In keeping with tradition, the colourful programme for the Hungarian National Philharmonic's season-opening concert features works by Béla Bartók, this time almost providing a cross-section by showing the composer's different faces, so to speak, at various stages of his life. Representing his youthful mature works is 1910's Two Pictures, evocative of his sprawling nature music and, in its details even this early on, of the rustic sounds of Dance Suite, as well as the rich, often Late Roman...tic-sounding but at the same time Gallic in its lush colours, Four Pieces for Orchestra, an undeservedly underplayed cycle of incomparable beauty among its kind in the symphonic literature. In Dance Suite, premiered in 1923, Bartók positioned the typical motifs from the folk music of the peoples of the Danube region one against the other as a personal profession of faith - although he did end up replacing the Slovak passage, which he felt didn't measure up, with an arabesque.
He wrote the classically restrained Piano Concerto No. 3, his last completed work, in New York, for his wife. It is interesting to note that the slow movement, subtitled The Recovered Patient's Song of Gratitute in a Lydian Key and reminiscent of a movement from a Beethoven string quartet, features bird calls that Bartók had collected. Dezső Ránki is one of very few artists around who can speak the musical language of this late masterpiece as if it were his mother tongue.
Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Refreshments – Without the Queue
Thanks to our new catering service at the Átrium Snack Bar, you can forget about waiting in line during intermissions for some refreshments and get your order prepped especially for you by the time the intermission actually starts. Find out more about pre-ordering here.
Safe ticket purchase
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