"The title could be translated as Stuttering Oratorio,” writes Péter Eötvös of his new work. "The protagonist is a prophet who can only deliver his prophecies with a stutter, which leads to some complications. The genre is a so-called secular oratorio, which differs from a religious oratorio in that it deals with our daily lives, describing the state of things in 2016 and attempting to foresee what has already happened in the meantime. The author of the libretto, Péter Esterházy, proved to be a true prophet when he wrote these lines in 2011: ‘We need borders. We put up fences everywhere; we even fence in the fences. We're on the inside, but outside... well, that's not us. […] Perhaps for the first time, we now have nothing to say about the future.' In this oratorio the serious thoughts in the libretto are conveyed with humour, and this is what also inspired the musical choices. The Prophet was based on the figure of a 10th century monk known as Notker the Stammerer. He was a distinguished literary and musical figure in his day, later beatified. In our oratorio, the Prophet is joined by a chorus and two other soloists: a good-tempered angel who watches the action from above and a narrator who helps the audience better understand the events as they unfold. The chorus represents society, whose task is only to praise with the Halleluja.” This performance of a work by a contemporary Hungarian composer of international standing features two world-renowned singers, an Austrian actor who has played the title role for years in the annual production of Jedermann (Everyman) at the Salzburg Festival, and of course the incomparable Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Besides the oratorio by Eötvös, the programme features a pair of elegiac compositions from Vienna in the first decade of the 20th century - an a cappella choral work, interpreted by a noted Hungarian ensemble, and the opening movement of an unfinished symphony - which idiomatically represent a bridge between the music of the Romantic and modern eras.

Halleluja - Oratorium balbulum by Péter Eötvös was co-commissioned by Salzburg Festival, Wiener Konzerthaus in collaboration with Wien Modern, supported by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation, Müpa Budapest, WDR and ACHT BRÜCKEN | Musik für Köln, Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The concert will be preceded from 6.00 pm by a conversation entitled Prelude, where ticket holders will be invited to get to know the performing musician and the works to be performed more closely.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest