Le Bestiaire is Matthieu Donarier’s latest creation: 7 musicians combining into a myriad of new groups and combos. A musical jungle. A collective adventure. An extensive and progressive songbook. With this polymorphous and evolving writing combined to a unique team of singular european musicians, Le Bestiaire is designed to generate a vast array of groups, from chamber music duets and trios, powered combos up to the entire septet. 2021 is the year for spotlighting Libellules, which is an acoustic quartet dealing with chamber music, creative jazz, weather observation, field recording and polymorphism. All tools allowed: melody, noise, rhythm, cycles, random events, meditation, transformations. No restrictions.

The music produced and performed by the Hungarian based ensemble Tariqa is simultaneously reminiscent of the proto world-music innovations of John Coltrane’s Africa Brass in the 60s and the 70s futuristic Sufi inspired jazz of the Human Arts Ensemble. Led by Saïd Tichiti originally from the Moroccan Sahara, Tariqa’s ecstatic momentum is firmly based on gnawa drumming and guembri bass lines spiced by rippling carpathian cimbalom, violins and flute. Top this all with Saharian desert blues vocals and horn parts full of urgent urban American howling and Klezmer screams, and the effect is nothing less than 21st century musical bliss. Tariqa’s new CD is a musical breakthrough Bartok, Coltrane and the late Ali Farka Toure would all likely relate to. Blessed and possessed by the powerful spirits that inhabit the Euro-Asian-African crossroads that shaped and continue to shape our destiny – Tariqa swings and rocks hard to a warm universal musical embrace.Darrell Jónsson

In July 2017, the Ákos Fekecs Project was founded with the aim to realize Ákos’ own musical ideas with his friends and fellow-musicians. The drummer-composer has been working on his own compositions since 2011. His first independent work, Reverse, was seen by more than fifty thousand at the Drum Talk TV Video Store. In Fekecs’ compositions, we can find from soft jazz harmonies, through world music elements, pulsations of fusion and odd meters up to modern electronic sound. Beyond the composed material, the group’s way of playing is also reflected in energetic improvisations. In 2018, the Ákos Fekecs Project won the Laureate World-Jazz International Competition at the Amersfoort Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, but they performed with big success at many other foreign and domestic festivals as well, such as Jazz in the Park Festival in Cluj-Napoca, Babel Jazz Festival in Balatonboglár, the PulzArt Contemporary Art Festival in Sfântu Gheorghe, the Valley of Arts in Kapolcs, or the Budafok Champagne and Wine Festival. akosfekecs.com  

In films, time and place are used to ground a story in a particular atmosphere, to give it emotional background – but they reveal little about the story itself, about its meaning or eventual resolution. The compositions of the Vienna-based ensemble Tree serve a similar purpose: they provide a setting, but it is during the process of improvisation and interaction that they truly unfold into living, breathing stories. Georg Vogel, Andreas Waelti and Michael Prowaznik play jazz in all its various forms, devoting themselves to the interplay of conceptual and intuitive ideas, elaborating or contrasting them in the course of their improvisation. The trio’s approach is refreshingly undogmatic: anachronisms are cleverly updated, liberated, and merged with the modern to form new hybrids. Tree works as a unit in the best sense of the word, showing conclusively that even in postmodern times, music can retain a special vitality. www.georgvogel.netwww.andreaswaelti.com Between a Rock and a Hard Place by TREE

  With her solo vocal program, Júlia Karosi has toured both Hungarian and foreign stages over the past decade. As a vocalist, Júlia Karosi had a classical training which is evident not only in her impeccable technique and expressive tonalities, but in her choice of repertoire and musical universe as well. Beside her own compositions, the singer is keen to select folk songs and songs by composers such as Bartók, Kodály, and Gershwin – but always keeps her personal story in the forefront expressed through the devices of jazz music. "...their haunting interpretations of works from Bela Bartok (arranged by Karosi) and linked original pieces are rather beautiful. Karosi's high-flying vocalese lines go well with Monder's supersonic soloing." (Garry Booth, BBC Magazine)

Zita Gereben is an outstanding singer-songwriter of Hungarian music life. She founded her own band in 2009, with whom she has released three albums containing own compositions. After Ready for the sun, which can be classified as jazz, they went to more popular direction with their second album, Our Places, followed by the disc entitled Az én fesztiválom, which contains songs in Hungarian. Their repertoire, which covers a wide range of genres, includes compositions that containe elements of R'n'B, pop, blues, and jazz. During her musical career, Zita Gereben worked with several Hungarian formations, she was a member of Emil.RuleZ! and also contributed to the Gringo Star band, as well as the Modern Art Orchestra, the Transform Quintet, the Random Trip, and the Nagy János Trio. Her band consists of renowned musicians from the Hungarian music scene. The sound world of the formation is significantly shaped by the unique musical world of the musicians, the freedom of their play.

Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos will come to the Opus Jazz Club with brand new energies and a new formation. He formed a new trio with two particularly talented members of the youngest generation of Hungarian jazz, drummer Máté Éles and bassist Géza Jónás, to whom his old fellow musician, saxophonist Gábor Bolla, will join in this concert. Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos has recently returned to his beginnings, as the classical music again gained a more prominent role in his life as a performer. This is echoed in his own compositions: Debussy, Ravel shows up as a source of inspiration in Szakcsi's latest compositions written specifically for this formation, which will be worthy pairs of the '60s jazz standards that give the basis of the concert repertoire.

Aki Takase, the Japanese pianist living in Germany – who has already performed with several formations at Opus Jazz Club and whose albums with Japanic and saxophonist Daniel Erdmann in duo has been released by BMC Records – this time extends her experimental attitude towards classical music. She transforms Bizet's Carmen to a contemporary jazz chamber orchestra with opera singer Mayumi Nakamura; saxophonist Daniel Erdmann, a long-time fellow musician and Aki's former student; and cellist Vincent Courtois. During the two-year creative process, Aki Takase combined Bizet’s classic with elements inspired by John Cage, among others, whose compositional technique and vision also had a major impact on Aki Takase’s musical thinking. The artists will record Carmen Rhapsody at Budapest Music Center on the days around their concert at Opus Jazz Club. The upcoming album will be released on BMC Records.

The leader of the band, 21-year-old Dominik Kosztolánszki, is currently studying music in London, but he is visiting home for a longer period of time regulary, so we can often hear him in Hungarian line-ups. One of these bands is the Kosztolánszki Quintet, whose first large-scale debut was at the 2017 Belgrade Jazz Festival as a trio, from which the current quintet line-up was born many years later. Ambrus Richter, an outstanding and active member of the Hungarian jazz scene, has been the drummer of the band from the very beginning, Márk Miskolczi plays the double bass, the Junior Príma award winner Péter Cseh plays guitar and Márton Udvardi, who also plays folk music, plays the trumpet. The band’s repertoire consists mostly of Dominik’s own compositions, largely inspired by the hard-bop line of the 1960s, but the band’s main goal is to create a modern, progressive world of music in both compositions and the quality of playing together.

The Abstract plays a mixture between avant-jazz, prog-rock and bitter-sweet 'Hungariana'. After having played in different formations with double-bassist Csaba Pengő and drummer Zsolt Sárvári Kovács, Roland invited them to his trio. Although The Abstract plays Roland's compositions and musical concepts, these serve mostly as a canvas for further possibilities and creativity. Their music responds to a broad band of genres, styles and emotions. It is amongst their goals to play the widest dinamic range possible. The themes that could be easily recognised as “songs”, provide the framework for an adventure, where the classical trio setting gets to display in a broad variety. They recorded their first album “Where are we going?” at the end of 2018. In 2021 their second album was released under the title 'A Fine Line In Between'. https://www.rolandheidrich.com/

The excellent pianist, Máté Pozsár is recognized mostly as one of the inevitable figures on the Hungarian creative music scene, being member of different groups by István Grencsó, Szilárd Mezei, István Baló or Péter Ajtai. However, being himself not just a fan but even professor in music theory, he has been developing since a couple of years a conceptual compositional method which is based on harmonies and voices inherent in the modal and the polymodal harmonics. He invites to the Opus the third time his close musical friends, to join him in his drumless sextet and realize his slowly building, transparent chamber music, exuberant both in binding terms and in free improvisation.

