Budapest Spring Festival (Budapesti Tavaszi Fesztival)



Photo Source: Budapest Spring Festival. Photo of Baskirov in concert, by Andrea Felvégi
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Country and Region Hungary — Pest County
Type of Festival Drama, Music
Location of Festival Budapest, Pest County, Hungary
Festival Address Information

Budapest Festival Center
Szervita tér 5.
1052 - Budapest
Hungary
Phone: (36) 1 486 3300
Fax: (36) 1 486 3310
Information: (36) (1) 486 3311
Email: info@festivalcity.hu

Festival Description

The Spring Festival in 2009 will be celebrating its 29th anniversary with renown musicians and artists. Since January 1996 the Budapest Festival Center Kht. has been the official organizer of various cultural events of the Municipality of Budapest. The three major annual festivals of Budapest—the Spring Festival, the Budapest Fair and the Autumn Festival have been organized, as the exclusive coordinator, by the Budapest Festival Center Kht.

The Budapest Spring Festival was launched a quarter of a century ago and since last year it has been officially classified in the top third of cultural festivals of international standing. This flattering classification was made by an independent professional body judging on the basis of strict principles, making its decision just as valuable as any prestigious award. It confirms that the series of events has fulfilled the hopes of its founders: with the attraction of a broad spectrum of the arts, an excellent selection of artists and works, a parade of world stars and young talents, it has made Budapest in early spring a popular destination for cultural tourism.

Festival Dates March 20 - April 5 2009
Festival Links http://www.festivalcity.hu

Festival Story:

Music lovers of the world unite! If you’ve ever wondered when and where this unification happens, a good bet is at the moment spring hits Budapest. This festival is for everyone who wants to sleep, eat, and drink music from the early morning until late at night. Festival offerings usually begin at 10:00 in the morning with the opening of exhibitions related to the music events. From mid-afternoon on to late at night there are choices ranging from operetta and dance to orchestral and chamber music. Many of the performances take place in buildings that are as architecturally significant as the performance is. To have the total cultural experience, one must sample as well the deserts at the coffee houses. It’s like being in a novel.

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Festival Events:

Orchestral concerts program 2008:
  • March 14, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Bavarian State Orchestra
      R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
      Beethoven—Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Eroica), op. 55
    • Conductor—Kent Nagano
  • March 15, Academy of Music, 7:45pm
    • Budapest Festival Orchestra
      R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben – symphonic poem, op. 40
      Brahms: Double concerto for violin and cello in A minor, op. 102
    • Conductor—Pinchas Steinberg, with Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Miklós Perényi (cello)
  • March 16, Academy of Music, 7:45pm
    • Budapest Festival Orchestra
      R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben – symphonic poem, op. 40
      Brahms: Double concerto for violin and cello in A minor, op. 102
    • Conductor—Pinchas Steinberg, with Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Miklós Perényi (cello)
  • March 17, Academy of Music, 7:30pm
    • Puccini: Messa di Gloria
      Dohnányi: Stabat Mater
    • Conductor—Gábor Hollerung, with Angelica Girls’ Choir (choirmaster: Zsuzsanna Gráf), Male Choir of the Army Ensemble (choirmaster: Péter Drucker), Dohnányi Orchestra
  • March 20, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Bamberg Symphony Orhestra
      Haydn: “Svanisce in un momento” - choir from the oratorio “The return of Tobias”
      Haydn: The Storm
      Mozart: Symphony in D major (Prague), K 504
      Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
    • Conductor—Ádám Fischer, with Hungarian Radio Choir (choirmaster: Kálmán Strausz)
  • March 23, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir
      Bach: St John’s Passion
    • Conductor—Sir John Eliot Gardiner
      With—Mark Padmore (Evangelist), Dietrich Henschel (Jesus)
  • March 25, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • National Philharmonics
      Bartók: Violin concerto
      Bartók: Duke Bluebeard’s Castle - semi-staged performance
    • Conductor—Zoltán Kocsis, Stage Director—Attila Vidnyánszky, with Barnabás Kelemen (violin), Bernadett Wiedmann, N.N., Péter Fried (voice)
  • March 28, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Aria Recital by Roberto Alagna
      Puccini arias
      With—Budapest Concert Orchestra (MÁV)
  • March 28, Academy of Music, 7:45pm
    • Budapest Festival Orchestra
      Beethoven: Piano concerto No. 4 in G major, op. 58
      Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E major
    • Conductor—Iván Fischer, with Radu Lupu (piano)
  • March 29, Academy of Music, 7:30pm
    • Les Musiciens du Louvre - Grenoble
      Canteloube: Chants d’Auvergne
      Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 1
      Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 2
    • Conductor—Marc Minkowski, with Anne Sofie von Otter (voice)
  • March 30, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
      Bartók: Four Pieces for Orchestra
      Peter Eötvös: Seven – Hungarian premičre
      Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
      Stravinsky: The Firebird - suite
    • Conductor—Peter Eötvös, with Akiko Suwanai (violin)
Chamber evening program 2008:
  • March 15, Festetics Palace, Hall of Mirrors, 7:30pm
    • Cimbalom recital by Ágnes Szakály
  • March 20, Festetics Palace, Hall of Mirrors, 7:30pm
  • March 21, Marble Hall of the Hungarian Radio, 7:30pm
    • Piano recital by Mariko Nakayama, most successful participant of the Franz Liszt Seminar, Sapporo
  • March 22, HAS Ceremonial Hall, Roosevelt tér, 7:30pm
    • Chamber recital by Gyula Stuller (violin), Yukari Shimanuki (viola), Miklós Perényi (cello) and Dénes Várjon (piano)
      Mahler: Piano quartet movement
      Mozart: Piano quartet in G minor
      Brahms: Piano quartet in G minor
  • March 25, Marble Hall of the Hungarian Radio, 7:30pm
    • Piano recital by Elmar Gaszanov
  • March 25, HAS Ceremonial Hall, Roosevelt tér, 7:30pm
    • Atos Trio
      Beethoven: Piano trio in B flat major, op. 11
      Mendelssohn: Piano trio No. 1 in D minor, op. 49
      Brahms: Horn Trio, op. 40
    • With Szabolcs Zempléni (horn)
  • March 26, HAS Ceremonial Hall, Roosevelt tér, 7:30pm
    • Ensemble of the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival
      Stravinsky: Histoire du soldat (version for violin, clarinet and piano)
      Brahms: Trio op. 114 for piano, clarinet and cello
      Schumann: Six pieces in canon form, op. 56
      Hindemith: Quartet for piano, clarinet, violin and cello (1938)
    • Members of the ensemble—Elena Bashkirova (piano), Latica Honda-Rosenberg (violin), Kyril Zlotnikov (cello), Karl-Heinz Steffens (clarinet)
  • March 26th
    • Academy of Music, 7:30pm
      Amadinda Percussion Group
      “Around the World in 80 minutes”, Traditional and contemporary music from 5 continents
  • March 27, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Violin recital by Maxim Vengerov
      Mozart: Adagio in E major (arranged by Max Rostal), K 261
      Beethoven: Violin Sonata in C minor, op. 30 No. 2
      Prokofiev: Violin Sonata in F minor, op. 80
      Shostakovich-Tziganov: Ten Preludes from op. 34 Nos. 2, 6, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 20
    • With: Igor Levit (piano) http://www.maximvengerov.net/
Opera program 2008:
  • March 18, Hungarian State Opera House, 7:30pm
    • Puccini: Edgar - Hungarian premičre; semi-staged performance
