To mark the anniversary of the day of Zoltán Kocsis's passing, his former orchestra and ensembles will pay tribute to the man who led the Hungarian National Philharmonic for nearly two decades. The programme for the evening can also be considered symbolic, as all the pieces which feature are in some way linked to Kocsis, who is one of the most important Hungarian musicians of recent decades. Alongside two superb vocal soloists, Gabriella Balga and Anatoly Fokanov, the evening will also feature Misi Boros, who introduced himself to wider Hungarian audiences in 2014 when he won the 'Junior' category in the Hungarian Television classical music talent contest, the Virtuózok (Virtuosos).
Chopin wrote and presented his eternally beautiful piano concerto in Warsaw at 20 years of age. We will hear a performance of the piece from Misi Boros, who has now matured from child prodigy to teenage talent status. The composer Mária Antal, who lives in Great Britain, completed her music studies at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. Antal's composition to be performed at this concert is inspired by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's classic work, book and thoughts on the experience of flow. The style of the piece is perhaps closest to symphony music, featuring the movements Focus, Clarity - Timelessness, Ecstasy.
The second half of the concert will feature a piece of music from a composer who Zoltán Kocsis was extremely keen to introduce to Hungarian audiences. Rachmaninoff's undeservedly rarely performed The Bells, which was composed in 1913 for Edgar Allan Poe's poem, is a large-scale choral symphonic piece in four movements, with the final movement featuring the poignant tolling of the funeral bells.

The concert will be preceded by a screening for ticket holders at 6 pm of the film titled Bartók's Dramatic Works Conducted by Zoltán Kocsis. The documentary produced by Müpa Budapest made of the performances of The Bluebeard's Castle directed by Csaba Káel, featuring Andrea Szántó, Gábor Bretz and Károly Mécs, and The Miraculous Mandarin performed by Ballet of Pécs with the choreography of Balázs Vincze. The recording shows Zoltán Kocsis conducting the Hungarian National Philharmonic.

Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic