Dohnányi–Kodály Marathon

30 January 2027

Anyone who loves spending an entire day immersed in the seemingly inexhaustible beauty of the work of one or more great composers will appreciate why Müpa Budapest’s Composer Marathon has grown into a much-anticipated highlight at the end of every winter. Following memorable editions devoted to Mendelssohn and Schumann, Debussy and Ravel, and Liszt and Berlioz, the 2027 Composer Marathon, on 30 January, once again brings together the music of two great composers in a full day of symphonic and chamber concerts, a concert for young audiences, an afternoon of choral music and, of course, the ever-popular concert film screenings. This time, we will immerse ourselves in the music of Ernő Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály, two towering figures of 20th-century Hungarian music. We will revisit the familiar melodies of Kodály’s Háry János, the Dances of Galánta and the composer’s works for mixed choir, while discovering – or rediscovering – the beauty of Dohnányi’s Suite in F-sharp minor and Symphony No. 2, as well as his symphonic cantata, Cantus vitae. From ten in the morning until ten at night, some of Hungary’s finest orchestras, conductors, singers and instrumental soloists will guide audiences on a journey of musical discovery, filling the halls of Müpa with familiar favourites and hidden gems from the rich legacy of these two immortal Hungarian masters.