The core line-up of Amsterdam-based Spinifex is a sextet. The band is named after a resilient Australian species of grass, and may at first sound like a blend of free jazz, punk rock and other typically Western contemporary music. Yet, beneath the surface lies a rich tapestry of cyclical rhythms inspired by Middle-Eastern and Indian musical traditions. Initially formed as a nonet in 2005, Spinifex transitioned to its current working-band size in 2010. Over time, the group has nurtured a distinct ensemble culture through extensive touring and the release of nine albums. Their music seamlessly integrates meticulously composed structures with massive improvisational freedom.  At Opus Jazz Club, Spinifex presents the world premiere of MAXXIMUS, a special project marking Spinifex’ 20 years of existence, featuring three great guest musicians: Jessica Pavone (viola), Elisabeth Coudoux (cello) and Evi Filippou (vibraphone/percussion). With this project, the ensemble expands its musical palette and opens the doors to an acoustic sound world, using the colors of a string trio, acoustic guitar, bass clarinet and vibraphone. Of course, the vintage Spinifex approach will never be far away: intense, rigorously composed structures and free improvisation stay at the center of the ensemble’s concept. The material for MAXXIMUS has been composed by Elisabeth Coudoux, Tobias Klein, Bart Maris, Jasper Stadhouders and Gonçalo Almeida. They have contributed pieces that have been written for the specific personalities and talents of the MAXXIMUS players.   

“Elmo Nero is beautifully exploring what's possible in a guitar trio setting, finding many ways to express honesty, joy and beauty in this classic format.” (Gilad Hekselman) Elmo Nero was founded in 2022 by Gina Schwarz and Christoph Helm. The following  year, the exceptional bassist, composer & Hans Koller Award winner and the guitarist, who virtuously combines a multitude of popular music styles in his playing, released their eponymous debut album together with drummer Max Plattner. It was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. Since summer 2024 Mareike Wiening has been playing drums in the band. The German Jazz Award nominee, who's been dividing her time between NYC, Cologne and Vienna over the past years, enriches the trio with her multi-faceted playing and allows the compositions and improvisations, which are fed by a wide variety of musical influences, to shine in completely new colors.  

Born five hundred years ago, the Italian master of Renaissance vocal polyphony, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the "saviour of sacred music", is still a major figure in choral culture, and the study of his clear style is compulsory in composition courses. The multi-award-winning Italian conductor and composer Lorenzo Donati, who was also a student of Ennio Morricone, will conduct the Kodály Choir Debrecen, mixing Palestrina's works with his own compositions and pieces by his Italian contemporaries to show that Palestrina's star still shines brightly after half a millennium.

Emmeluth’s Amoeba is about curiosity, playfulness and joy. It’s about creating a space where coming together and sharing a moment is central. Emmeluth's Amoeba is a strong Danish/Norwegian quartet consisting of four exciting musicians from the Scandinavian scene. The music feels like an amoeba with its own consciousness: it moves and breathes, changes shape and colour on its own desire. Experiments with form and flexibility towards composition and improvisation, quick reflexes and change of direction – it all boils down into a riveting music. Explosions of energy, playfulness and joy – it all makes it hard to stay untouched by the music of Amoeba. The group has toured extensively for the past 4 years, including live concerts at Saalfelden Jazz Festival, Artacts and Oslo Jazz to name a few.  

Closing concert of the 3rd Tallér Zsófia Contemporary International Composition Competition Composer Zsófia Tallér, who contributed to theatre productions and films, passed away young in 2021. As one of the creators and teachers of applied composition programmes at the Liszt Academy and the Academy of Drama and Film, she was an inspiration to a generation. Her memory is honoured with a festival and composition competition, held in 2025 for the third time. According to the call, this year’s competition entries should be related to Odi et amo, Zsófia Tallér’s setting of lines by Catullus.The concert, where the winning composition will also be presented, features the Pax et Bonum Chamber Choir, whose repertoire spans the past half a millennium, from the works of Renaissance masters to contemporary works. In 2022, the Pax et Bonum finished first in the chamber choir category of the 9th Kodály Zoltán Hungarian Choir Competition. In 2024, they won the Audience Prize at the 6th International Choral Competition Ave Verum in Baden bei Wien, where Boldizsár Kiss received the Choirmaster Special Prize.

