurzusvezető oktató nyújt majd segítséget.

Franz Schubert is usually considered as a part of the first Viennese school, while Anton Webern, born barely a hundred years later and a student of Schoenberg, is considered the second. Whether these schools exist, whether Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, or Schoenberg, Berg and Webern, can be considered classmates is obviously a matter of approach (their differences are as numerous as their similarities). In any case, in the second concert of the spring Schubert series, Webern's piano variations, with their impressive clarity and beauty, are performed alongside Schubert's seven impromptu pieces. In addition to the well-known Op. 90 set, the less frequently heard Three Piano Pieces will also be performed: these three pieces were presumably also intended as a set of four impromptus, but were not finally published in print until forty years after Schubert's death (just a decade and a half before Webern's birth), edited by Johannes Brahms. In the first part of the evening, music historian Gergely Fazekas will discuss the musical connections between Schubert and Webern (Webern orchestrated Schubert's previous work, Six German Dances, for example, which Gábor Csalog performed on 15 January), but the focus will be on the music itself. For example, questions such as how Webern's finite, sonorous crystal structures reflect (if at all) the "heavenly length" of Schubert's works.

Kurtág György 1965-ben kiadott 8 duója a cimbalom „klasszikus” kortárs zenei használatának és kamarazenei repertoárjának egyértelmű mérföldköve. Nem véletlen, hogy a vonós hangszer és cimbalom duójára készült későbbi darabok nagy része valamilyen módon – például épp a nyolc-tételességével – reflektál erre a műre. Igaz ez Kondor Ádám „Magyar népdalformák" (1998) és Tornyai Péter „H.G. Sonaten” (2022) című kompozíciójára is.A hangszerspecifikus kortárs kompozíciók mellé a műsorban olyan „régi zenék” kerülnek, melyek kristálytiszta zenei struktúrájukkal szinte bármilyen hangszereken előadhatók. Az eredetileg billentyűs hangszerre írt Bach-duettek megszólaltatásának ezúttal éppen a különböző típusú hangszerek találkozása adja az érdekességét.

Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players at the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience. Legendary Albums – The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery Thanks to his studio recording made in January 1960, Wes Montgomery once and for all entered the cast of the high priests of jazz. They are the ones whose playing is endlessly copied and with whom audiences are unconditionally in love. All this against the  background that Montgomery had until then only been able to play the guitar after his physical day-to-day work, which he maintained in order to support his family. He was a self-taught guitar player, and only at that time had his two decades of experience of playing in clubs and concerts born fruit. This was only his second outing as a leader, which explains the somewhat ceremonious title, as if trying to introduce an unnoticed talent.Montgomery’s playing is usually described by the octave playing, which he indeed perfected but he was not the one to have  introduced it, unlike the thumb usage, his plucking technique. On the record The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery half of the tracks are standards and the other half his originals. From the latter one definitely stands out, the first release of Four on Six, probably his most covered composition. The title refers to the two different approaches of the meter, 4/4 or 6/8, nevertheless a stinging intro consisting only of quint jumps really catches the listener’s attention. Two bluesy tunes, West Coast Blues and Sonny Rollins classic Airigin carry on this feel further. The guitarist gets wonderful support from pianist Tommy Flanagan, who is in explosive form, bass player Percy Heath, of Modern Jazz Quartet fame and his brother, drummer Albert Heath.

Uya, the third studio album of the Austrian ensemble Synesthetic Octet was released on Jazzwerkstatt Records in December 2021 and is already nominated for the German Record Critics Award in the category “Crossover Productions”. Andreas Felber, Journalist and head of the Jazz department of the Austrian Broadcasting Network called the music on Uya “complex and rhythm driven music that you won’t hear from anyone else even on an international level” and “ingeniously wonky chamber jazz / dada rap”. The raps in an invented language are supposed to remind the listener of what it’s like to be touched by vocals that you can not understand. As a young teenager, band leader Vincent Pongrácz was fascinated by the expressive power of American rap music even though he couldn’t understand the words. The composer and clarinet player founded Synesthetic Octet in 2013 during a concert series at the renowned jazz club Porgy & Bess in Vienna. The name of the ensemble is inspired by Olivier Messiaen, who was a synesthete himself.  

