A large number of positive reactions and a very high social media engagement is the response to Iván Fischer’s special New Year Anthem which proclaims the importance of mutual acceptance and tolerance in society.
For us, Hungarians, the new year starts in front of our televisions playing the national anthem right after the midnight countdown. This year, on one of the major channels, RTL Klub, the anthem was performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra joined by a special choir: we invited a nurse, a kindergarten teacher, a little girl, a policeman, a believer in Krishna, one person with autism, one with Down syndrome, one with limited mobility, and one of our BFO Patrons, Éva Berger who has been supporting the orchestra for more than 35 years to sing with our musicians.
“Our goal is to increase tolerance in people and to make them realize that we all belong together. This is our common anthem, that is the reason we sing it this way.” said Iván Fischer.
“The most touching New Year Anthem of my life. Thank you!”
“There is hope!”
“Thank you for making it possible for me to show this to my children and in school to my pupils as well!!!”
“I’ve just saved this so that it may not only raise me now but in future bad moments too.”
“Thank you, it was a superb great present which we were listening to – could only listen to – with tears in the eyes and hearts full of hope!!!”
These are just a few of hundreds of comments expressing gratefulness and hope we have received on BFO’s Facebook Page.
We recorded the program at the Italian Cultural Institute of Budapest in the last days of 2020.
