In the 1918 Ragtime, which is as much a jazz composition as a concert hall piece, the cimbalom plays a leading role of musical-historical significance.
Cimbalom player Miklós Lukács is a permanent figure of the domestic contemporary music and jazz scene, who has frequently performed the works of György Kurtág and Péter Eötvös. Eötvös wrote da capo (2013–2014) with Lukács’s particular abilities in mind. The core melodies of the composition are taken from Mozart’s sketchbook: they are fragments and ideas most of which were never used in completed compositions, or not in their original form. Péter Eötvös makes a point of presenting these melodies in well-identifiable forms, before going on to transform them. Thanks to a chamber ensemble whose composition was unknown in the 18th century, Mozart’s themes almost immediately assume a new identity, and the musical journey that spans centuries is made particularly exciting by the solo being played by the cimbalom, an instrument that could not be used in Mozart’s time.
Program:
Stravinsky: Eight Instrumental Miniatures
Stravinsky: Ragtime for 11 Instruments
Péter Eötvös: da capo – for solo cimbalom and orchestra
Kornél Fekete Kovács: Elements – for solo cimbalom and orchestra
Artistic leader: Balázs Horváth
Conductor: Gergely Vajda
An event jointly organized with the Budapest Music Center.
Ticket prices: HUF 2000