Midnight Music is a concert series organized by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, aiming to reach music lovers who live by the moon and sleep by the sun. Instead of seats, beanbags welcome audience members, and they are scattered around the floor – you can sit wherever you want. The musicians are seated amongst the audience, so don’t be surprised if you are asked to turn sheet-music pages for the cellist or the violinist. With the Midnight Music concerts, the orchestra aims to reach young people who are more accustomed to enjoying Budapest’s nightlife, casting off the elegant constraints of traditional concert halls to instead take over an open event hall at Millenáris. For this reason, these shows start as late as 11:30pm, after the traditional symphonic performances end.
Iván Fischer, the music director, founder, conductor, and composer of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, shared the following thoughts about Midnight Music with
We Love Budapest:
“It always bugged me when musicians, schools of music, and other institutes discussed methods for familiarizing the younger generations with classical music. I think that’s not the problem. Younger generations are familiar with classical music. They like it, it’s not a matter of them not wanting to go to a classical music concert. The real question is: why is it that the audience of classical music concerts is mostly the older generation? First: because they are expensive. Second: youngsters don’t really like to go where the older generation goes too, as they feel strange there. Third: the form, the ritual of these concerts is a bit old-fashioned, and, well, far from fresh.
“What is the solution? The concert has to start at a time when the older generation already sleeps. And around 11pm, the younger generation is alive, enjoying the nightlife, while their parents sleep. So, if the concert starts sometime around midnight, it is a guarantee that only they show up – one problem down. Another problem is the form of the whole thing. It’s easy: at Millenáris, we’ve created an environment – with chairs, pillows, and beanbags – where everybody can feel at home. Also, the fact that we aren’t dressing up for this night, we wear street clothes, also makes it more easygoing – two problems down. And last but not least, it has to be cheaper. Not everybody is a yuppie, we have to think about students too.
“There was also a fourth question – what if the tram doesn’t function late at night; you still have to get to Millenáris for the show. So, we’ve decided that the best solution would be to give a 30% discount for those who arrive by bicycle. This way, more people would ride their bike and they can get home, no matter what happens. That’s all, but there is nothing about Midnight Music that aims to familiarize younger generations with classical music, because I think it’s already popular amongst them.”
Midnight Music concerts are organized multiple times every year (the next will be on January 23), and you don’t have to feel like a moron for lacking expertise in classical music, because what matters is that the audience actually enjoys these concerts. Millenáris has outstanding acoustics, and the feeling that the audience and the orchestra are practically one and the same makes you want to return as soon as possible. Or at least, that’s what we always do.
If you don’t want to miss any of the forthcoming Midnight Music concerts, like their Facebook page. The following dates are already confirmed: January 23, February 6, and April 2.
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