The city now feels free, music feels free, dance feels free! For the past two years, all of us have spent most of the spring at home, but luckily this year, nothing can stop everyone from enjoying the brilliant sunshine and the super events the city has to offer. From 1 April, the cultural excitement will be bigger than ever before when the second Bartók Spring International Arts Weeks jumps into action. Apart from Budapest, this time you can enjoy events in Miskolc, Debrecen and Győr. A whole host of urban rhythms, world stars, high-brow and pop music talents, exciting dance performances and unforgettable theatrical productions await audiences at special venues. In our selection, we present our ten favourite events for Bartók Spring not to be missed.
1/10
Recirquel: IMA
If you only visit one Bartók Spring event, we definitely recommend this new production by Recirquel on 1 April, as we are constantly impressed by the performances of one of the world’s leading new circus companies. The special acrobatics, the dance, the theatrical elements and the amazing energy flowing from the stage create a magical atmosphere. This production, IMA, invites the audience on an inner journey between installations that evoke the depths of the universe and the space brought to life by a pulsating light emanating from millions of points. More details
2/10
City beat: Budapest Ritmo
Between 7 and 10 April, the city will be dancing to the rhythm of world
music, as Budapest Ritmo, one of the most important world music festivals in
Europe, will unfold as part of Bartók Spring. Fusion styles, unexpected
cultural mixes, striking new instruments, exciting concerts and world stars entertain
the crowd on the three stages of the Akvárium, the Szimpla Kert and the Toldi.
The festival will be opened by the Budapest Ritmo showcase, where six world
music groups from the Balkans and Eastern Europe selected by a professional
jury will be performing at the Szimpla Kert from 7pm. Then from 10.30pm, the Polish Dance House provide the entertainment until dawn. And that’s only
the first day... In addition, this year Ritmo will be enriched with music-film
screenings, for example, such as the joint work of Morda, Gábor Reisz and
Bálint Szimler, one definitely not to be missed. Ritmo Picnics will then take world
music to Miskolc, Debrecen and Győr in April and May. More details
3/10
Parádé: Boban Marković & Székesfehérvár Ballet Theatre
If there are two things you wouldn’t think of putting together, it’s Boban
Marković and ballet, but what a shame you didn’t! The uncrowned king of Balkan
music released the album Mrak ('Darkness') in 2019. It was about the joy of
making music together, but its speciality is that it mixes spontaneous, fiery
musical elements with quite restrained songs, age-old musical traditions
and current trends. The variety of this album, and the dynamic and dramatic world
of music within it, inspired director Attila Egerházi (pictured). This is how the work
entitled Parádé (‘Parade’), on the fringes of live concert and contemporary
dance theatre, was born, interpreted by the Székesfehérvár Ballet Theatre. This
can be seen on 3 April at the Várkert Bazár. More
details
4/10
Péter Sárik Trio: Bluebeard
There is no doubt that Béla Bartók is one of the most important
composers in Hungary, so it is vital that people get to know, preserve and
carry on his work. However, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle is not one of the
easiest pieces to take in. His first and only opera is sometimes difficult for audiences
to understand and digest, but there have already been a number of great
adaptations that try to bring this piece of music closer to the listener. Péter
Sárik has now spun his own interpretation, as he translates Bluebeard into the
language of jazz. It promises to be a very exciting fusion, and most certainly
give you the chance to get to know Bartók’s work from another angle at Müpa on 3
April. More details
5/10
Anthony Roth Costanzo aria evening
Classical music fans, listen up, there’s a real world star on the
horizon! On 7 April, you can prepare yourselves for an unforgettable concert at
Müpa, as Anthony Roth Costanzo, the performer chosen by Musical America as Vocalist
of the Year in 2019, is coming to Hungary. This impressive countertenor performs contemporary music and Baroque classics. For this concert in
Budapest, the works of Händel will be brought to life, accompanied by the Orfeo
Orchestra and the Purcell Choir. More details
6/10
Bartók & Arabic folk music: Pure Source
As part of Hungarian Day at the Dubai World Expo, visitors witnessed a
special gala performance where, in addition to Béla Bartók’s collection of
Hungarian folk music, pieces from his lesser-known works of Arabic folk music
were also performed. And what a show it was! The piece was staged by singer Guessous
Mesi, in collaboration with the Ballet Company of Győr and the Hungarian State
Folk Ensemble. The production will also be performed at Müpa on 8 April at 7.30
pm. Thanks to spectacular dances, the classically Hungarian pieces of Bartók’s
oeuvre, the special Arabic sounds and the visual effects, you can become better
acquainted with one of the greatest composers of Hungarian music. More details
7/10
Impulsive & spontaneous: Signum Saxophone Quartet
Daredevil guys, special saxophone melodies and a spontaneous,
characteristic way of performing… that’s how the Signum Saxophone Quartet can
be described. The band was formed in Cologne in 2006 by four excellent
musicians who decided to team up. Their performances are extremely impulsive, and you
remain under the influence of their music for hours after their concerts. Since
2006, Signum have toured all over the world, playing at prestigious venues and
making their debut at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2013. They recently won the
Best Band Award at the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Festival. To enjoy Bartók’s
Romanian folk dances or Bach’s music accompanied by the irresistible sounds of
the saxophone, head to the Budapest Music Center on 11 April at 7.30 pm! More
details
8/10
Ludwig Museum: Extended Present
As Bartók Spring is a real all-arts festival, in addition to theatrical
shows, dance performances, world music and classical music concerts, fine arts
shouldn’t be left out either. The brand new exhibition at the Ludwig Museum, Extended
Present – Global States of Transitoriness, opens on 7 April at 6pm, displaying
important works by both local and foreign contemporary artists. As recent years
have fundamentally shaken our faith in world unity and pushed us into a
continuous state of transition, it promises to be exciting to face the squeezed
reality of our present with the help of fine arts. More details
9/10
Péter Eötvös: Sleepless
If modern-day issues are presented in the language of fine arts at the Ludwig exhibition,
then it’s worth catching Jon Fosse’s contemporary opera ballad at Müpa on 12
April. The main characters in this bitter opera story about growing up are two
teenagers who lose everything while they are expecting their child. They get no
help from the adults either, and when the boy sees that he can’t make their
situation any better, he makes the people who excommunicated them disappear.
The main moral question the opera proposes is whether anyone should take the
life of another to save their own family. The characters in this desperate story
are played by talented foreign performers, accompanied by the Hungarian National
Philharmonic, conducted by Péter Eötvös. More details
10/10
David Fray & Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra piano evening
Last but not least, we recommend a promising performance by one of the
musical sensations of the concert season. French pianist David Fray was listed
as the Discovery of 2008 by BBC Music Magazine. That same year, a
documentary was created about him, Swing, Sing and Think. His career has
been on the rise ever since. He is considered one of the most original performers of Bach, but he has also been leaning more towards Beethoven in recent seasons.
On 14 April, with the Franz Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, he will give an
unforgettable concert with violinist Kristóf Baráti and cellist István Várdai,
which shouldn’t be missed. More details
