2026 therefore marks Papanosh’s 20th anniversary. Far from wishing to celebrate this milestone as a wistful photo album or a mausoleum for a glorious musical narrative – which is, above all, a unique, human and democratic artistic adventure – the five members wanted to return to the drawing board and the fresh air of their residencies to give themselves time to devise a collective repertoire that truly reflects who they are. This show is entitled Yes I Are!, very much in keeping with the zany English-language titles of their previous repertoires, which subtly reflect their light-hearted approach to the seriousness of so-called contemporary music and trace the thread running through their music, steeped in African-American aesthetics. Above all, it is a cry from the heart for the collective, in which the individual does not lose their identity but, on the contrary, flourishes and expresses themselves even more uniquely. And to craft this new chapter, Sébastien Palis brings the distinctive timbres of the Mellotron to his piano, whilst Raphaël Quenehen enriches his saxophone with percussion and flutes from around the world. A production by the Les Vibrants Défricheurs collective, in co-production with Jazz sous les pommiers – a leading jazz centre, Jazzdor Strasbourg and Le Pannonica Nantes.The Les Vibrants Défricheurs collective is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Communication / DRAC Normandy, the Normandy Region and the City of Rouen. It is supported by the Seine-Maritime Department and the town of Sotteville-lès-Rouen.  

Cellist Tamás Zétényi’s concert series is entering its second season, featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s suites. In this series of six solo cello concerts, alongside the English suites originally composed for keyboard instruments, the programme will also feature partitas written for lute and violin, which Tamás Zétényi and composer Marcell Dargay have jointly arranged for cello. As well as exploring these multifaceted suites, the cellist also aims to place the inexhaustible richness of Bach’s style within a broader context: the suites and partitas are complemented by select surprise pieces of Bach’s contemporaries, which are also arrangements of pieces for either violin, viola da gamba or flute. Photo: István Huszti / BMC

The Modern Art Orchestra’s Fall 2026 concert series pays tribute to the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. One of the most influential figures in the history of jazz, Coltrane was not only an instrumental revolutionary, but an artist who redefined the relationship between improvisation, form, and spiritual expression. This four-concert series traces key stages of his artistic journey: from his hard bop roots through the reinterpretation of standards to his most lyrical, vocal expressions. The selected albums represent not only different periods, but distinct ways of thinking — a path that leads from tradition toward the creation of a unique and universal musical language. The musicians of the Modern Art Orchestra recreate these iconic recordings in their original instrumental settings, preserving their spirit while bringing them to life with their own voice, from a contemporary perspective. The closing concert of the series evokes one of Coltrane’s most lyrical and intimate recordings. Featuring the voice of Johnny Hartman, this album stands as a landmark of the jazz ballad tradition, where instrumental and vocal expression merge in perfect unity. Timeless melodies, subtle arrangements, and deep emotional resonance create a unique atmosphere. In the interpretation of the Modern Art Orchestra, this program centers on intimate musical communication – a quiet intensity that reveals one of the most essential, yet often more hidden dimensions of Coltrane’s artistry.

Zoltán Fejérvári, János Mátyás Stark and Gergely Devich are launching a new series at the BMC to mark the Beethoven Year in 2027. At each of the three concerts in the series, one of Beethoven’s piano trios will be paired with a work in the same genre by another composer from the German world.  The second concert in the series opens with Beethoven’s Trio in E-flat major, which ranks among the finest works in the composer’s chamber music output. This piece and its “sibling” – another trio also part of the Op. 70 series – both have very unusual traits, for example, the Trio in E-flat major has no true slow movement: the outer movements of elevated tone frame two dance-like movements of moderate tempo. Mendelssohn dedicated the Trio in C minor to one of his friends, violinist-composer Louis Spohr. The dramatic opening movement is followed by an Allegretto reminiscent of the composer’s songs without words, and then by a virtuosic Scherzo. The desperate mood of the finale is ultimately resolved triumphantly by a chorale melody that had previously been arranged by Martin Luther too. Further concerts in this series:17 October 2026: Fejérvári – Stark – Devich: Beethoven+ 3/1.29 May 2027: Fejérvári – Stark – Devich: Beethoven+ 3/3.