      With Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Stage Director, András Éry-Kovács
  • March 21, Hungarian State Opera House, 5:00pm
    • Wagner: Parsifal
  • March 22, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Pfitzner: Palestrina - Hungarian prčmiere
      Conductor—Zoltán Peskó, Director—Balázs Kovalik
  • March 28th
    • Hungarian State Opera House, 7:30pm
      Puccini: La Bohčme
  • March 30, Hungarian State Opera House, 7:30pm
    • Bizet: Carmen
Operetta/Musical program 2008:
  • March 22, Budapest Operetta Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Lehár: The Merry Widow
  • March 23, Budapest Operetta Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Lehár: The Merry Widow
  • March 27, Thália Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Tibor Kocsák: Abigél- Musical - Premiére
      Based on the novel by Magda Szabó
  • March 28, Thália Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Tibor Kocsák: Abigél-musical
      Based on the novel by Magda Szabó
  • March 29, Thália Theatre, 3:00pm
    • Tibor Kocsák:Abigél-musical Based on the novel by Magda Szabó
  • March 29, Thália Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Tibor Kocsák:Abigél-musical
      Based on the novel by Magda Szabó
  • March 30, Thália Theatre, 3:00pm
    • Tibor Kocsák:Abigél-musical
      Based on the novel by Magda Szabó
  • March 30, Thália Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Tibor Kocsák:Abigél-musical
      Based on the novel by Magda Szabó
Crossover program 2008:
  • March 18, Academy of Music, 7:30pm
  • March 24, Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, 7:30pm
    • Metamorphosis
      World music concert by the 25-year-old Méta Ensemble
      Director—Ferenc Novák, and Guests of the Méta Ensemble—Armenisana Brass Band (Romania), Balázs Bágyi Jazz Quartet, György Ferenczi and his Group, Fiddlers 4 (USA), Gajtan Ensemble (Bulgaria), Cathal Hayden and the 4menandadog (Ireland), Heavy Méta, Kormorán Memory Band, Muzsikás Ensemble, Pravo Group, Ferenc Radics (violin), Szászcsávás Group, Tamás Takács, Soloists of the Honvéd and the Budapest Dance Ensembles, Presenter—Péter Novák
Folk music/folk dance program 2008:
  • March 23, Academy of Music, 7:30pm
    • Dance
  • March 14, Festival Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Philadanco! - The Philadelphia Dance Company
      Blue
      Artistic director—Joan Myers Brown, Choreographer—Christopher L. Huggins, David Brown, George Faison, Ronald K. Brown
  • March 16, Festival Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Philadanco! - The Philadelphia Dance Company
      Blue
    • Artistic leader—Joan Myers Brown, with Corey Baker, Erin D. Barnett, Elisabeth H. Bell, Neda Y. Ebrahimi, Miguel Edson, Bellamy F. Eure, Tommie W. Evans, Afua Hall, Gary W. Jeter, II., Ahmad M. Lemons, Erin Moore, Odara N. Jabali-Nash, Mora-Amina Parker, Devin Roberts, Jay Staten, Tracy Vogt
    • Choreographer—David Brown, George Faison, Ronald K. Brown, Christopher L. Huggins
  • March 22, Festival Theatre, 7:00pm
    • Limón Dance Company
      I. The Unsung, Choreographer—José Limón
      II. Dances for Isadora, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—Frédéric Chopin
      III. Moor’s Pavanne, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—Henry Purcell (Simon Sadoff átdolgozásában), Artistic director—Carla Maxwell
  • March 23, Festival Theatre, 3:00pm
    • Limón Dance Company
      I. The Traitor, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—Gunther Schuller
      II. Evening Songs, Choreographer—Jirí Kylian, Music—Antonin Dvořak
      III. Moor’s Pavanne, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—Henry Purcell (arranged by Simon Sadoff), Artistic director—Carla Maxwell
  • March 23, Festival Theatre, 8:00pm
    • Limón Dance Company
      I. The Traitor, Choreographer—José Limón, Music: Gunther Schuller
      II. Evening Songs, Choreographer—Jirí Kylian, Music—Antonin Dvořak
      III. Moor’s Pavanne, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—Henry Purcell (arranged by Simon Sadoff), Artistic director—Carla Maxwell
  • March 24, Festival Theatre, 3:00pm
    • Limón Dance Company
      I. Suite from A Choreographic Offering, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—J.S. Bach: Musical offering
      II. Three Short Numbers, Choreographer—José Limón
      III. Concerto Six Twenty-Two, Choreographer—Lar Lubovich, Music—Mozart: Concerto for Clarinet in A Major, K 622, Artistic director—Carla Maxwell
  • March 24, Festival Theatre, 8:00pm
    • Limón Dance Company
      I. Suite from A Choreographic Offering, Choreographer—José Limón, Music—J.S. Bach: Musical offering
      II. Three Short Numbers, Choreographer—José Limón
      III. Concerto Six Twenty-Two, Choreographer—Lar Lubovich, Music—Mozart: Concerto for Clarinet in A Major, K 622, Artistic director—Carla Maxwell
Additional events 2008:
  • March 24, Budapest History Museum, 11:00am
    • Renaissance Day
    • Open-air programmes—programmes for children, demonstration of weapons and tournament, fanfares, dancers and musicians, unusual visit to a museum, demonstration and tasting of period dishes.
  • March 24, Budapest History Museum, 6:00pm
    • Renaissance Supper—including entertainment in the museum. With: Company Canario Historical Dance Ensemble, István Kónya (lute)

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