Princes, counts, kings and emperors, along with hussars, cunning young brides and bandits... Few people in Hungary are unfamiliar with Zoltán Kodály's heroes of song, the famous bandit Vidróczki and the boastful veteran Háry János, who defeated the French emperor Napoleon with one swing of his sword. We invite children and adults, parents and grandparents alike, on an adventure full of fairy tales and legends - and beautiful music and songs played by outstanding musicians - where we'll trek through the forests of the Mátra with the bandit Vidróczki, recruit hussars, play ‘verbunkos' music and roam all the way from Prussia to Vienna.
Although these versions being played are arrangements of Kodály's compositions, this is in no way ‘blasphemy'. The undisguised objective is in harmony with Kodály's maxim: "Music should belong to everyone!” The aim this time, as before, is to expose the broadest possible range of present and future music-lovers to this music. The Ballad of Márton Vidróczki, which forms the backbone of Pictures from the Mátra, is itself a reworking of a folk song, and it was in the hands of Kodály the composer that the originally folk melodies played in Háry János took on dramatic form.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest