In the 2014/15 season, the percussion ensemble Amadinda celebrates its 30th anniversary as a unique splash of colour on Hungary’s cultural palette. The three main areas of its activity are the performance of now classic 20th century works, championing of contemporary music, and presentation of traditional music from all corners of the world. The quartet led by Zoltán Rácz has significant achievements to its name in all three areas on the international level. Three giants of 20th century composition – John Cage, György Ligeti and Steve Reich, the latter still active today – have all composed pieces for the ensemble. Every single concert by Amadinda is an exciting adventure as the audience can always be sure of experiencing something they have never experienced before, hearing works they would not otherwise hear but which Amadinda has chosen to perform for very good reason.
Naturally this evening promises to be no different. One of the most interesting composers of the 20th century was Toru Takemitsu, whose piece to be heard at this concert was written in 1990 for five percussionists and orchestra. Gergely Vajda, the principal conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra who has also been active in the United States for more than a decade, says of his work to be presented here: “Drums, drums, drums focuses on employing three kinds of drummer as soloists. Besides a timpanist, it uses a player of the bass drum and other untuned drums, as well as a ‘jazz drummer’ who is often called upon to produce swing, hard rock and rock ballad patterns. This is my first attempt at a contemporary ‘classical’ composition incorporating these rhythms.” Levente Gyöngyösi is known for accessible music that can be enjoyed even on first hearing, and is one of the most frequently performed young composers. The work here, in which he, too, experiments with numerous exciting forms of expression, was written for the 30-year-old Amadinda ensemble.

Presented by: Palace of Arts