Under the lens of music understood as intercultural dialogue, this program proposes a musical journey from north to south across Europe and America, framed within the 20th century. It is a voyage that explores the diverse outcomes of musical composition during those decades, shaped by the different sensibilities and characteristics of the various latitudes of both continents. The program is divided into two parts: Europe (starting point of the north-to-south musical dialogue) and the Americas (second half of the journey and the musical dialogue between continents and styles). The Cuarteto Matrice was born in 2016 in Madrid, the city where the musicians met and are currently based and developing their career with the ensemble, always having the objective of communicating with the audience through the different languages of music and performance. The name of the quartet itself comes from the ancient name of the city of Madrid, Matrice, an Arabic term for "mother of waters". The members of the quartet have studied at some of the main musical institutions in Europe, such as the Royal Academy of Music of London, Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, the Royal Conservatory of Madrid or Katarina Gurska Centre in Madrid. They have attended several masterclasses with the Kopelman Quartet’s violist Igor Sulyga. The Quartet have recently performed at some festivals across Spain as the RESIS Festival in A Coruña, Clásicos en Verano in Madrid, Sulayr Festival in Granada and FIAS Festival (Sacred Art Madrid Music Festival), where they performed the world premier of the Cuarteto nº2 by Hugo Gómez-Chao, a piece dedicated to the quartet, having great reviews from both musical press and media. The four musicians of Cuarteto Matrice have also been selected for the Musae Program promoted by the National Cultural Ministry, a project where they performed at the Sorolla National Museum and brought them a Spanish music concert series residency with the sponsorship of CNP Partners. Cuarteto Matrice have recently performed at many cities all around Spain, such as Barcelona, Bilbao and Sevilla, including remarkable venues and music halls like, Teatro Fernando de Rojas, Círculo de Bellas Artes and Athenaeum in Madrid and also Moncloa Palace, house of the Spanish Government, where they performed in 2021 as part of an homage act holded by the Spanish Arts Ministry. They have been selected as part of the MERITA platform 2023 organized by Le Dimore del Quartetto, a program that will take them to an artistic residence in Florence in 2024 as well several concerts across Europe during the current season 2024-2025. The centre of the MERITA project is the 38 quartets, selected from 61 applications received from 27 different countries. These early-career musicians represent a new generation of string quartets, and through MERITA, they will break new ground in European classical music. MERITA, coordinated by Le Dimore del Quartetto, brings together 17 leading musical and cultural organizations from 12 European countries. Each offers a unique perspective on and approach to classical music in the modern world, linked by their commitment to supporting new musicians while keeping alive music’s precious heritage. By connecting emerging talent with experts in performance with impact, MERITA aims to forge a vital and sustainable future for European classical music.

Bassist Stanley Clarke’s name is at the top of this studio album cover only because of the alphabetical order: the quintet (with Freddie Hubbard, Lenny White and Chick Corea) was mainly known as the Griffith Park Band. Perhaps the biggest star at the time was saxophone legend Joe Henderson, so he got to play the first solo on most tracks. The band, acoustic throughout, presents a wide cavalcade of moods. The musicians move like big cats, stretching lazily and then rushing to attack. It’s no coincidence that the orchestra has more concert than studio recordings. Only a Steve Swallow composition is featured here, the others are original compositions in which both the highly inspirational interplay and the far-reaching impros are perfectly developed. It’s good to experience the giants of jazz-rock bath together in a hard bop river before crossing it. MAO soloists, on the other hand, can reflect on this album with four decades of accumulated musical knowledge. 

The five musicians who make up the quintet are perhaps most united by their sensitivity towards quality. Having explored the myriad shades of jazz and classical music, the need to develop their own language and their own sound becomes the most important common aim in this formation. The intersection of jazz, free playing and the written music tradition is expanding, and the quintet's components meet at more and more points. But not only styles. The lives of five musicians, their individual musical characters, their own journeys and shared playing experiences form the unity that the audience can hear and see. The past year has offered the band many new experiences and fresh perspectives. It is no longer necessarily playing written, classical material in new ways that secures their gatherings, but rather the shared approach and understanding that is increasingly expressed in free playing. In which, alongside the music of Gábor Gadó, the spirit of the greats of tradition can be sensed like a watermark: this evening, with the evocation of Pierre Boulez, born 100 years ago, or remembering Péter Eötvös, present with a painful absence.

Contemporary – Miho Hazama, U. C. Erkin, Christopher Cerrone, Pavel Fischer Like sports, music also has its 'tools' for performance increase and relaxation. The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra highlights 'contemporary' in their programme without inhibitions, as with similar compilations, they have garnered great success with the audience several times before. The globally recognised ensembles strike a perfect balance in the effects by spoonfeeding us with alternating more meditative and lax works with quick and ecstatic pieces. During the concert, the audience can experience a refreshing rejuvenation and recharging of their batteries, just like after a good training session.

From dreamer to magician: Wolfgang Haffner, “best” (Die Welt), “coolest” (ARD ttt), even “most important drummer of his generation” (SZ), is going on tour with his Wolfgang Haffner Trio, following the success of his “Dream Band” and his “Magic Band”. The accompanying album is entitled “Life Rhythm”, which was released in fall 2024. Wolfgang Haffner is a musical all-rounder. A leader who loves to accompany. An instrumentalist who loves to compose. A master of nuances on the drums, for whom the audience is important and for whom it is important to play “music for the heart”, as he says himself. Now he is going on tour with the long-standing members of his trio, Simon Oslender on keyboards and Thomas Stieger on bass. When Wolfgang Haffner became a professional musician at the age of 18, he immediately joined the bands of jazz icon Albert Mangelsdorff and singer-songwriter Konstantin Wecker. In the years that followed, he drummed his way into Klaus Doldinger's Passport and Chaka Khan's band. Haffner has also played with Al Jarreau, Pat Metheny, The Brecker Brothers, The Manhattan Transfer, Jan Garbarek, Till Brönner, Nightmares on Wax, Die Fantastischen Vier and the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. Today, the two-time ECHO Jazz Award winner is recognised as the most successful German drummer and is also one of the few German musicians who are successful worldwide. 4000 concerts in over 100 countries, from Japan to Brazil, South Africa to Australia, USA to Scandinavia. Haffner's distinctive beats can now be heard on over 400 album productions. His reputation is also enhanced by how active and agile he is as a producer, for example for Max Mutzke or Mezzoforte. Music, especially live and played by such outstanding musicians, always has something magical about it. Together they create and experience the Haffner sound, that unique and unmistakable combination of driving grooves, beautiful melodies and a deep sense of atmosphere and musical moods.  

