Tag Archives: symphony

Can We Still Ride the Bike? | Tudunk még biciklizni?

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In Hungary, and most parts of Europe the world is re-opening. The curve has been flattened and we all are learning to adjust to new rules of social distancing, until one or more vaccines are developed and widely available. As fast as music events have shut down, they are now back, even though very few things are on as they were originally planned as part of the summer season. Last weekend I have conducted two sessions of a more music recording. Now I am in Szombathely, in Western Hungary, with the Savaria Symphony. We are doing a free indoor concert (allowed to be held for 500 or less people) for the subscribers of the symphony. The program includes two all time symphonic favorites, Mozart’s G-Minor Symphony, No. 40, and the Third Symphony of Johannes Brahms. In two weeks I will be conducting the studio recording of a contemporary cantata by composers László Sáry with soloist, a small chorus and the musicians of the UMZE ensemble, all this at the wonderful Budapest Music Center. In the meantime a couple of new engagements are popping up for early fall as well.

They say that one cannot forget how to ride a bike. I have not conducted a live concert for months, and it kind of feels like when one rides the bike after a long hiatus. Your muscles do remember, but there is always a little bit of a doubt in the back of one’s head: can I still do this? Musicians of the Savaria Symphony and myself are having tremendous fun working on pieces like the Mozart and the Brahms symphonies, and we are thankful to be able to play in front of a live audience in a couple of days. Live concerts are truly a celebration of human existence, and it is amazing to be able to have such an amazing profession. Szombathely’s Bartok Hall’s registration list for the concert has filled up in a matter of a few days. Audiences are hungry for live music. I think we all remember what fun it is to ride a bike, and we are ready to do it again.

Azt mondják, biciklizni nem lehet elfelejteni. Azért persze amikor hónapokat kihagy az ember, akkor – még ha az izmok emlékeznek is – kis félelem mindig van, vagy legalább is a kisördög biztosan kérdezget halkan, miszerint “megy ez meg neked”? Biztos vagyok benne, hogy a Savaria Szimfonikusok muzsikusai is így vannak ezzel. Hétfőn kezdtünk el próbálni, és csütörtök este, a bérletes közönségnek szervezett ingyen ajándékkoncert keretében adjuk majd elő Mozart “Nagy” g-moll, és Brahms III. szimfóniáját. A “próbabiciklizés” már nagyon jól megy, örömmel és kimerítően dolgozunk a részleteken, és mindannyian várjuk nagyon az élő közönség előtt való muzsikálást.

A múlt hétvégén két napot filmzene felvétel dirigálásával töltöttem, július közepén pedig Sáry László kantátáját vesszük majd fel a Budapest Music Centerben énekes szólistákkal, kamarakórussal és az UMZE zenészeivel. Tulajdonképpen amilyen gyorsan abbamaradtak a zenélési lehetőségek, szerencsére majdnem ugyanolyan gyorsan vissza is térnek, még ha nem is olyan formában, ahogy megszoktuk. Már kora őszre is érkezett néhány új felkérés, közöttük olyan is, ami nem is volt tervbe véve az elmúlt szezonban. Olvastam, a Scala újra játszik, és máshol Európában is “nyit a zenebolt”. Ha vigyázunk egymásra, akkor nem kell zene és zenélés nélkül kibírnunk amíg a vakcina elkészül, és mindenki számára elérhető lesz.

600 Days, Liszt Academy, Dome/ 600 nap, Zenekadémia, Dome

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About three weeks and three (+1) projects in Budapest, Hungary this month.
Tomorrow (Sunday, Oct 6) as part of the program of the contemporary art festival, CAFe Budapest, I will be conducting two compositions by László Melis, composer of the Oscar-winning movie, Son of Saul at the Budapest Music Center. Melis has passed 600 days ago, hence the title of the concert. All the participating musicians, including myself, have agreed to offer their performance fee to support his daughter and widow.
You can read about this concert here:
https://bmc.hu

On October 22 I will be conducting the symphony orchestra of the Liszt Academy in a program of music by Liszt, Ligeti and Brahms. Click the link below for detailed information.

https://zeneakademia.hu

On October 26&27 I will be conducting a recording session of a contemporary guitar concerto by Arnaud Fillion. The orchestra will be comprised of the members of the Hungarian Radio Symphony.

Talking about Hungarian Radio, just yesterday I have had a great recording session with flutist Gergely Ittzés and violist Péter Bársony. These two wonderful musicians have decided that they wanted to make a professional recording of my almost-five-minute-long duo, entitled ‘Dome’. We have enjoyed every minute of the 2 and a half hour session. I can’t wait to hear the edited version soon!

Tegnap, egy két és fél órás jókedvű ülés alatt elkészült fuvola-brácsa duóm, a ‘Dome’ stúdiófelvétele a Magyar Rádióban. Ittzés Gergely és Bársony Péter gyönyörűen muzsikáltak. Alpár Tibor zenei rendezővel, és Lukács Miklós hangmérnökkel együtt a pult mögül élvezhettem a – nem könnyű – darab minden apró, a muzsikusok által szépen kidolgozott részletét. Örömmel várom majd az összevágott verziót!

A CAFé Budapest programjaként holnap, október 6-án, vasárnap a BMC-ben dirigálok két művet a Melis László zeneszerző emlékére rendezett koncerten. A BMC a bevételt, a résztvevők pedig felléptidíjukat ajánlották fel a 600 napja elhúnyt zenész-zeneszerző özvegye és gyermeke megsegítésére.

https://bmc.hu

Október 22-én első alkalommal vezényelem majd a Zeneakadémia szimfonikus zenekarát. Rohmann Ditta szólójával hangzik majd fel Ligeti Csellóversenye, Liszt A bölcsőtől a sírig című szimfonikus költeménye és Brahms IV. szimfóniája között. A programról az alábbi linken lehet részleteket olvasni.

https://zeneakademia.hu

Október 26,- és 27-én Arnaud Fillion új gitárversenyének stúdiófelvételét vezénylem majd a Magyar Rádiózenekar zenészeinek élén. Így jön össze 3+1 izgalmas projekt a Budapesten töltött kb. három októberi hét alatt.

A Radio Romance/ Rádiórománc

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Back in my days with the Oregon Symphony I have met Garrison Keillor in person, and asked him to sign the Hungarian language version of his book, A Radio Romance, I owned. He kindly did so, then said the following: “This is a nice book, look, they even put pictures in it!” Indeed, as it happens perhaps more often in Europe than in the US with these kind of books, it was full of illustrations, and pleasing to the eye. It seems, I am having my own romance with Radio this weekend. On Saturday morning at 10AM local time I will be on the air as the guest of a show called Capriccio at KlasszikRadio. Should you want to practice your Hungarian, and listen to some music I am bringing, you can tune in via the linke below. [This program is going to be on at a later day, actually. I will keep you posted!] On Sunday afternoon at 5PM local time, I am invited to another live classical music radio show called Close To Music. Well-known Hungarian media legend, Előd Juhász, now host of this show at the Catholic Radio, will interview me, again illustrated with music suggested by me. You can listen by clicking on the other link below.

I am spending a few more days in Budapest, Hungary before returning to the US to start the season with the Huntsville Symphony. I will be posting about our first classical show soon. Tomorrow, Friday, I am attending the first concert of the season of the new-music ensemble UMZE, of which I became the Artistic Director not long ago. This is going to be the first program planned by me. The theme is: Eastern Spirituality, Western Music. Pieces by Claude Vivier and Tour Takemitsu along with compositions by two young Hungarians will be performed along with a a conversation between the evening’s conductor, László Tihanyi and author, tibetologist László Sári. I am looking forward to listening to the conversation myself, since there are many exciting topics to touch on related to music and spirituality, especially when one looks at different cultures. Here are the details about this program:

https://bmc.hu

Not that I am trying to bury the news in the middle of my post, but this is the time and place to let you know, I have resigned as the Artistic Director of the Armel Opera Festival effective July 10, 2019. It has been an exciting and challenging ride, and I am thankful to Armel for many great projects! I am happy to be able to dedicate more time to my Artistic Director job with the UMZE Ensemble, and to my Program Director position with the Peter Eötvös Foundation in the future.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned, if not for the Hungarian language radio shows, but for more blog posts here!

CAPRICCIO/ KLASSZIKRÁDIÓ
https://klasszikradio.hu

ZENEKÖZELBEN/ KATOLIKUS RÁDIÓ
https://katolikusradio.hu

A fenti linkeken hallgathatók majd a velem készített élő zenés rádió interjúk, a Capriccióban szombat reggel 10-kor [ez az adás mint kiderült “ál-élő”, tehát nem a felvétel időpontjában kerül sugárzásra, hogy mikor, arról majd még posztolok itt vagy a FaceBookon.], a Zeneközelben műsorában pedig vasárnap 17 órakor. Igyekeztem izgalmas, és különböző zenéket válogatni, így talán érdemes mindkét adást hallgatni, ha valami miatt nem élőben, akkor online utólag is. Az én hétvégi románcom a rádióval emlékeztetett arra a napra még oregoni éveim alatt, amikor a híres amerikai rádiós személyiség, Garrison Keillor, dedikálta nekem saját könyvének, a Rádiórománcnak magyar nyelvű kiadását. “Szép könyv és mennyi sok szép képet raktak bele!” -mondta az illusztrált kötetre, amiből persze, a címen és a saját nevén kívül, semmi mást nem tudott elolvasni.

A szezon kezdetére a rádiós megjelenéseken és koncert-híreken kívül még tartogattam azért egy bejelentést. Idén július 10-től lemondtam az Armel Operaveseny és Fesztiválnál betöltött művészeti vezetői pozíciómról. Erről itt nyilatkoztam egy kicsit részletesebben:
https://papageno.hu
Itt is megköszönöm Havas Ágnesnek és az Armel csapatának az elmúlt 6 évet, és a sok izgalmas kihívást és lehetőséget! Kívánok az Armelnek további szép sikereket!

A belinkelt hármas interjúban olvasható a holnapi UMZE koncertől is, amelynek keretében, természetesen izgalmas és minőségi zenék mellett, Sári László író, tibetológus és Tihanyi László zeneszerző, karmester beszélgetnek majd Kelet-Nyugat, avagy spiritualizmus-zene tárgykörben. Mindenkit várunk szeretettel!

Clarinet Symphony NEW ALBUM / Klarinét Szimfónia ÚJ ALBUM

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“Vajda’s Clarinet Symphony for two clarinets (performed by Gábor Varga and János Szepesi) and orchestra was less folk-flavored and more focused on a fascinating orchestrational features that, in many cases, overshadowed the soloists’ content. It was structured in seven short movements that employed the “variations” idea via a suite that harkened back to the Baroque model. Vajda’s language was a unique modern tongue, not triadic or modal, but definitely his own, and characterised by skillful use of winds and percussion to cook up little sonic worlds that burbled and bubbled like extraterrestrial bodies.”
[Sparkling Mitteleuropa fare with Enescu, Vajda and Dvořák in Budapest by Alexandra Ivanoff, 06 February 2016 on BachTrack]

The quote above is taken from a review of the World Premiere performance of Clarinet Symphony (with the Hungarian Radio Symphony), a piece that is now, along with Alice Études (for clarinet and string quartet) and Persistent Dreams (for solo clarinet) available on CD and for online download as well. This is my second recording with the BMC label as a composer. Please check out the links below for online access!

http://www.amazon.com
http://www.itunes.apple.com
http://www.arkivmusic.com
http://www.allmusic.com
http://www.dalok.hu
http://www.jpc.de
http://www.hbdirect.com
http://www.bmc.hu

A fenti angol nyelvű kritika részlet a BachTrack-ről való, amely a Klarinétszimfónia ősbemutatója (Rádiózenekar, MÜPA) után jelent meg. A BMC sorozatban immár második szerzői lemezem ez, amelyről így írtam a kísérőfüzetben:

“Minden körbeér. Valamikor a korai 90-es években legelső, azóta is érvényes és működő darabjaimat saját hangszeremre, klarinétra írtam. Van abban valami természetes, amikor a komponista maga játssza a műveit. Az előadóművész-szerző által komponált zene alapjáraton idiomatikus – ami persze nem jelenti egyben azt is, hogy könnyű –; így technika és tartalom násza házasságközvetítők: virtuózok és karmesterek sokszor kéretlen, ám nélkülözhetetlen segítsége nélkül is létrejön. Ezt látva és hallva a közönség is inkább érzi úgy, hogy valami eredetinek, valami érvényesnek a részese, hogy elidegenítés, „tolmács” nélkül kapja az információt, az élményt.”

A fenti link bármelyikén megvásárolható, letölthető a teljes album egyben vagy trackenként.

In Two Languages / Két nyelven

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I believe, I owe my Hungarian friends the courtesy after so many years, so here we go: I will be posting, from now on, in two languages. As it turns out many people from Hungary follow my blog, and I feel I should make it easier for them to keep up with the items from my news desk.
In exchange, as promised, I will post translations here of Hungarian reviews, but for that I ask for you patience. I am in the middle of composing my opera “The Giant Baby” (actually completely re-composing it, since Giantbaby was actually my very first opera written in 2001), and as soon as I am done with the music I will have more time on my hands.

After a successful concert with the Danubia Symphony (see two reviews below in Hungarian)
http://www.toptipp.hu
http://www.fidelio.hu
I have taught at the conducting-composition masterclass of the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation for a few days (Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale and newly composed pieces were on the program) for a couple of days. We have had the pleasure of working with young composers and conductors, including the four talented young men who were chosen as the first participants of the very special mentoring program.
See details here:
http://www.eotvosmusicfoundation.org

On Sunday I have flown to Hamburg where I have started the rehearsals for the revival of the double bill Senza Sangue/ Bluebeard’s Castle at Staatsoper Hamburg. I am doing two out of the four performances on March 3 and 9. Before that, on March 1, I will be conducting a concert I am really looking forward to, with the soloists of the Hungarian Radio Symphony at the Liszt Academy. Schonberg: Pierrot lunaire, Berio: Folksongs, and Stravinsky: Renard are on the program.
http://www.zeneakademia.hu
On March 8 there will be another great program with major works by Kurtág, J.S. Bach and Rachmaninov as part of the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra’s “In Memoriam Zoltán Kocsis” concert series.
http://www.pfz.hu

Úgy hiszem, itt az idő, hogy mindazok kedvéért, akik szívesebben olvasnák a blogomat magyarul, elkezdjek két nyelven posztolni. Ez úton is köszönöm az eddigi bizalmat és érdeklődést, és remélem, hogy ezzel a pozitív változással még többek érdeklődését felkeltem majd. Januárban az óbudai Danubia Zenekart vezényeltem a Zeneakadémián a “Gépek” című izgalmas, és nem ellentmondásokat nélkülöző programban. A fenti két első link ennek a koncertnek két, magyarul megjelent, kritikájára vezet. Néhány nap tanítás után (az Eötvös Péter Alapítvány karmester-zeneszerző kurzusán a BMC-ben, ahol ezúttal a több éves mentor program első fiataljai is részt vettek http://www.eotvosmusicfoundation.org ) Hamburgba repültem. Hétfőn kezdődtek a Staatsoper Hamburg tavalyi Senza sangue-Kékszakállú produkciója felújításának próbái. A négy előadásból kettőt vezényelek majd, március 3-án és 9-én.
Mindeközben magyarországi koncertjeim is folytatódnak. A Magyar Rádió Zeenekarának zenészei és Meláth Andrea énekművész közreműködésével március 1-én Schönberg: Pierrot lunaire, Berio: Folksongs, és Stravinsky: A róka című darabjait dirigálom a Zeneakadémia Solti termében.
http://www.zeneakademia.hu

Március 8-án a Pannon Filharmonikusok élén, a Kodály központban, a Kocsis Zoltán emlékére rendezett koncertsorozat részeként vezényelem Kurtág György, Johann Sebastian Bach és Rachmaninov műveit. A zongoraszólista Palojtay János lesz.
http://www.pfz.hu

Mindeközben komponálom első operám, Az Óriáscsecsemő teljesen új verzióját, melynek bemutatója az idei Armel versenyen, a bécsi MUTH színházban lesz. Az opera librettőja (Horváth Péter és jómagam munkája) Déry Tibor azonos című, 1926-os “dadaista drámáján” alapszik, a produkciót a Kolibri Színház jegyzi majd, rendező Novák János lesz.

Holiday Wishes from Around the World

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It’s time for the last entry of the calendar year. Why? Because I will be on my way to Taiwan next Monday, then off to China on December 26, and I won’t be back until early January. This will be my first ever trip to Asia ever. I will be conducting the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra in an all Viennese program, again with the great American soprano, Rebecca Nelsen singing. After that comes a multi-stop concert tour with the musicians of the Hungarian Radio Symphony. We will be playing Beethoven Symphony No.8 along with Strauss’ Kaiserwaltzer and other great and fun pieces.
As for what happened since my last blog entry, here is a short summary. On November 14 I have conducted a program with the Hungarian radio Symphony at the Palace of the Arts (MUPA), Budapest. The program was made up of two Mahler compositions, Songs of a Wayfarer and Symphony No.1 “Titan”, and the famous ‘Cantus Artcticus’, concerto for birds and orchestra by Rautavaara. The Radio Symphony and I have made history by playing a Rautavaara work for the very first time in the (now about 18yo) history o Palace of the Arts. After a short and sweet Thanksgiving break with friends in Milwaukee, Wisconsin I have gotten a lot of things done in Huntsville in preparation for season 18-19. Last week after spending two full days at the Budapest Music Center, composer-conductor Peter Eötvös and myself have selected 4 young composers and 2 conductors for the multi-year mentor program of the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation. Two days ago I have spent a day working with the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra in Pécs.
In the meantime I have finished Part One of my new-old Puppet Opera, The Giant Baby (premiere early July, 2018 at the Armel Festival) and have sent the vocal scores to the singers. I am planning to finish working on the opera latest by mid March, 2018. More on it later!
Check out my pretty busy schedule of the first three months of calendar year 2018 here ———————————>
If you are on the main page of my blog site just look to the right! 😉
I wish all of you a Blessed Holiday Season and all the best for the New Year!
See you here again in January!

100 Years Old Music

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“Arbitrary as the choice of any year between 1880 and 1930 might be, 1913 was certainly distinguished by modernist landmarks in music, art, literature, fashion, and film /…/”

As it happens many times I don’t have access to my books in Budapest, Hungary when I need them. I have purchased and read a book entitled ‘1913’, and as much as I would love to use a couple of quotes here I cannot remember the author’s name. I tried finding the book online, but all the books of the same or similar title that pop up in a search, deal with politics and world history only instead of art. I found a great article at the Telegraph however and that is where the opening quote is from. Read the full article here:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk

Here are the dates for the pieces played by the Huntsville Symphony this Saturday for our last classical concert of the season.
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring -1913 (time of the infamous premiere performance)
Ravel: Alborada del gracioso -1905 (as a piano piece), -1918 (orchestra version)
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #1 -1916 (composed), -1922 (premiered)

Yes, as unbelievable as it is, “The Rite of Spring” is over a 100 years old. So are the two other pieces. As you can see we are talking about a period a little over 15 years here, including some of the most turbulent times of the 20th Century, especially in Europe.
‘Rite of Spring’ was sure a “Vision of the Future” just one year before WW1 started. Ravel’s colorful Alborada del grazioso (The Jester’s Aubade) from the ‘Miroirs’ (Mirrors) piano series is one of the most popular examples of his “Spanish flavor” musical pieces. In its orchestral version it possesses the rhythmical and sound-color qualities of ‘Rite of Spring’.
I would like to encourage you to read the Wikipedia article below on Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. Upon reading his biography it’ll be clear how his gorgeous late-Romantic Violin Concerto No. 1 fits into the program.
https://www.en.wikipedia.org
By programming this beautiful piece of music, and by engaging the amazing Philippe Quint to play the solo violin part, I hope to contribute to the re-discovery of the music of this forgotten genius.

Thank You All for supporting the HSO in 2016-17!
Don’t forget to get your tickets to ‘Video Games Live’ on May 6 at the VBC! It will be the perfect ending to a great season.
Please read about our exciting next season here:
https://www.hso.org

Stay in touch and have a wonderful summer!

