In what promises to be a unique musical experience, familiar exponents of classical and world music overstep the boundaries of genre and style to expose Ferenc Liszt's lesser known side. Here, Liszt's relationship with Gypsy music comes under the spotlight, approached from the perspective of Gypsy musicians themselves. This is a fascinating topic as Liszt, one of the great performers of his age, was an admirer of wandering Roma musicians – unschooled in the best possible sense – ever since he sa...w them play as a small child near his home town of Doborján (Raiding, Austria). This experience also played a key role in awakening the young Liszt's Hungarian identity: it is no coincidence that his Hungarian Rhapsodies, which borrow heavily from Gypsy music, are often considered to be records of his “homecoming.” (Yet the world had to wait for Bartók and Kodály to fully discover the authentic Hungarian folk music that Liszt still identified with the Roma.) These fabulous musicians – many of whom were unable to read music – played music rich in virtuosity, improvisation and variations, and may even be seen as distant relations of the Romantic artist. In his famous essay on Gypsy culture, Liszt wrote of a young violinist: “Made from boards poorly stuck together and with strings more suitable for hanging than entertainment, it is on this violin that he plays the liveliest and latest 'hits' with wonderful bravery and unquenchable fire. Likewise, there was no lack of fluidity; he loved to play and could squeak for hours, half from memory, half off the cuff.” In what promises to be a unique musical experience, familiar exponents of classical and world music overstep the boundaries of genre and style to expose Ferenc Liszt's lesser known side. Here, Liszt's relationship with Gypsy music comes under the spotlight, approached from the perspective of Gypsy musicians themselves. This is a fascinating topic as Liszt, one of the great performers of his age, had been an admirer of wandering Roma musicians – unschooled in the best possible sense – ever since he saw them play as a child. This experience also played a key role in awakening the young Liszt's Hungarian identity. His Hungarian Rhapsodies borrow heavily from Gypsy music and are often considered to be records of his “homecoming,” even though it was Bartók and Kodály who revealed the true extent of authentic Hungarian folk music some 50 years later. Presented by: Palace of Arts
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.