Serendipity is not only the closest meanings of Nasip Kısmet, but also the best way to describe this international band’s authentic, multi-genre music: an ancient folk melody turns into a psychedelic outburst by a sudden chord progression, then eases into a mild jazz-fusion breeze by a touch of masterful musicianship. Nasip Kısmet is the brainchild of Arif Erdem Ocak, the Turkish-born musician who resides in Budapest, Hungary since 2010, best-known as a founding member and co-songwriter of the famed Ankara band Seksendört who topped charts mid-to-late 2000s with consecutive hits. After moving to Budapest to pursue a solo music career, he focused on the deep repertoire of old and contemporary Turkish folk music, interpreting it through his unique vocal style as well as his trademark hammer-on and pull-off, percussive guitar technique. Live renditions of this material earned Arif a loyal following and quickly made him a staple in the Hungarian live music scene. His special interest in ancient Anatolian mysticism and philosophy led the versatile musician to explore the poetry and songs of the era with a multi-instrumental approach. Nasip Kısmet, the ethnic-jazz outfit he formed in 2019 featuring fellow high-caliber musicians - Cem Aksel (TR) on Drums, Dániel Mester (HU) on Saxophone and Clarinet, and Márton Eged (HU) on Bass Guitar – was the perfect answer and the outfit recorded a three-song, self-titled EP that comprises rather sophisticated versions of some classics of the genre. After Cem Aksel moved back home to Istanbul, Dávid Szegő and Tomi Smuk joined the band on drums and percussion respectively, and the live line-up was completed by Derya Ocak’s (Arif’s sister) addition on backing vocals. With this live line-up, Nasip Kısmet played some intimate club shows in Summer 2020 to great reception by audiences and quickly graduated to larger, sold-out shows in prestigious Budapest venues. The band’s currently rehearsing for the recording of their full-length, planned for release later this year.

Egy elegáns úriember lép be az izgatottan várakozó emberektől zsúfolt terembe, fényes lakkcipőben, gyönyörű fekete öltönyben, csokornyakkendővel, kezében egy fadarabbal. Mi lesz itt? És miért ünnepli mindenki, mikor még semmit sem csinált? Kedves barátaink, ismerjétek meg Tomot, a virtuózt. Már több száz éve egyeduralkodója a zenei műfajoknak, rajongók milliói lesik minden mozdulatát, lemezeit több ezer példányban adják el világszerte. Ki ő? Miért szeretjük? Miért utáljuk? Minden, amit a virtuóz zenészekről tudni érdemes, egy órában, gyerekeknek és családjuknak. Kalandra fül!

Ha minden nap hallgatsz Bach-ot, húsz évvel tovább élsz. Tényleg! Na, jó, nem. De mennyivel jobban élsz, mintha nem hallgatnál! Megmutatjuk: ennyivel.

Mobilcsengőhangok, kapucsengők, zenék a vasútállomáson, vagy a hotel előterében – sokszor ismerősek, de vajon honnan is? Kárász Eszter és zenekara erre az alkalomra egyesítette erőit zenekarunk válogatott csapatával, hogy nyomába eredjünk a legismertebb klasszikus dallamoknak és új életet leheljünk beléjük. Ebben a kalandban pedig a közönségre is számítunk: improvizáljunk együtt, és írjunk új dalokat a legelcsépeltebb klasszikus témákból!

Ki ne ismerné Jancsi és Juliska történetét, a Grimm testvérek meséjét? De ki ismeri annak kortárs zenei változatát? A leleményes testvérpár szeretetéről és összetartásáról szóló történetből Dobszay-Meskó Ilona és Lukácsházi Győző írt mesejátékot. A rengeteg humorral átszőtt előadás nemcsak új oldalát mutatja meg a történetnek, hanem szinte észrevétlenül be is vezeti a gyerekeket a nagyon ijesztőnek hangzó „kortárs zene” és ezen keresztül a klasszikus zene birodalmába. Ráadásul egészen egyedülálló módon: Kiskovács Eszter rajzművész a koncertet élőben, a zenével párhuzamosan illusztrálja, így nemcsak hallhatjuk, hanem láthatjuk is Jancsi és Juliska történetét.