Crazy Schedule

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Yeah, I know it is the Oscars tonight. I am going to have to read about it in the news this week.

It is true that I don’t shy away from working long hours for an extended period of time. Sometimes, however, the perfect storm happens. Tomorrow and on Tuesday I will be rehearsing with the Hungarian Radio Symphony 10AM-5PM, then at the Liszt Academy for the “Hungarian Late Night” production of the Budapest Opera 6PM-10PM. After the rehearsals I will be working with the musicians of the Hungarian Radio Symphony orchestra at the Budapest Music Center to record my newest composition ‘Alice Etudes’ for clarinet an string quartet. On Wednesday there’s another Radio Symphony rehearsal and the dress rehearsal for the one act operas. Thursday is the day for dress rehearsal and concert with the Radio Symphony. On Friday we premiere the one act operas of the “Hungarian Late Night” production, The second performance is on Saturday.

Looking forward to a wild ride! Wish me luck and check out the following links:

https://www.mrze.hu
https://www.zeneakademia.hu

And this…
Come on Ladies and Gentlemen, somebody please push this over the finish line! 😉
Thanks
https://www.gofundme.hu

More Power to the Horns!

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In the last few weeks I have been working on Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Peter Eötvös’s Senza sangue, an opera double-bill at the Hamburg Opera in Germany. It is going to be a beautiful staging by Dmitri Tcherniakov, see a NY Times review about his work here http://nytimes.com
with four powerhouse singers in the principal roles, and the orchestra of Staatsoper Hamburg. The performances will all be in November.
I am not sure if the expression of “taking a break from sg” can be applied to my schedule. Conducting Mahler 5 does not sound like a break at all, and it sure is a great challenge for orchestra and conductor alike. Well, I am “taking a break from” opera this week and conducting a program of Mahler’s amazing symphony along with Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and DiLorenzo’s Phoenix Concerto with the Huntsville Symphony.
http://hso.org
The latter composition was written for the amazing French Horn player William Vermeulen, whom I had the pleasure to work with on a few occasions.
http://vermeulenmusic.com
His playing and our extended horn section for Mahler 5 will sure make this week a powerful one!

I am excited and proud that our Huntsville Symphony can present such divers and exciting program to all the music lovers in the area. At the end of September for our first Casual Classics program called “Yoga with Live Music” we played compositions by Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt and John Cage at Lowe Mill. This week we are back with great symphonic repertoire at the Von Braun Center. Come and join us!

In Nature’s Realm

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I am back in Huntsville. The weather is beautiful as always in September. As my friends in Europe are starting to wear their rain coats and sweaters, I still get to dip in the swimming pool in the morning. I love how summer is stretched out here in the South.

Our 2016-17 Season at the HSO is starting with a kind of musical meditation on Nature and on Human Life.

Dvořák: In Nature’s Realm, op. 91
Smetana: The Moldau, from My Homeland
Fauré: Requiem, op. 48

Guest Artists:
Tiffany Boltic-Brown, Terrance Brown and the Huntsville Community Chorus

Visit our website for more information on our opening gala and on the rest of the season.
http://hso.org

Talking about “meditation”, very soon musicians of the Huntsville Symphony and myself will be presenting a Yoga Session with Live Music at one of my favorite venues ever: Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment
http://lowemill.net
More about this concert soon!

Last week was busy (indeed, the Season does not start with the first fall performance but with all the preparation the precedes this part of the year). After finishing the editing of the studio recording of my composition “Clarinet Symphony” (it sounds great and I am hoping to report soon about what happens to the recording itself) I traveled to Szeged (Southern-Hungary) where I did a few pre-rehearsals for Armel Festival’s presentation of The Magic Flute at the Hackney Empire Theater in London, England. I am also preparing for the long rehearsal period at the Hamburg Opera starting at the end of September. I will be adding another opera to my repertoire: Peter Eötvös’ Senza sangue (Without Blood)
http://eotvospeter.com
This new work will be staged alongside with Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (an amazing piece of music soon to be a 100 years old!).

Nature, music, lot of travel: Season 16-17 here I come!