Violinist and conductor Peter Rundel is a welcome guest with leading European symphony orchestras. He is equally comfortable in a range of styles and brings exceptional sensitivity to even the most complex musical works. He is an active opera conductor and has collaborated with theatre artists such as Peter Konwitschny, Calixto Bieito, Philippe Arlaud, Peter Mussbach, Heiner Goebbels, and Willy Decker. Peter Rundel was a violinist with Ensemble Modern for over a decade and studied conducting under the mentorship of Michael Gielen and Péter Eötvös. As a guest of the UMZE Chamber Ensemble, he can apply his dramatic imagination in Four Poems by Anna Akhmatova and his analytical thoroughness in Karlheinz Stockhausen's compositions. The concert will also feature a rarely performed piece, Luigi Nono's work for voice, wind instruments, and electronics (Omaggio a György Kurtág), written between 1983 and 1986. With this composition, the Italian master responded to Kurtág's choral work Omaggio a Luigi Nono. However, it is likely that there is more behind this gesture, as Nono himself said: “Kurtág's music convinced me that I had to find new ways to bring sounds to life.” For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu

The lanky guitarist Tal Farlow was completely self-taught: he learned no trade except sign painting, and there was a time when he made his living from that, too. After the war, he played on the club circuit on the East Coast. In '49, Red Norvo, the famous vibraphonist, hired him for his band, where his playing caused a sensation. For his first record as a leader, released in '54, he invited rhythm guitarist Don Arnone to accompany him. Farlow often plucked the two lower strings with his thumb while playing chords and melody on the top four strings, employing sweeping tempos and winding melodic lines. Although we hear two guitarists, the music is not intended to be a mere showcase of technical virtuosity; the interpretation is always subordinate to the mood of the tune and the narrative of the given song.

The music of Kéknyúl (Blue Rabbit, founded in 2008) is rooted in the soul and funk music of the 70s, mixed with urban dance music. The sound is defined by two members basically: Mátyás Premecz (keys) and Andy Hefler (vocals). Mátyás Premecz is a well-known organ player in Hungarian pop culture, with such bands as The Qualitons or Barabás Lőrinc Eklektric, but his name is always mentioned together with his trademark Hammond organ, and that’s exactly why Kéknyúl was founded: to be able to fully exploit the possibilities of the instrument. Andy Hefler was born in Los Angeles and has moved to Hungary in 1993. He’s an outstanding figure in the Hungarian cultural scene being a renowned actor, director and singer.  

This Blue Note album was compiled from the 1947–49 recordings of Theodore "Fats" Navarro following his death at the age of 26 due to illness and addiction. He played alongside the giants of the bebop generation, including Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Tadd Dameron. He was admired not only for his full-bodied trumpet tone, which carried on the tradition of the previous generation, but also for his clear and precise melodic phrasing and modern improvisations, comparable to those of the greatest players. On the memorial album tracks, he performed with mixed lineups, including trumpeter Howard McGhee and pianist Dameron, always maintaining the same dynamism and cheerful, communicative attitude. This compilation features nearly the entire great, pioneering generation of musicians; the MAO soloists will now evoke the quintet numbers from this album in their own interpretation.

This six-concert series for solo cello is based around Johann Sebastian Bach's suites. Alongside the well-known cello suites, Tamás Zétényi will also perform the French suites, originally for keyboard, which he and composer Marcell Dargay arranged for cello together. In addition to exploring the multifaceted suites, the cellist also aims to place the inexhaustible richness of Bach’s style in a wider context. The performance of the cello suites will be preceded by one piece from Domenico Gabrielli's Ricercar series, which, dating from 1689, are among the earliest examples of solo cello works and offer a glimpse into the virtuoso Italian music of the generation before Bach. The one-hour programme is rounded off by a Caprice of Joseph Marie Clément Dall'Abaco, working one generation after Bach. The style of the Caprices, written around 1770, represents a transition between Baroque and Classical, approaching the world of Empfindsamkeit, hallmarked by the name of Bach’s most successful son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Yet their emotional, melancholic and sensitive tone can be seen as a direct successor to Bach's suites.