Dear Guests, Due to health reasons, Joe McPhee unfortunately cannot perform at this concert. The band will instead perform with Rudi Mahall on saxophone, replacing the originally announced line-up. Thank you for your understanding,BMC – Opus Jazz Club German bass clarinettist and saxophonist Rudi Mahall is a leading figure on the European contemporary, avant-garde and improvisational music scene, having previously performed at the Opus Jazz Club alongside Alexander von Schlippenbach and the Grencsó Kollektíva. Steve Swell has also made a name for himself as a grand master of free jazz, turning the technical peculiarities of the trombone – which many regard as limitations – to his advantage in his playful and virtuosic musical world. The foundation of the quartet is provided by the seasoned rhythm section of Mark Tokar and Klaus Kugel: the Ukrainian double bassist’s tone defines the sound of the entire band, whilst the German drummer, with his crisp precision and alertness, becomes an indispensable participant in the musical dialogue. Photo: Žiga Koritnik  

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.

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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.