One of the secrets of Elsa Valle's musical magic is her excellence at combining different musical styles. This time, The grande dame of Afro and Latin jazz in Hungary is winking at a revolutionary new style that is enthralling many artists today. This is the Dembow, which has now become a fully-fledged part of the modern musical palette. Elsa Valle's new songs are performed by a trio, each song accompanied by fast, playful drums, while the guitar masterfully weaves harmonies rooted in jazz and Afro-Cuban music around the melodies, and the unique colours are enhanced by special effects. Bakary has been well received by audiences both in and outside Hungary since their first performance.

Armenian-born David Yengibarian studied in Hungary from 1995, where he became one of the most sought-after jazz and world music performers and composers. He has released seven albums, and has also composed several theatre and film scores. The main sources of his folk-inspired music are the Armenian musical tradition, European and American jazz and improvisational music, as well as Argentine tango and the music of its greatest innovator Astor Piazzolla. Above all, his trio is characterised by an emotional performance style heavily drawing on improvisation. In recent years, the band has performed with many prominent national and international guests, such as Miklós Lukács, Tony Lakatos, and Gevorg Dabaghyan. Their own compositions form the backbone of their repertoire at this concert, but Balkan and Latin songs may also appear in the programme.  

Mindaugas Stumbras is a Lithuanian guitarist and composer based in Vilnius, Lithuania. His music is very dynamic, colourful and versatile. Beautiful and picturesque compositions are influenced by the broad European jazz scene, American jazz tradition, Lithuanian folk music and Scandinavian improvisational music scene. Exciting and emotional melodies represent a mature and soft northern sound which sometimes can be interrupted by massive bursts of power and dissonance. Melancholic and nostalgic melodies merged with the meditative flow of harmonies create a warm atmosphere that shapes the way this music sounds.  

With a ship’s-horn power voice and irresistible stage presence, Nani defends the endangered Ladino language. Her fascinating migration mix seeps into her songwriting, fusing the sounds of the marketplace with Flamenco drama. Nani learned Ladino from her Moroccan grandmother in hiding, as her father forbade them to speak Ladino at home. Nani is the world’s 1st millennial Ladino songwriter. Her new album Ke Haber (What’s New) captures the spirit of the ancient, matriarchal language, and propels it into the future with socially pertinent lyrics celebrating migration, gender and female empowerment. The soundscape captures the sounds and smells of the marketplace, and fuses them with raw, flamenco-like vocals, soft choral trombone, mariachi guitar, percussion and piano. Nani’s music was documented for the Library of Congress USA in 2023, an honour reserved to few artists, naming her new Ladino repertoire as a “living relic”. She ranked #11 World Music Charts and #13 Music Charts Europe, and held talks at WOMEX, JAZZIAM, InJazz, and Fira B! to name a few.  

“This is our musical offering for a utopian, inclusive society, using a new, free, imaginary language unlimited by origin or cultural boundaries: Anthem for No Man’s Land. Our album title is inspired by our efforts to make art that can see beyond territorial thinking, beyond borders and beyond egoism. We want to express this to our audience, not through a complicated manifesto, but rather through the emotions and the immediacy of our music. We are not just striving to affirm freedom, we want to live it in our music, together with you, dear listener.” Anyone who has ever been to a concert by this band will have experienced this for themselves. The gatherings of this trans-European quartet are more like a ritual liberation ceremony than a conventional concert. With their previous album A Novel Of Anomaly, the band toured throughout Europe and North America. In over a hundred concerts, they have developed an intense band sound that is unrivalled. Somewhere in no man's land between archaic alpine influences, Italianità, psychedelic rock and multi-ethnic polyrhythms, coupled with explosive interplay and passionate improvisation. Their music is a wild mixture of unexpected twists and turns, crazy sounds and moments full of surprises. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes totally crazy – always different from what you think. Their new album Anthem For No Man's Land will be released by ACT Music in spring 2025.  

Triology is a newly founded collaboration between three outstanding artists: Ratko Zjaca, an internationally awarded guitarist and composer behind a large international discography, Roland Abreu, the Cuban-born bassist who found his second home in Europe, and Jože Zadravec, Zjaca’s long-standing accomplice at the drums. Together, they perform original compositions in a trio format. The peerless combination of guitar, acoustic bass and drums leads to stunning results in terms of sound and arrangement, sparkled with rhythmic ideas, texture and space. The three artists’ enthusiasm, passion, intensity and warmth can be experienced in every moment of their live performance, presenting an inspiring and enjoyable powerhouse of original compositions.

Springing off a sound reminiscent of acoustic piano trios of the 50s and 60s, Oùat explores the memory and perspectives of hand crafted, collective music making. Jazz in its most open operative meaning, in which improvisation is a real necessity, stimulates the trio to confront and investigate our times of sounds and movements. Oùat's music is transmitted through consistent listening and risk taking. An inviting work that gesticulates the most obvious as well as surprising in coming together. Being one of many groups made possible due to the venue Au Topsi Pohl (2019-2022) in Berlin, Oùat started off with performing the music of Ellington, Hasaan Ibn Ali, Elmo Hope, Per Henrik Wallin and Sun Ra. Their debut album Elastic Bricks (Umlaut, 2022) is exclusively dedicated to their own material and might evoke a dreamed-up vacation of Hindemith in Alger; sounds and tempos in a curious mixture of recognizable disorder and unrecognizable order. For their second release, The Strange Adventures of Jesper Klint (Umlaut, 2023) Oùat reiterates the trio music of Swedish pianist Per Henrik Wallin which is an escalating and beautiful venture of limits and questioning. Oùat continues to praise the sound and momentum of collective concentrated creativity, making as much as possible out of an idea, a shared place and time. This is most certainly heard in the digital release Trial of Future Animals (2023); an advent calendar overwhelming Christmas itself in twenty-four long and very different song releases. The trio likes to invite guests and expand on uncommon forms. Oùat (Once upon a time) can be heard as storytelling, a chatty trilogy instantaneously finding the sonorous meanings of what, where and when. How this is possible is another question. Simply: listen – it's a good beginning, and end! Oùat's members play momentous roles in the creative music scenes of Europe, from Marseille to Dala-Floda via Berlin. Their individual work is heard in groups such as Monks Casino, [ahmed], and The Art Ensemble of Chicago.    

