
Budapest Festival Orchestra: Bartók & Kodály
Pianist Sir András Schiff and NYCOS National Girls Choir join the orchestra for a folk-influenced, all-Hungarian programme.
The vitality and intensity of the Budapest Festival Orchestra has captured music-lovers’ hearts all over the world, with the Guardian declaring their playing ‘sensational throughout’. With their founder-conductor Iván Fischer, they perform works by Bela Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, both influenced by Hungarian folk music.
Before the First World War, the two composers travelled around central Europe to record and collect traditional folksongs. Alongside Bartók’s popular Six Romanian Folk Dances, the orchestra presents the original pieces on traditional folk instruments. Next, Sir András Schiff is the soloist for Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto, composed in his last months as a surprise birthday gift for his pianist wife. The National Youth Choir of Scotland has a chance to shine in the Seven Choruses, with members of the orchestra adding their voices to the mix. Kodály’s Dances of Galanta ends the concert with a celebration of soaring melodies and high energy.
The strings delight in complex blends of textures, made of strands both sinewy and silken
Supported by Edwin Fox Foundation in memory of Joscelyn Fox
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer Conductor
Sir András Schiff Piano
NYCOS National Girls Choir
Christopher Bell Chorus Director
Bartók Romanian folk dances
Bartók Piano Concerto No 3
Bartók Seven Choruses
Kodály Dances of Galánta
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