Mihály Dresch founded his String Quartet a few years ago to create an exciting mix of genres this time from a folk music perspective, of course with the trademark Dresch sound. Their first studio album, entitled Forrásból, was released in 2017 by the Fonó Records, which was born as the first imprint of new musical qualities created at the intersection of jazz and Hungarian folk music traditions. "With his saxophone, fuhun and surprisingly powerful vocals, Mihály Dresch took on the primate role of folk music in the traditional sense - with naturalness. An album that was a great fit in the Dresch oeuvre was created in both the dance house and the concert hall" - Attila Retkes wrote about the record in Gramofon magazine. The second album of the formation, Ongaku, was released in 2021. Mihály Dresch said about the record: "In Japanese, ongaku means music. In Chinese, this character differs with one single sign from character of 'medicine'. On the occasion of a rehearsal, when this composition had not yet received a final name, we felt the atmosphere of the oriental cultures. These two concepts can be easily connected with Hungarian thinking as well. The relationship between music and the soul is not a novel idea, its beneficial effects have already been recognized by the ancient Greeks. I hope this album approaches these two meanings".  

Karja/Renard/Wandinger is a brand new international ensemble focusing on experimental improvised music. They started playing together in 2019 and in summer 2022 they released their dynamic debut album named The Wrong Needle. The Trio is led by the vigorous and awarded Estonian pianist Kirke Karja. Together with French bassist Étienne Renard and German drummer Ludwig Wandinger they focus on extended techniques, elements from free improvisation and contemporary composition. The trio gets their inspiration from old creepy silent films and broken machines.  

A podium conversation with music therapists. Music Therapy Club is an open meeting-place of music therapists, medical, educational and social workers, as well as of anybody interested in music therapy. (In Hungarian) Free entry!

The 2023 chamber music series by Fülöp Ránki, János Mátyás Stark and Gergely Devich will crown each of the four seasons with a concert at the BMC Concert Hall. The young artists will perform a selection of outstanding masterpieces from the piano trio repertoire, from Mozart to Ravel. The first three concerts feature two trios, sometimes highlighting the diversity and variety of the works, sometimes their commonalities, while the fourth programme includes a duo sonata, a testament to the musicians' long-standing duo collaborations. Beneath the vernal cheerfulness lurks an almost Schubertian sadness in Mozart's translucent Trio in E major, which the debt-ridden composer completed in 1788, along with his last three symphonies, and probably intended for home performance. E major is an extremely unusual choice in Mozart's oeuvre, and not only is it difficult to tell whether the themes are joyful or melancholic, but the surprising harmonic turns also reveal dark shadows.The tone of Tchaikovsky's lengthy Trio in A minor alternates euphoria, tragedy, elegy and pathos. Although the composer claimed that the violin-cello-piano combination was incompatible, he was the first Russian composer to set his mind to writing a trio, both yielding to the urging of his patron and commemorating the deceased Nikolai Rubinstein. Further concerts in this series: 16 September 2023 7 PM Ránki – Stark – Devich: Piano Trios III. | Beethoven and Mendelssohn1 December 2023 7 PM Ránki – Stark – Devich: Piano Trios IV. | Debussy and Ravel

In the season of 2022/23, Modern Art Orchestra presents excellent Hungarian composers to the audience of Opus Jazz Club. In their series of six concerts, they invite composers who experiment with orchestral sound and look for new ways of expression. They will also be the soloists of the concerts, presenting their new works. The artistic director, Kornél Fekete-Kovács and all the musicians in the outstanding MAO treat music with an attitude that transcends borders of genres. Musical creativity and free expression of musical thought takes the centre in their playing and compositions. During this season, they work with autonomous creative minds of modern Hungarian music, whose way of thinking falls close to theirs.

The trio has been performing for 15 years. Szakcsi Jr. and Elemér Balázs formed the band as childhood friends, having played together since 1998. As a young talent, they invited Krisztián Pecek Lakatos, who had already burst onto the Hungarian jazz scene a few years earlier, to play bass before their first album Psalms was released in 2008. Their second trio album, released at the end of 2022, was a long time coming. The album contains two original songs and jazz standards, but as Szakcsi Jr. puts it, the theme is just a pretext, the point is the musical conversation, as the trio plays acoustic modern jazz, respecting the traditions of the genre.  

„Mindig nagyon szerettem Haydnt és Debussyt egymás után játszani, úgy érzem, ez a kristálytiszta rajzolatú szonáta is közeli rokona Debussy Images-ának, a szerző egyik legtökéletesebb, legköltőibb alkotásának. Schubert utolsó szonátájához pedig csaknem ötven éve térek vissza rendszeresen, mint az élet fontos kérdéseinek összegzéséhez, újabb és újabb mélységeket fedezve föl benne minden alkalommal.”Ránki Dezső

Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players at the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience. Legendary Albums – Art Blakey: Ugetsu Art Blakey (1919-1990) may have been self-taught on the drums, but has become one ofthe most respected bandleaders in jazz history, who connected generations from Mary Lou Williams to Kenny Garrett. The legendary Jazz Messengers combo was launched in 1955 and became one of the most influential and most popular bands of the music. To be invited to join by Blakey meant that you’ve made it. Only Miles Davis was looked up so much by his peers, often proud to declare themselves students of his. The line-up at that October 1963 date in Birdland, New York was one of the best, if not the best ever. A recent addition to the band was trumpet player Freddie Hubbard, capable of taking an audacious speed, similarly to virtuoso trombonist Curtis Fuller, who was also pretty new in the band. The senior position of the frontline belonged to sax player and musical director Wayne Shorter, who was getting ready to record the historic series of his solo albums. They played three original  compositions of the saxophonist.The title tune and another contain Japanese references, as the band returned from a Far Eastern tour not much earlier. Ugetsu is a classic Japanese movie directed by Mizoguchi, while the other is a reference to the elegant shopping area of Tokyo, Ginza. On the title track it is worth listening to the unlimited talents of pianist of the band, Cedar Walton as he lays out the vamp in a way that foretells Tyner from the classic of the Coltrane Quartet a couple of years later. The original LP has been re-issued with additional tracks from the concert, proving that the fantastic tension at the concert lasted all the way through.

A műsor inspirációs forrása az antik görög kultúra, melynek szellemisége a koncerten megszólaló darabok mindegyikében megjelenik valamilyen módon. A reneszánsz óta újabb és újabb alkotó generációk fantáziáját ragadja meg ez a múlt ködébe vesző, mégis annyira ismerős világ, mely elvetette a magjait a későbbi európai és egyetemes kultúrának. Az emberi lét legalapvetőbb érzelmei és gondolatai jelennek meg az antik költeményekben és eposzokban, a lét különösségével szembenálló egyén gondolatai a filozófiában, a lélek-test harmóniája a szobrokon és az épületeken. Csak a zene az, melyről szinte semmit nem tudunk, hiszen töredékeken kívül nem maradt fent írásos emlék. A számunkra ismerős kottaírás nem létezett, rögzíteni nem tudták, így amint megszólalt, már el is tűnt. Ez egyfelől óriási veszteség az egyetemes emberi kultúrának, másfelől egy örökké fennálló talány is, hiszen a rengeteg homály számtalan zeneszerző fantáziáját mozgatta meg, sarkallta annak a kérdésnek a feltevésére: Vajon milyen is lehetett az antik zene? A koncerten megszólaló darabok nem történeti rekonstrukciós próbálkozások, melyek az autentikus antik zenét hivatottak megszólaltatni. A szerzők sokkal inkább kiindulópontként kezelik ezt az amúgy is bizonytalan területet, hogy ezen a homályos szűrőn eresszék át saját zeneszerzői gondolkodásukat, így kapva egy olyan különös zenei anyagot, melyben a múlt és a jelen, egyetemes és egyéni egymással kontrasztban és egymást kiegészítve jelenik meg. A műsor különös figyelmet fordít arra, hogy a klasszikus és kortárs kompozíciók között is legyen reflexiós kapcsolat, így a program egy újabb réteggel bővül.

A podium conversation with music therapists. Music Therapy Club is an open meeting-place of music therapists, medical, educational and social workers, as well as of anybody interested in music therapy. (In Hungarian) Free entry!

In the season of 2022/23, Modern Art Orchestra presents excellent Hungarian composers to the audience of Opus Jazz Club. In their series of six concerts, they invite composers who experiment with orchestral sound and look for new ways of expression. They will also be the soloists of the concerts, presenting their new works. The artistic director, Kornél Fekete-Kovács and all the musicians in the outstanding MAO treat music with an attitude that transcends borders of genres. Musical creativity and free expression of musical thought takes the centre in their playing and compositions. During this season, they work with autonomous creative minds of modern Hungarian music, whose way of thinking falls close to theirs.

In the first concert of Gábor Csalog's Spring 2023 series, Johann Sebastian Bach and in the second, a composition by Anton Webern were juxtaposed with works by Schubert. In the third concert, Olivier Messiaen's large-scale cycle Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus will be performed alongside one of Schubert's most moving sonatas. What do these two composers have in common: Schubert, who was always alone in his intense social life, in a constant battle with himself and his religious faith, and Messiaen, born more than a century later, who found the testimony of his deeply felt, naïve religious faith even in birdsong, and composed harmonies as colourful as his shirts? In the first part of the evening, Gábor Csalog and music historian Gergely Fazekas might discuss this, too. But certainly the question of whether it is absolutely necessary to look for connections beyond the fact that all great music, regardless of its religious themes, offers the listener a transcendent experience.