Dear Guests,

The third edition of the Bach Bridges Festival is cancelled at BMC as a vis maior measure in accordance with the state of emergency declared on March 11 in Hungary.

Please refer to BMC's announcement regarding the cancellations:

https://bmc.hu/en/news/bach-bridges-2020

We appreciate your understanding.
Budapest Music Center

The third Bach Bridges Festival at the Budapest Music Center is a collaboration between the artist of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and their colleagues from the Royal Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam. In 2020, the Festival is dedicated to two of the greatest composers of all times, Bach and Beethoven. In keeping the tradition, each concert starts with Csaba Szabó's Psalms.

The opening concert of this year's Bach Bridges Festival on March 31 is an homage to one of the greatest living Hungarian composer, György Kurtág. The program reflects his love of chamber music and his close relationship with composers in the past, such as Bartók and Schumann. The emerging Hungarian cellist Ildikó Szabó will introduce her latest CD’s solo pieces, and this concert is the Hungarian debut of one of the best Dutch pianists from her generation, Yang Yang Cai.

The second concert of the Bach Bridges Festival showcases the brilliance and musical depth in 300 years of music for solo instruments and orchestra on April 1st. In addition the masterpieces of Vivaldi and Beethoven we can hear the concerto of the young Dutch composer Oene van Geel performed by the Syrian Qasyoun Trio.

The festival's third concert will be focused on Bach’s cantatas, performed by Gran Canaria-born soprano Tania Lorenzo. The Cantata BWV 21 inspired the young Dutch composer Mathilde Wantenaar to write her short and moving piece Seufzer, which will also be heard at the concert. The program is rounded off by a brilliant early piano trio by Beethoven featuring a young Hungarian pianist, István Lajkó with Jae-Won Lee and Péter Szabó.

The Bach Bridges Festival will end on April 3rd with two of the most popular musical pieces of all the time, the Goldberg Variations and Beethoven's Septet in E flat major. The former will be heard in Dmitry Sitkovetsky's transcript for the string trio, while the latter will also celebrate the composer's birthday at the Bach Bridges Festival. The musicians will continue to perform together at the Gran Canaria International Bach Festival.