“I am very glad to be able to tell you that your viola concerto is ready in draft, so that only the score has to be written, which means a purely mechanical work, so to speak. If nothing happens, I can be through in 5 or 6 weeks,” wrote Bartók to violist William Primrose. The score, however, was never written, and Bartók’s last work remained a torso – some even consider it one of the most problematic examples of the unfinished work. Tibor Serly used the drafts to write a performable work, which,... his best intentions notwithstanding, cannot be considered an authentic Bartók piece. It is nonetheless an exciting composition, “music calling to us from the borderline of being and nonexistence – which is probably what makes it particularly interesting, even mystic.” It was Bartók who suggested László Lajtha to director George Hoellering, who was looking to find musical accompaniment for a film that employed documentarist devices to reproduce social reality, and was considered revolutionary in the 1930s. Based on “Bleak Horse”, a short story by Zsigmond Móricz, the screenplay focuses on the Cineges, a family that represents a way of life about to disappear. Set apart by its merits from the rest of the popular Hungarian cinema of the time, Hoellering’s film was seen by a critic as “the only trustworthy record of the Hungarian puszta, the way of life of its inhabitants.” The music Lajtha wrote is not only excellent, but also reveals a profound knowledge of the environment shown in the film. Celebrating the 120th anniversary of the composer’s birth, this concert will offer an opportunity to appreciate not only the artistic qualities of the work, but its power as well to enhance the film’s dramaturgy. Each of the six movements of the suite version will find its harmonic counterpart in the cinematic excerpts, in the spirit of the original film.
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.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.