Conductor: Béla Drahos Featuring: László Fenyő – cello, Alba Regia Mixed Choir (choirmaster: Imre Kneifel), Primavera Mixed Choir (choirmaster: Ottilia Horányi) Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet – fantasy overture Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, op. 33 Boldizsár Csiky: Concertatio – Hungarian première Kodály: Te Deum of Budavár The Székesfehérvár orchestra was created in 1913 from teachers at the local music schools. Since 1979 it was part of the Vörösmarty Theatre and in 1993 became an official symphonic orchestra. Over the years, the musicians have worked with some distinguished names including Annie Fischer, Pablo Casals, Ernő Dohnányi, Jenő Hubay, József Simándy and József Szigeti. Besides complete operas and grand oratorios, the orchestra also performs works by contemporary Hungarian composers and has made numerous CDs, and since 2002 has been closely associated with the Musica Regia Festival which enriches Székesfehérvár’s cultural life. Since 1999, the orchestra has been led by flautist and conductor Béla Drahos who was born in Kaposvár and at the age of eleven, played in the local symphony orchestra. A year later, he became principal flautist of the Gergely Csiky Theatre in Kaposvár. In 1976, he was appointed solo flautist of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and that same year founded the Radio Orchestra Flute Quintet which won the Colmar Flute Quintet Competition in 1979. He has performed in the world’s première venues as soloist, chamber musician or orchestral player, among them the London Barbican Centre, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Tokyo Suntory Hall and the Salzburg Festspielhaus. His experiences with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Lovro von Matačić, Antal Doráti and Lamberto Gardelli strengthened his interest in conducting and in 1991 he enrolled in Karl Österreicher’s master class in Vienna and encouraged by the distinguished Austrian conductor, a year later made his debut with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has conducted increasingly often, frequently performing in concerts as both flautist and conductor.

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