“Would it be possible to speak of a new all-star trio of Austrian jazz? The maturity and compactness of the compositions that are celebrated with such relish by Haezz convey the image of seasoned, veteran musicians, devoid of any demonstrative attitude and who know what they are doing. The warm and intimate chorals stand alongside artfully interwoven, contrapuntal webs of lyrical urgency. Then back to a groove-heavy breakneck pace, in which all three instruments bounce between rhythmic, harmonic and melodic roles. Polyphone ideas of cool jazz meet complex rhythmic finesse and Central European melodic allusions. The stupendous virtuosity gleams through again and again and serves as a means for this purely acoustic, hand-made chamber jazz laden with overtones. Tobias Vedovelli, Štěpán Flagar and Martin Eberle play music that pairs sensuosity with an aspiration for creativity, the type of music that goes straight to the heart and excites the mind. A wondrous pleasure to listen to.” – Andreas Felber, Head of Jazz, Radio Ö1, ORF / Austrian Broadcasting Corporation  

Caminos is the new project of guitarist Juan Gómez ‘Chicuelo’. It comprises tangos, alegrías, bulerías and granaínas, and with an unusual lineup, it opens new sound pathways in flamenco.The pure touch of ‘Chicuelo’, the delicate drums of David Gómez and the virtuoso double bass of Manel Fortià envelop Karen Lugo’s dancing. Karen, in turn, generates new forms by dancing to the slightest whisper. Without cante, cajón or palmas, Caminos’ repertoire is made up of stories with flamenco rhythms. From a lullaby to a tribute to Django Reinhardt, alegrías are transformed by Fortià’s double bass and bulerías by Gómez’s drums. The show brings together freshness, strength and art, and transmits these characteristics with the same naturalness that connects the four artists on stage.Juan Gómez ‘Chicuelo’ is one of the most important guitarists on the current flamenco scene and, at the same time, one of the most prolific and interesting composers of recent generations. As a guitarist, he has accompanied singers such as Enrique Morente, Miguel Poveda, Duquende, Mayte Martín, Rancapino, Chano Lobato, José Mercé, El Cigala, Potito, and Carmen Linares. He has also worked with jazz musicians such as Chano Domínguez, Carles Benavent, Jorge Pardo, Jordi Bonell, Raynald Colom, etc., and has collaborated with the classical pianist Maria João Pires. The concert is realised in cooperation between the BMC and the Embassy of Spain in Hungary.

The band represents a unique musical direction, radically different from the world of traditional mainstream jazz. Their musical palette embraces a wider spectrum, fusing elements of jazz, rock, indie and electronic music. Niki as a songwriter uses the band to realise her own musical vision encompassing personal experiences, emotions and deeper contents. The sound of the Niki Vörös New Project is fresh, dynamic and experimental, while the lyrics of her songs project truly personal feelings. Her powerful delivery expressing raw emotions and the energetic, characteristic style of the outstanding Hungarian players have become the trademark of this band. They aim to offer a unique and innovative musical experience, moulding elements of modern jazz with traditional rock and indie flavours while giving a strong emphasis to the lyrical and thought-provoking lyrics penned by Niki herself.

A podium conversation with music therapists. Music Therapy Club is an open meeting-place of music therapists, medical, educational and social workers, as well as of anybody interested in music therapy. (In Hungarian) 

VERSION(Verzió)Hungarian experimental film, 1981, 51 min. - In Hungariandirector, script writer: Miklós Erdély writer: Gyula Krúdy, Károly Eötvöscinematographer: András Mészeditor: Ágnes Sarkadi Featuring: László Vikárius, László Rajk, Gusztáv Ádám, Ágnes Horváth, Gyula Pauer Version is a film adaptation of the Tiszaeszlár blood libel based on texts by Gyula Krúdy and Károly Eötvös. The script about the crime and the subsequent trial was written using real documents, but this story emphasizes the many ways in which the imagination can construct and reconstruct real events. In 1882, the Jews of Tiszaeszlár were suspected of committing the ritual murder of a Christian maid, Eszter Solymosi. The trial attracted great international attention, but the defense lawyers led by Károly Eötvös eventually managed to prove that the blood feud was a fabrication. The film tells this story based on the testimony of the crown witness, Móric Scharf, whose imagination and memory create different possible versions of the crime. The film is a unique formal experiment, but it is also an important step in exploring the roots and nature of anti-Semitism. The screening will be introduced by film- and music critic László Kolozsi (in Hungarian).Guest: Mária Rigó, editor and Miklós Peternák, art historian

The Modern Art Orchestra's À la MAO... series aims to present compositions and adaptations, sometimes originals, by members of the orchestra in a new context. In recordings and concerts, the orchestra has created a repertoire that is unparalleled in the history of Hungarian jazz. Some of these pieces have never been heard before by old or new followers, arranged in a new thematical, stylistic or other way. Additionally, some of them have never been released on disc or digitally. On International Jazz Day, an initiative associated with the name of Herbie Hancock, one of the founding fathers of jazz-rock, it almost goes without saying that the Modern Art Orchestra will be drawing on the extensive repertoire of the jazz-rock genre. Works by the versatile trumpeter-composer Gábor Subicz, pianist Gábor Cseke, saxophone soloist Kristóf Bacsó and bandleader Kornél Fekete-Kovács form the backbone of the programme. A surprise guest will be sitting down into the drum chair.

