Internationally famous Hungarian percussionist Kornél Horváth made his debut in 2007 at the Festival Theatre with his duo with the Brazilian guitarist and singer Alegre Correa and the huge success he enjoyed was followed by a host of international concerts. The uniqueness of the duo is that improvisation plays a tremendous role in their music. According to the two guys, written themes only comprise about twenty percent of all that we will hear, everything else will emerge on stage as the mood dictates. This “risk taking” poses no small challenge for the artists but of course, this is hardly unknown in the world of jazz. Alegre Correa learned to improvise to the highest standards back in Brazil and this attitude coloured his musical career. This led to an invitation to be a member of the last line up of the Joe Zawinul Syndicate. Zawinul, as we learn from his autobiography, felt he was only truly in his element when improvising and the Correa-Horváth duo’s music making shows the same spirit. It creates an elemental tension on stage, which guarantees success. In December 2008, the two artists spent three days in the recording studio playing non-stop. The end result was their first record. Audiences should not expect to hear this material reprised note by note. It is their mutual presence which fundamentally inspires both members of the duo, but other factors will as well: the environment, the audience, the seasons, the time of day, the weather, and as these change, so does the music of this remarkable formation.

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