9 minutes 99 seconds. With this peculiar album title, the duo of Zsolt Koloncsák and László Keönch Farkas not only suggests the the contemplative, timeless nature of their own music, but also the out-of-the-box thinking with which they try to avoid genre confinements. The pieces on the duo's album – released by Hunnia Records in 2020 – stem from the kaleidoscope of pianist and composer Zsolt Koloncsák's  experiments as a "perpetual child", his often self-ironic humor and endless imagination. The compositions sometimes  quote voluminous stories and reveal the need for narrative, other times they create familiar/unfamiliar moods out of nowhere: repetitive, minimal, meditative music fits well here with a periodistic, burlesque or silent film atmosphere, blues with salsa, or even a baroque sonata with a spiritual atmosphere. The original instrumental material composed for the two-piece formation has now swelled into quartet music for the belated album presentation concert. Koloncsák's companions will be multi-instrumentalist László Farkas Keönch, bass player Ábel Dénes, who played advanced as a permanent member of the formation, and special guest Bori Magyar, whose singing voice raises the music to a vocal dimension. Trio photo by Zsófia Raffay

The family concert series by the Danubia Orchestra Óbuda continues with Mozart's works mixed with tales, stories and musical insight for kids aged 6-12.

A symphonic party is a dream come true where anything goes and nothing's obligatory. The DJs: Brahms, Mozart, Reich & others. From minuets to pogo dance and more.

A Superar énekkar nemzetközi gyerekcsapata a Danubia Zenekar tagjaival szövetkezve egy különleges zenei utazásra hívja a közönséget – álmok földjén, szelek szárnyán, tengerek hullámain járunk majd a zene segítségével. Az interaktív koncert során a hallgatók közeli és távoli népek dallamait és ritmusvilágát ismerhetik meg, közben megtapasztalva e kórus egyedi szellemiségét, sokszínűségének magával ragadó erejét.

The musicians of the ethno-jazz / contemporary chamber music outfit Trio Squelini played together for years in various groups, like Tin Tin Q, Ektar Szőke Quartet and others. The trio, starting with occasional performances, made its first recording in 2014, and became a regular concert act since its release, entitled Campiello. In 2016 they made their second release, Furioso, with contribution of the outstanding Hungarian celloist, Ditta Rohmann. Trio Squelini often invite a guest to their concerts, so each time their program shows up in different shades, with and ever-changing emphasis on its colours and proportions similar to Monet's famous series of the Rouen cathedral. This time, the outstanding cello playing of Ditta Rohmann take care of the trio’s special colouring. www.facebook.com/triosquelini Furioso by Trio Squelini & Ditta Rohmann

Note Noire is a contemporary Italian jazz quartet, and represents the common musical path of Ruben Chaviano, Roberto Beneventi, Tommaso Papini and Mirco Capecchi, through their own original compositions. These are pieces of music written in complete freedom in a search on their part for modern and cosmopolitan musical forms of expression, by means of the characteristics of instruments that are representative of European traditions such as the violin, the accordion, the guitar and the double bass. Their new album NADIR, under the AlfaMusic/EGEA label, is the invisible point from which to observe the sound of an ensemble that has the classical timbre. The four musicians of which it consists are inevitably attracted by the continuous novelties of the creative panorama, as well as by stylistic experimentations. Active on the musical scene since 2011, the Note Noire musicians have been invited to perform as part of prestigious programmings such as the Royal Albert Hall (GB), the Rhino Jazz Festival (FR), the LongLake Festival (CH), the Piacenza Jazz Festival (IT), the Pisa Jazz Festival (IT), the Milano Django Festival (IT) and the Barga Jazz Festival (IT).

Varga Feri váratlanul hagyott itt bennünket. Páratlan jelenség volt, akiben egyszerre volt meg a magas fokú muzikalitás, a játékosság, a szerénység és elsősorban is a szeretet. Mindenre és mindenkire nyitott volt. Ugyanolyan alázattal játszott Vidovszkyt, vagy vett részt a monori felzárkóztató programban, ahol roma kisgyerekek kezébe adta a hegedűt. Ezúttal szeretett zenekara búcsúzik a nagyszerű zenésztől.Gémesi Géza

Horváth Balázs perkusszív elemekre és a pulzációra építette fel szerzői estjének programját. A művek többsége egy zenei anyagból tömbszerűen kivésett alakzat. Az est főszereplői az ütőhangszerek és azok elhivatott előadója, Palotás Gábor. Palotás számára több kompozíciót írt már Horváth, melyek a mai esten más, néha egészen különleges szóló- és kamaradarabok mellett szólalnak meg.

Misi Boros was born on the 11th of April 2003 in Pecs, Hungary. Both of his parents are university professors. Ever since he turned five, he spent most of his free time playing the piano. From the very first moment he experimented with his own melodies, which he always played in different ways. At the age of six, he began attending the Liszt Ferenc High School of Music in Pécs to master his piano skills, then became a student of the Secondary School of Arts, his teacher is Ildikó Megyimóreczné Schmidt. Since 2017 Gergely Bogányi has been his mentor and he is a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, Germany. From the age of 8 Misi has won every national competition within his age group, and he won numerous international competitions in Rome, Milan and Paris as well. In 2014 he was the age group winner of Virtuosos Classical Music Talent Show. He has given more than 200 concerts all around the world, only in 2015 he had 82 performances. At the age of 12 he made his debut in the Great Hall of the List Academy of Music where he performed with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra. In the same year he performed at Tonhalle in Zurich, and a year later gave a solo concert at the Palace of Arts with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2017 he held a concert, organized by Virtuosos at the Palace of Arts, Budapest, together with Gergely Bogányi. A year later, for the request of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, he played Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor at Zoltán Kocsis’ Memorial. Despite his young age, he has already performed all around the world including London, New York, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Brussels, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Osaka, and Beijing. His outstanding talent has been acknowledged and complemented by artists such as Plácido Domingo and Tamás Vásáry. In 2016 he won the Junior Prima Award.

Pj5 is influenced by English and Scandinavian rock, pop and electro bands, as well as the New York jazz scene. The band stays strongly attached to the wide jazz tradition and at the same time offers a modern sound where the melody thread is always running throughout the music. On stage, Pj5 sends out a huge sound, with an omnipresent melodic lyricism and explosive energy.

Sweet Dog is a three-piece music laboratory for improvisation and exploring new forms of spontaneous music composition. In real time, the trio gives shape to sound material that is dense and organic, navigating between imaginary landscapes that are at times minimalist and contemplative or savage and brutal. Led by charismatic saxophonist Julien Soro, Big Four quartet delivers an organic yet radiant music, between tension and release. The musicians give themselves free rein in a ‘safety-net-free’ experience, with immediacy, energy and unrestrained interaction. Beyond the sound remains the desire to create space with the music for play, communication and fulfi lment.

East and West meet on guitarist Csaba Czirják's latest album, Sun and Moon, which he recorded with his new quintet. While in the pentatonic melodies we can discover the Hungarian folk music and Bartók heritage, the harmonies are typically western and typical of jazz. According to Csaba Czirják's own confession, this time he did not want to make a virtuoso jazz record, but a material whose melodies grab the listener attention. With the title of the record, which in some places has a meditative atmosphere, elsewhere it tends to fusion jazz-rock, it also indicates the direction of the music, insofar as it targets the universal, beyond the earthly, material qualities. On the third album of the formation, which follows the 2017 Markoláb and the Emma, ​​which was released in 2019, all this is helped by unusual instruments in jazz: the zither, which Csaba turns into a jazz instrument this time. In the absence of Áron Tálas, pianist Bence Molnár will take part in the record debut concert, as a new member, Dániel Mester will play in the band on saxophone, Ádám Bögöthy on bass and Tamás Czirják on drums. After completing the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, guitarist Csaba Czirják studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Following his return to Hungary he soon became well-known by his versatility in different genres and lineups.

A természet témája minden korban inspirációt jelentett a különböző művészeti ágak számára. A globális felmelegedés és a légszennyezés miatt manapság elengedhetetlen, hogy nagyobb figyelmet szenteljünk környezetünknek. Ha a műveszettel közelebb hozzuk nemzedékünkhöz, akkor a fiatal generáció megtanulja észrevenni és gondozni is. Napjainkban a járványügyi intézkedések és a kijárási korlátozások miatt a természetben végzett tevékenységek még jobban felértékelődtek, a virtuális környezetből egyre inkább vágyunk kilépni a valóságos világba. A koncertprogram ezt a szituációt is szeretné érzékeltetni és kiemelni, mennyire jelentős részét alkotja a természet életünknek. Öt fiatal, különböző országokból származó művész (Laure Cazin – francia mezzo-szoprán, Silvia Solfa – olasz hárfaművész, Pethő Rebeka – erdélyi magyar fuvolaművész, Angelina Vigovska – lett zongoraművész, Varga Abigél – magyar zeneszerző) a természetet ezúttal olyan zeneszerzők darabjain keresztül mutatja be, akik szintén különböző nemzetiségűek és más-más korszakokban éltek. A klasszikus és kortárs művek között versek, rövid szövegek szólalnak meg Tarjányi Krisztina Irma és Molnár Enikő erdélyi magyar színművészek előadásában.

  Mash formed in Vienna, Austria after András Dés moved to the city. Starting out as a duo the spark to discover new ways of playing music was the main reason that brought Mahan Mirarab and Dés together. The Austiran clarinet player Vincent Pongrácz was the last one to join the band. The three musicians have been proactive in searching for and exploring new ways of creating an original sound on their instruments and together. Mash aims to create an aesthetic sound within the context of polyrhythms and microtonality. Using maximum possibilities on clarinet, guitars and percussions, Mash creates simple yet sophisticated melodies. András plays the role of a drummer on his right hand and a percussionist on his left hand, while Mahan plays the bass lines with his thumb simultaneously playing melodies and chords with the other three fingers. Pongrácz who is usually moving between jazz, hip hop, rap, electronic music and free improvisation explores the possibilities of microtonal textures and soloing in this context. Over the years András has developed his unique percussion set and he is always looking for new sounds in a wide range from everyday's objects to the instruments with deep traditional roots. Notably using fretless guitar, Mahan specialises in blending the Middle Eastern microtonal system with jazz. By taking full advantage of all their options as players and bringing together their cultural backgrounds from Hungary, Iran and Austria, they aim to build a bridge between acoustic and electronic music to create their own form of contemporary jazz.

Ella and Louis is an inspired collaboration, masterminded by producer Norman Granz. Both artists were riding high at this stage in their careers, and Granz assembled a stellar quartet of Oscar Peterson (piano), Buddy Rich (drums), Herb Ellis (guitar) and Ray Brown (bass). Equally inspired was the choice of material, with the gruffness of Armstrong's voice blending like magic with Fitzgerald's stunningly silky delivery. Outstanding are Irving Berlin's Cheek to Cheek and Isn't This a Lovely Day, and everything else works like a dream, with the golden star going to the Gershwin brothers' They Can't Take That Away from Me. A gentle and sincere record that can now be heard in the chamber edition of the Modern Art Orchestra. On this concert occasion, Ella Fitzgerald will be embodied by Krisztina Pocsai with her voice, and Louis Armstrong's spirit will be awakened by Kornél Fekete-Kovács, Balász Bukovinszki, Attila Korb, and Gábor Subicz. The rhythm section will be Gábor Cseke (piano), Ádám Bögöthy (double bass) and László Csízi (drums).

OUR KODÁLY(A mi Kodályunk)Hungarian documentary film, 2020, 90 min. - In Hungariandirector, script writer: Eszter Petrovicscinematography: György Sibalineditor: Balázs Kunmusical director: Ádám Matzproducer: András Muhi, György Ferenczyproduction manager: Viktor EgriFeaturing: Fülöp Ránki, Gergely Devich, Dávid Zsoldos, Gábor Bretz, László Mező, István Lantos, Rita Földényi, Edita Bugalova, Mónika Józsa, Anna Dalos The screening will be introduced by film- and music critic László Kolozsi (in Hungarian).Guest: Eszter Petrovics - director

The D.A.S. Trio began its work in 2014. The team of young virtuosos aims to combine exciting musical elements and express their feelings in a very special musical language. They basically play jazz-fusion music, but their sound is influenced by the individual musical tastes of each member. The name of the band was formed from the initials of the names of the members. From the beginning, they have competed in a number of music competitions and achieved outstanding results. Despite their young age, they were able to work with such famous performers as János Nagy, Vincent Mascart, Luca Kézdy, Edina Szirtes "Mókus", Péter Lukács "Peta" and Mike Gotthard. In 2015, with the support of the Tamás Cseh Program, they made their first album, which was presented at several festivals in the country (Valley of Arts, Debrecen Jazz and Wine Festival, Szeged Wine Festival, Balatonboglár Jazz Festival, Váci Vigalom, Hungarian Music Expo, MÜPA Jazz Showcase). Since 2017, Ádám has been the bass player of the band, and the songs are mainly composed by Ábel. They give regularly concerts in Budapest and abroad (Romania, Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic). D.A.S. Trio · D.A.S. Trio