Bálint Gyémánt, one of Hungary's most distinguished jazz guitarists, has always been enriching diverse and exciting bands with his playing, which, in addition to carrying the characteristics of jazz and contemporary improvisation, is also able to appeal to pop music lovers. Pianist Krisztián Oláh builds his distinctive, dynamic music by organically combining classical musical elements and compositional techniques with the improvisational drift and abstract rhythms of contemporary jazz. Their joint project approaches the guitar and piano duo, with its limitless possibilities, from the artistic side of jazz. The backbone of their programme is formed by their own compositions and arrangements composed especially for this project, but even more importantly by the constant musical interaction and dialogue that is one of the duo's main characteristics.

This trio, founded by Attila Gyárfás, draws from the tools of free improvisation, contemporary classical music and traditional jazz, and its members are active representatives of the Hungarian improvisational music scene. A key element of the band's sound is the modern analogue synthesizer played by Máté Pozsár, which, in addition to creating a nearly infinite amount of timbres, is capable of switching between radically different sounds in the blink of an eye. Contrasting with the vibrations shaped by circuits and generated by the speakers is the acoustic sound of the drum kit and Ernő Hock's upright bass, but the musicians' attention and imagination allow the three instruments to boil into unity. Most of the trio's repertoire is made up of compositions by Attila Gyárfás, based on the improvisational skills of the three musicians, but using the sampler controlled by Máté Pozsár, they also evoke recordings from jazz history to which the members of the band are closely connected.

Guitarist and composer Paul Jarret continues to plough his highly personal, original and uncompromising artistic furrow with the creation of Tilia, a new quartet with a European dimension.  In addition to Paul Jarret, the new quartet features German saxophonist Philipp Gropper (a key figure in Berlin jazz over the past fifteen years), Amsterdam-based Korean drummer Sun-Mi Hong, Europe's “rising star” on drums, and Étienne Renard, a young French double bassist whose musical qualities are gaining increasing recognition, and who has been a regular contributor to Paul Jarret's projects for several years. The repertoire, based on the guitarist's compositions, blends lyricism, abstraction and cinematic atmospheres, leaving plenty of room for spontaneity and interaction between the musicians. The influences and energy of alternative rock, dear to the guitarist's heart, are evident in the songwriting, the energy released by the band's collective, and the care taken with the band's sound and the quality of the recording and mixing. Influences such as Deerhoof, Sonic Youth, Battles and Bon Iver can be found among the collective improvisations of free jazz and the libertarian movements of “great black American music”. To compose the entire repertoire for this project, Paul Jarret drew his allegorical inspiration from the lime tree (botanical name: Tilia), a majestic, sacred and universal tree, a symbol of justice and freedom, prized for its many virtues and capable of living up to a thousand years. All the titles in the repertoire are derived from this tree: Baucis (from the ancient Greek legend Philemon and Baucis), Bark, Linden, Laima (the Baltic divinity represented by the lime tree)...  

What Miquèu’s and Ádám's music have in common is the continuous change of being on a journey. Miquèu set out from Provence to create music that is at home everywhere and in which we can find ourselves at home anywhere. For Ádám, Budapest is the beginning of the journey, his compositions embracing a wide range of cultures from New York to Odessa. Their music is about encounters, friendship and everything they have experienced in their lives. Their concerts take us on a whirlwind journey through genres, countries, cultures, cities, houses, corridors, up and down stairs. Between Correns and Budapest. Adam's accordion, Miquèu's flutes. And their stories, which became music. Always unique, unrepeatable, improvisational, free stories. During the evening, we will hear pieces from Miquèu Montanaro's Tangos and Ádám Móser's programme called Stairs / Escaliers.  

Charlotte Greve is a New York-based alto saxophonist and composer originally from Germany. With a unique concept of tone and composition, she has been making a mark on both the Brooklyn and German jazz scenes. Charlotte has released seven albums as a leader of her bands Lisbeth Quartett and Wood River, two of which received an ECHO Jazz prize. Moreover, Greve has just been awarded the German Jazz Prize as “Artist of the Year”. Her latest release is marked by sensitive interplay – a collection of stunningly subtle and melodically pronounced songs that are both gentle and powerfully fluid. Even if the musicians are across the world in Berlin or New York City, all traveling and working on their respective projects, they seem to meld and blend with ease because of their history together and their knowledge of each other’s instrumental styles.  