Is an etude a variation? Is a variation an etude? There are few more useful compositional exercises than composing various variations on a given theme; and, since Chopin, etudes can ultimately be regarded as different variations on the same theme – the demonstration of piano technique. The three concerts in the 2026–2027 season of the Gábor Csalog Sundays series will explore and showcase the connections and differences between these two genres. Alongside Beethoven’s monumental Diabelli Variations, the concerts will feature variations by composers such as Mozart, Haydn, Schubert and Anton Webern, whilst the etudes will be represented not only by Debussy and Rachmaninoff but also by Gábor Csalog, who is active as a composer as well and will present a selection from his latest pieces. In keeping with the tradition of recent years, during the first half of these two-part evenings, the pianist-composer will be in conversation with music historian Gergely Fazekas about the works to be performed in concert form in the second half. The language of these conversations is Hungarian. “Sweeping accounts of experiences, poignant portrayals of the soul, rather than mere exercises.” Zoltán Kocsis described Sergei Rachmaninoff’s etude-tableaux in these terms, and the composer himself believed that his pieces were not abstract music, but rather spoke very much about something – though he did not reveal much about their precise meaning. “Let the listener create for themselves what the tableau most strongly suggests,” he said. The greatest etudes, of course, are never mere exercises, but first and foremost pieces of music; just as variations are not merely demonstrations of the composer’s imagination, but convey a variety of characters and emotions. At Gábor Csalog’s concert, Mozart’s rarely heard set in F major will be paired with Anton Webern’s Piano Variations, Op. 27, written in 1937. Although this is perhaps the most rigorously structured dodecaphonic music of all time, according to the recollections of Peter Stadlen, the pianist who played the world premiere, what mattered to Webern was not structure but expression – the emotional content of musical gestures. Alongside Rachmaninoff’s etude-tableaux, Gábor Csalog’s own piano etudes, composed in 2026, will also be performed, so the pre-concert talk will provide an opportunity for music historian Gergely Fazekas not only to discuss the music-historical background of the works, but also to ask the pianist about the nature of the creative process. Further concerts in the series:29 November 2026: Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Etudes and Variations 3/1.25 April 2027: Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Etudes and Variations 3/3.

Beethoven composed the three-piece Op. 59 series in 1806, commissioned by Russian Count Andrei Razumovsky. The first piece in this series, the String Quartet in F major, opened up new dimensions compared to earlier compositional traditions: the monumental first movement, built on broad arcs, is followed by a playful, sparkling scherzo that is also remarkable for its rhythm. The third movement, which expresses deep and tragic emotions, flows seamlessly into the finale, whose main theme features a Russian folk song, followed by a lively, sparkling, and structurally intricate fugue. Borodin’s String Quartet in D major is a magnificent work of late Romantic Russian chamber music; composed in 1881, the composer dedicated it to his wife. Its Notturno movement has become iconic for its romantic, intimate tone. The composition’s lyrical melodies, its light and sparkling Scherzo, and its complex, solemn final movement all reflect Borodin’s Russian heritage. The members of the Korossy Quartet began working together in 2018. The following year, they won the Leó Weiner National Chamber Music Competition, organized by the Liszt Academy of Music Budapest, and in 2021, the ensemble was awarded five special prizes at the International Bartók Competition. Their work is supported by renowned artists, including Eberhard Feltz, Barnabás Kelemen, András Keller, Katalin Kokas, György Pauk, Günter Pichler, András Schiff, and Gábor Takács-Nagy. In addition to performing at Hungary’s largest concert venues, they have participated in international festivals such as the Lockenhaus Kammermusikfest, Kamara.hu, Arcus Temporum, Bartók Spring, Festival Academy Budapest, and the Mahler Festival in Toblach. The BMC audience may also be already familiar with the quartet: in the fall of 2023, they launched a series to perform all of Béla Bartók’s string quartets at the Concert Hall, while during the 2025/26 season, they played Kurtág’s works at the Kurtág100 festival, and later gave a joint concert with Zoltán Fejérvári. In the 2026/27 season, they are launching a new series titled Refractions, which, over the course of three concerts, will shed light on various facets of the genre through pieces rarely associated with each other. Further concerts in this series: 2026.09.25. Korossy Quartet: Refractions 3/1.2027.02.26. Korossy Quartet: Refractions 3/2.