Cirkusz és tánc, ez a témája az UMZE együttes köré tömörült késői húszas és korai harmincas éveikben járó zeneszerzők műveiből összeállított hangversenynek. A három ősbemutatót (Balogh Máté, Szőcs Márton és Tornyai Péter) magába foglaló műsor a kortárs koncertzene és színpad kapcsolatát körüljáró darabok sorában bemutat két olyan olasz komponistát is, akiknek művei példaként, inspirációként szolgáltak a most bemutatandó művek szerzőinek. Fabio Nieder (*1957) a trieszti Konzervatórium és számos európai felsőoktatási intézmény vendégtanára, műveit a világ vezető modernzenei együttesei és jelentős fesztiváljai tűzik műsorra. Luigi Nono (1924-1990) az európai avantgárd vezető alakja volt, Schönberg szeriális iskolájának követője. Most elhangzó művét a híres darmstadti újzenei fesztivál részére komponálta.

Vida Mónika Ruth zongoraművész gyermekkora óta a zene szeretetének szenteli életét. Álma, hogy a muzsika öröme és gyógyító ereje mindenkihez eljusson. Fiatal kora ellenére a legtöbb európai országban koncertezett már, fellépett Afrikában, az Egyesült Államokban és több ázsiai országban is. Országos és nemzetközi sikereit követően mindössze 14 éves volt, amikor megnyerte élete első nemzetközi versenyét Szerbiában, majd röviddel ezt követően Kínában debütált a Shanghai-i világkiállításon. A többszörös verseny-győztes legutóbb az V. Coimbra Zongora Világtalálkozón állhatott dobogóra, és az Olasz Parlament kitüntetésében részesült kiváló zenei munkásságáért. Kitüntetéses diplomáit 2016-ban és 2020-ban szerezte a Zeneakadémián. Első nagy hangversenysorozata, a “Sem emlék, sem varázslat” 2019 szeptemberében indult útnak. 2020 sem telhetett izgalmak nélkül: a Művésznő – kiemelkedő zeneművészeti teljesítményének elismeréseként – Junior Prima díjban részesült.

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".

In the fourth thematic concert series of the Dohnányi Quartet (formerly known as the Rondo Quartet), the string quartets of Mozart and Brahms are placed next to each other. Undoubtedly, the (late) Beethoven Quartets signify the greatest turning point in the history of the genre. After these works, writing string quartets became the most rigorous examination of all composers, a test of professional knowledge and invention. It’s no coincidence that a composer as grand and prolific as Brahms,confessed to writing (and subsequently destroying) more than twenty string quartets by the time he dared to present with his three quartets. In contrast, Mozart's string quartets are the last masterpieces from the "times of peace" before Beethoven, although the ambition can be felt in them as well: the young composer wanted to impress the creator of the genre, 'Father' Haydn, with pieces showcasing outstanding ideas even by Mozart's own standards.

Szilvia Bognár, soloist in countless productions, is one of the most sought-after singers of Hungarian folk and world music. She appeared with notable artists like Márta Sebestyén, Andrea Rost and Ferenc Sebő. So far, she has made six albums with her own compositions, ranging from Renaissance chants through children’s songs to progressive world music. On the repertoire of her new world music formation, the Szilvia Bognár Sextet, Hungarian, Gypsy, Bulgarian and Greek songs are performed in an unconventional line-up and arrangement, as three worlds meet in the program – folk music, jazz and North Indian classical music. Preserving the essentially acoustic sound and the natural quality of traditional performance, they sail safely through a variety of different styles of music and traditional melodies.

The drummer-composer Balázs Bágyi is one of the leading artists of Hungarian jazz. The music of his latest formation is dominated by acoustic, contemporary jazz based on post bop elements. His partners are a prominent representative of the younger 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.In the first half of this concert, the band will present a recently released album, Satie in Jazz (Tom Tom Records). The album includes a reworking of the works of the French composer Erik Satie, as well as compositions by Balázs Bágyi inspired by Satie's oeuvre and pieces. In the second half of the concert, the Balázs Bágyi New Quartet will play the album entitled 2020, which was released last year and also features the band's compositions.