Founded in 2018, the Korossy Quartet aims to transmit the famous Hungarian string quartet tradition, and to present the broadest possible repertoire to Hungarian and foreign audiences. In 2021, the ensemble was awarded 5 different special prizes at the international Bartók World Competition, and a year later they were accepted into the class of Günter Pichler, first violinist of the legendary Alban Berg Quartet, at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid. The Korossy Quartet's Bartók series, starting in autumn 2023, includes all of Bartók's string quartets in 6 concerts over 2 years, paired with a selection of works by the greatest composers of music history. The first three movements of Bartók's String Quartet No. 6 are preceded by the same slow introduction, while the fourth movement is the unfolding of this Mesto melody into a movement in its own right. Bartók's original plan was for a life-affirming finale, but the events of the composer's life intervened: the death of his mother and the outbreak of World War II caused the quartet to end with sounds of mourning and resignation. Through the character of the work as a whole, and through the key of D minor, we can also associate Mozart's String Quartet in D minor with themes of death and passing. The concert will begin with Webern's Five movements for string quartet, composed in 1909 and also inspired by the death of the composer's mother. Photo: Andrea Felvégi

This album has been overshadowed by an even more legendary recording, but it has a lot of beauty. Saxophonist Paul Desmond is the only member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, apart from the bandleader, to become a big name outside that quartet. Desmond recorded the album Time Out with the Dave Brubeck Quartet in August 1959 - one of the most successful jazz albums ever made. In September, guitarist Jim Hall, as well as Percy Heath and Connie Kay of the Modern Jazz Quartet joined Desmond for his second solo outing, producing another example of the golden age of laid-back, cool, elegant, swinging jazz. The quartet consistently and unwaveringly performs the hits of the era, which include MJQ numbers and standards, but the CD reissue also includes a Desmond composition. The alto saxophone is lilting and flattering, seductive and reassuring. That's why it was voted number one again in Playboy magazine that year, as the album title suggests. As many of the series’ regulars will have guessed, Árpád Dennert will evoke the sound of one of the saxophone’s unforgettable masters with the MAO's rhythm section.

In the eclectic programme of Zita Gereben and her orchestra, the songs have the characteristics of R’n’B, pop, blues and, of course, jazz. The Hungarian singer-songwriter founded her band in 2009; so far, they have recorded three albums of their own compositions, and are planning to release their fourth album this autumn. Zita Gereben has worked with numerous Hungarian bands, and her forays into the world of motion pictures proved equally successful. Her orchestra unites talented and renowned Hungarian musicians, who bravely address the most different musical styles and the freedom of improvisation, resulting in a truly original sound.

Synesthetic4 was founded by Vincent Pongracz and Peter Rom in 2017. Since then the quartet made its mark on the European scene with shows at Jazzfest Saalfelden, Ljubljana Jazzfestival, Jazzwerkstatt Bern, April Jazz, and Orbit Jazz Johannesburg among others. Their first album Pickedem was presented at Wiener Konzerthaus in 2019. The program which atmospherically combines elements of contemporary music, jazz, funk and electronic music moves “confidently from frenzy to humorous wit”, as Tom Gsteiger put it. The band providing for “colourful cineastics” and “creative virtuosity” (Austrian Sounds) also features Manu Mayr on bass and Andreas Lettner on drums. For Pickedem they received the German Record Critics Award. In June 2022 they released their second studio album Ahwowha. An important part of their music are complex but catchy rhythms that originate from hip hop, contemporary groove and electronic music and give the quartet’s sound an urban characteristic. „Dada-Rap“ and abstractly folkloristic melodies that are sometimes inspired by the music of Olivier Messiaen are meant to leave a humoristic or even bizarre impression on the listener. The improvisations move between jazz and contemporary classical music. The specialty of the band is the way aesthetic components are put together, the balance of profane and sophisticated musical elements and their aspirations to combine avantgarde artistic values with quality entertainment. An important addition to their musical body of work are their music video productions, in which the band members often play different characters and perform rhythmic choreographies that are precisely arranged to fit the music. In 2024 the band received the first Austrian Jazz Prize in the category Best Live Act.  

Three outstanding representatives of Hungarian music, Ági Szalóki, János Ávéd and István Tóth performs contemporary arrangements of sacred songs and folk hymns, including works by Lantos Sebestyén Tinódi, Bálint Balassi and anonymous composers from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as medieval hymns. The instrumentation and the unique approach of the artists already add an interesting dimension to the pieces, while jazz improvisations combine the best of tradition, freedom and the spirit of contemporary creation. 

“A Turkish female vocalist/cellist from coastal Trabzon, a guitarist/violist from Bacău in the Romanian inland and, as a wild card, a Flemish clarinetist/saxophonist from Antwerp, three true characters with a longer conjoint musical practice, met in the urban delta of The Lowlands to work on a variety of songs originating from the Black Sea. Clearing up the air to give breath to ten of these old songs they feel close to, these three musicians let emerge a selection of Turkish, Georgian, Lazi, Pontus Greek and Tatarian origin to receive illumination and shine. Far from delivering newly polished up versions, they draw us into the process of their momentary discovery of these long-lived songs. They catch them on the edge of emergence, in their transient volatility, at their merging and fading sides as well as in their full brightness and at their most playfully prancing and bouncing character”, wrote Henning Bolte about the Black Sea Songs trio. The band also records an album in the days of the concert, to be released on BMC Records.

Falka (Pack) is a long-established musical community that actually decided to become a band two years ago. Depths and heights, sadness and joy, singing and dancing, limits and freedom, community-building energies: this is Falka, an open band in which the members may occasionally change, but this makes their music more exciting and varied. Their programme is made up of compositions by members or other composers that are easy to take in, and even pieces that are inspired by the moment, born on the spot, and include free elements, written parts and easy-to-learn melodies. The goal: to break down the wall between the band and the audience, so that during the performances everyone is united in a community singing and moving around the fire, participating in the ritual.