Grand compositions, crunchy rhythms, improvisations, lyrical images and a hint of sardonic wildness: János Bujdosó and his trio roam the soundscapes of underground jazz and world music with a style of their own that is best characterized as “Byzantine surf jazz”. The trio presents their recent release, National Amnesia Institute at Opus Jazz Club featuring Hungarian, Middle Eastern and Latin elements incorporated into repetitive musical structures.

Having played in various ensembles Kalman Balogh has proved to be an excellent and highly versatile cimbalom player. The Cimbalogh Trio, which is about to embark on an American tour, is unique among Balogh’s ensembles in that it is made up of only three musicians giving each artist and instrument equal importance. Violinist Robert Lakatos, who is equally brilliant on the viola, is the director of the ever popular ’Rev Ensemble’ which derives its name from Revkomarom, Lakatos’ home town. He often takes the lead in the Trio. Csaba Novak on the contrabass, who is also involved in several other ensembles, is as highly regarded in world music as in authentic folk music. He is a sought after musician in both instrumental and vocal ensembles. The CimbaloghTrio plays as playful music as its name suggests – the name being composed of Balogh’s surname and the word ’cimbalom’. First they sweep across the Carpathian Basin and give a taste of the traditional folk music of all of its major regions. Their passionate ’szatmari’ is an invitation to dance while their ’klezmer’ later gives a glimps of the region’s rich and colourful history. This leads to a sensational finale melting traditional folk into boogie-woogie. Cimbalogh Trio’s performance is proof of the talent and exceptional virtuosity of its musicians as well as their self-irony and brilliant sense of humour. www.kalmanbalogh.hu

Two 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.

Jegesmedvék Szicíliában? Repülő disznók és party a kísértetházban? Várostrom medvékkel és majdnem gonosz varázslóval? Ezt mind és még sokkal több izgalmat zsúfoltunk ebbe az új ifjúsági kalandzenébe, melyet Dino Buzzati gyönyörű és vicces meséje nyomán zenekarunk megrendelésére komponált Antonio Casagrande, az Óbudai Danubia Zenekar bőgőse. Egy igaz történet becsületről, szeretetről, klímaváltozásról és a természet gyógyító erejéről.

Egy igazán szép történet, két zseni apa-fiú barátsága egy zseniktől túlzsúfolt század vége felé. Persze a Salieri-ügy „drámásíthatóbb” volt, ez a barátság azonban mérhetetlenül érdekesebb, mint amaz: két tökéletesen különböző világ, összetéveszthetetlen, és mindkettő a maga módján utánozhatatlan.

A Fehérlófia az egyik legismertebb és egyben legarchaikusabb magyar népmese, ami évszázadokon keresztül hagyományozódott tovább. Olyan sok bölcsességet, tudást rögzít, ami koroktól függetlenül érdekes és érvényes mindenki számára. Dobszay-Meskó Ilona kortárs zeneszerzőnő és Tarr Ferenc szövegíró ezért is döntött úgy, hogy ebből a csodálatos meséből modern hangzású zenejátékot készít, amelyben a mesélő szerepét Lukácsházi Győző tölti be. Adaptációjuk célja kettős. Egyrészt céljuk ezt az izgalmas történetet olyan megvilágításba helyezni, amely a mai ember és különösen a még nyitott fiatalok számára is elérhetővé és érthetővé teszi ezeket az örök értékeket. Másik céljuk, hogy e történeten keresztül bevezessék a legfiatalabbakat is a klasszikus zene és a koncerttermek világába, a darabot hallgatva ők is kedvet kapjanak a klasszikus zene hallgatásához.

Nehéz azt megfogni, mi is olyan mozartos Mozartban, de van valami, ami azért visszatükröződik néhány utód habitusában, meg munkához való hozzáállásában az amadeusiból. Talán a játék? Az jó közelítés lehet. Ugyanakkor nagyon profi, csak felkérésre dolgozó és az érzékenységet szinte agresszíven rejtegető habitus ez – számomra Stravinsky is kicsit ez a tészta.

Two old favourites come together: the garbage truck and Santa Claus. We reinvent old Saint Nick  

Igen, valóban, ez amolyan olcsó bulváros címadás, de hát mit csináljunk? Így a nőkről, nőknek, nőkért soha senki nem írt. És talán közhely, de a női lelket sem nagyon értette más ennyire. Hab a tortán, hogy Celeng Mária valódi nemzetközi sztár, olyan énekes, akinek talán Mozart is szívesen írna egy új áriát.