Helicopets are a jazz group led by Warsaw-based composer and guitarist Adam Baran. The group focuses on exploring collective improvisation, drawing from modernity. Their music, set in the convention of a jazz quartet, refers to minimalism, ambient and electronic music, boldly crossing and redefining the genre framework of jazz. Baran’s playing style is focused on space and trance. Using effects and other devices, he creates patches of sound, treating his guitar as a sampler, but often returning to the classic, almost mainstream way of playing. The band’s sound is decisively shaped by Panilas, who uses her instrument to build electronic noises and avant-garde improvisations. The rhythm section will be made up of innovative Polish musicians: drummer Józef Biegański and bassist Piotr Zygma. In 2024, the band debuted at the Jazz Juniors festival in Kraków, receiving a number of special awards, also that of Budapest Music Center. As a result, they set off on a European tour. Their album will also be released this year. This project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund.  

De Beren Gieren is a post-contemporary jazz trio in which minimalism and bursting energy go hand in hand. It may be no coincidence that this band is based in Belgium, the home ground of surrealism and techno. De Beren Gieren consists of musicians highly active in the European music scene, but it is within this band their versatility flow freely. Its music is multi-layered, improvised and visionary. Corresponding acts could be Visible Cloaks, Radiohead, Erik Satie and Jon Hassell. Well, expect at least Beren music. Pianist Fulco Ottervanger composes most of the tunes, shining a childlike clarity, yet without ever pointing to a specific genre. It challenges the band to conceive a never-heard combination of sounds and parts supporting those sing-along melodies, often resulting in cinematic structures with a kaleidoscopic quality. Bass player Lieven Van Pée and drummer Simon Segers, join Fulco in a shared effort of control and letting go, tying the three together in a unique band. Live concerts of De Beren Gieren are an ongoing adventure full of beauty, dynamics and group interaction. What Eludes Us is an ode to what escapes us. And what we consciously want to look away from. For their 7th full album, De Beren Gieren even ignored the unimaginable beauty of the Norwegian fjords by sneaking into a dusty recording studio in the harbor of Bergen. Together with the celebrated and mysterious producer Jørgen Træen, who silently watched over the imperfections and interference as the driving force behind the skilled and lively playing of this electro-acoustic jazz trio. The result turns out to be compelling music with deceptive rhythms, clear melodies and uninhibited electronics in a way that also surprises themselves. How did that happen again?

The cult of Mary has been a source of inspiration not only in the visual arts, but also in sacred music over the centuries. There are at least 3,000 arrangements of the Latin text of the Hail Mary alone, and of course new works are being composed today that set to music a prayer to the Virgin Mary. The Kodály Choir Debrecen's last concert before the summer, with a programme of contemporary music mixed with Renaissance compositions, proves that although the musical language is constantly changing and renewing, the spiritual depth is eternal.

Mihály Borbély, who is equally at home in the fields of folk and world music, jazz and contemporary music, and who is extremely popular both in Hungary and abroad, is one of the leading figures of Hungarian jazz as a performer and composer. The folk music heritage of the Carpathian Basin and the Balkans is strongly present in his works, organically combined with elements from the various jazz tendencies or even from the music of the twentieth century classics. His playing combines exciting melodic turns with subtly translucent and powerful rhythms, while lyrical phrases enter into dialogue with energetic gestures. This evening, the Borbély Quartet performs well-known pieces from their repertoire, as well as giving an insight into the workshop secrets of their latest improvisational experiments.  

In the early 20th century, his music found its way easily into the affected world of operetta with Das Dreimäderlhaus, and his oeuvre is full of light, casual pieces written for the music lovers of early 19th-century Vienna, yet few in the history of Western art music have gone as far as Franz Schubert in capturing human hopelessness. “All is going shamefully,” he wrote to a friend in the early 1820s, “for in this miserable world it is the fate of almost every sensible man. And what are we to do with happiness when unhappiness is now our only stimulant.” The biographical reasons for this unhappiness (ranging from love disappointment to financial difficulties and fatal illness) are less interesting than how we listeners today, 200 years later, can experience the hopelessness represented in Schubert's music – in this case, in the grand Piano Sonata in A minor composed in 1825. In the first half of the evening, pianist Gábor Csalog and music historian Gergely Fazekas will discuss how the feeling of hopelessness can be expressed in music, using examples from other works too. The language of this conversation is Hungarian.

The Modern Art Orchestra's À la MAO... series aims to present compositions and adaptations, sometimes originals, by members of the orchestra in a new context. In recordings and concerts, the orchestra has created a repertoire that is unparalleled in the history of Hungarian jazz. Some of these pieces have never been heard before by old or new followers, arranged in a new thematical, stylistic or other way. Additionally, some of them have never been released on disc or digitally. The Modern Art Orchestra's last concert of the season might as well bring up Herbie Hancock's name again, because this is the title of the Hancock's sextet album released almost 30 years ago.  They have been instrumentally reworking current pop hits. Of course, ever since jazz emerged, it has been using the hits of the day as a starting point to improvise, and the Great American Songbook was almost exclusively made up of musical, pop and film hits from the 1930s. In the last few decades, the freshness of new styles of pop has inspired some of the most famous foreign artists. The Hungarian jazz repertoire has also included songs by the most successful pop ensembles, while composers such as Gábor Subicz, Kristóf Bacsó and the orchestra leader Kornél Fekete-Kovács have also adapted film or stage music, creating a whole series of new jazz standards.

Drummer-composer Balázs Bágyi is one of the leading artists of Hungarian jazz. The music of his latest band is dominated by acoustic, contemporary jazz based on post bop elements. His partners are a prominent representative of the middle 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. As in the previous years, they play some of the older compositions, as well as presenting their recent music in Opus Jazz Club.  

The artistic world of Kálmán Oláh Jr. is a harmonious blend of heritage, musical innovation and boundless passion. The saxophonist's goal is to showcase his compositions for this band in prestigious venues in Hungary and abroad, thus positioning the new generation of Hungarian jazz in the international music scene. The saxophonist showed a great interest in classical music and jazz from an early age. Together with his father, Kálmán Oláh senior, and his brother, Krisztián Oláh, both renowned pianists, he is a member of several bands that are regular and prestigious performers in concert halls. He has been awarded one of Hungary’s most important awards for young artists, the Junior Prima Prize, a testament to his exceptional talent and dedication.

The Budapest Lantos Choir has been celebrating the power of music and community for 75 years. On this special anniversary, we look back on the choir's rich history, while looking forward to the future with renewed enthusiasm. The anniversary concert invites us on a special journey, recalling the most beautiful moments of the past decades through the encounter of classical masterpieces and contemporary melodies. The joy of singing together and meeting the audience has always been a matter of the Budapest Lantos Choir's heart - let's celebrate together, because music is our common language and the most beautiful bond between us!

The name of Miklós Lukács is synonymous with the highest level of the art of cimbalom playing, both in Hungary and internationally. He is regarded as one of the world's best-known and most versatile cimbalom players and is revered as a pioneer of his instrument. His performances weave together contemporary music, jazz and folk music to create a unique sound. His work has brought his instrument into a new light, revealing dimensions of the cimbalom's sound and possibilities that were first explored through his diverse playing. After Timeless, his solo album released on BMC Records last year, he further elaborated on a solo programme that offers a great opportunity to delve deeper into the musical world of Miklós Lukács and to experience its richness across genres. In his concerts, written compositions and improvisations born in the moment harmoniously complement each other, while the cimbalom unfolds its unparalleled range of sound.  

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After four concerts in 2023, János Mátyás Stark, Gergely Devich, and Fülöp Ránki are announcing a new series at the BMC, now under the name of Trio Haris. The series will conclude with works by two closely related geniuses of romantic chamber music. The professional and personal relationship between Schumann and Brahms has a wealth of musical and non-musical sources, and a vast literature. Both wrote three piano trios, the first of which will be performed in this concert. Schumann wrote his first trio in D minor (Op. 63) relatively late, and its troubled D minor, passing through the lively F major of the scherzo and the dark A minor of the slow movement, finally resolves into the luminous D major of the finale. Brahms's Trio in B flat major bears the opus number 8 – the composer wrote the first version in 1854, when he was twenty-one –, but this is misleading because it was thoroughly revised three and a half decades later. Dramaturgically, the work is essentially the reverse of Schumann's, and, uniquely among the top works of the trio repertoire, begins in a major key but ends in minor. Further concerts in this series: 5 October 2024 7 PM Trio Haris (Ránki – Stark – Devich) I. | Haydn, Liszt, Schubert4 January 2025 7 PM Trio Haris (Ránki – Stark – Devich) II. | Takemitsu, Schubert, Shostakovich22 March 2025 7 PM Trio Haris (Ránki – Stark – Devich) III. | Haydn and Beethoven

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Composer József Sári celebrates his 90th birthday this year. On this occasion, our celebratory concert features his chamber music and solo pieces composed for a variety of instruments, including world premieres, performed by outstanding musicians of the Hungarian contemporary music scene. József Sári is a leading figure of 20th and 21st century Hungarian music, both as a composer and as a teacher. Between the 1980s and the 2000s, his works were frequently performed not only in Hungary but also throughout Europe, especially in Germany. His pedagogical work was just as highly regarded: until his retirement, he taught generations of musicians at the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music and the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and as a guest professor at master classes. He has received numerous awards at home and abroad.

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The Tokyo-Budapest Ensemble has been performing in Hungary almost each summer since 2003, this concert being the ninth occasion that they are playing in the BMC Concert Hall. The Ensemble's artistic director is Kálmán Berkes, former music professor at the Musashino Academia Musicae in Japan for 25 years, and the artistic director of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra in Hungary since 2009. The ever-changing members of the Ensemble are selected each year from Japanese artists and the musicians of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, to present beloved pieces from the chamber music repertoire for strings.

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Niccolò Paganini is the most influential violin virtuoso in the history of music, and he was also a composer who loved to write for his instrument – pieces, of course, that only he could master. His dazzling virtuosity and overwhelmingly passionate performance earned him the title of the Devil's Violinist. The 24 Caprices is a series of character pieces for solo violin, each focusing on a different technical challenge, but also displaying a distinct mood and emotion. Nowadays, one or two of the Caprices is performed mainly as an encore in concert halls around the world; the complete series is rarely heard in one concert, as its performance still demands an almost superhuman level of effort and skill from the violinists even two centuries after its creation. There have been two such occasions in Hungary so far: in the 1970s Miklós Szenthelyi and in the mid-1990s József Lendvay attempted to conquer the Mount Everest of solo violin literature. Following in their footsteps, János Bodor, member and acting concertmaster of the National Philharmonic Orchestra and permanent concertmaster of the Danubia Orchestra, has now set his thrilling expedition to mark the anniversary of Paganini's birth.