Six thousand people listened with rapt attention to the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s season-opening concert at Heroes’ Square on September 12. Now, the orchestra’s chamber ensembles are setting out once again to bring free community concerts to audiences across Hungary. They will perform synagogue concerts at two entirely new venues, while the BFO’s Baroque ensemble will give concerts in two churches. The musicians will also visit twelve nursing homes, welcome young people from children’s homes to the orchestra’s rehearsal hall, and perform for schoolchildren in Túrkeve.
Iván Fischer and the musicians of the Budapest Festival Orchestra make music under all circumstances. It is particularly important to them that music be accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. So, alongside their loyal regular audience, they also reach out to those who are unable to attend concerts in traditional concert halls. It was in this spirit that they launched their Community Week series in 2014, and the program continues this season.
The BFO Baroque ensemble will perform in two churches under the direction of violinist Eszter Lesták-Bedő: on September 26 at the Lisieux St Thérèse Parish Church in Rákoshegy, Budapest, and on September 27 at St Stephen’s Church in Dunaharaszti. Admission is free, but registration is required.
The synagogue concerts will also continue: on September 23 at the synagogue in Jászapáti and on September 24 at the synagogue in Sárbogárd, with works by Bartók and Mozart on the program.
The orchestra will also bring its Golden Years concerts to twelve more nursing homes. The chamber ensembles will enrich residents’ everyday lives with music by Mozart, Vivaldi, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, among others, while at some venues the program will also feature exciting arrangements of Hungarian hits and film music from the 1930s and 1940s.
The orchestra’s Music Castle children’s program—a musical performance interwoven with storytelling—is based on The Little Prince. The new production will first be performed for young people from children’s homes visiting the BFO’s rehearsal hall, as well as for children in Túrkeve. Violinist Erika Illési will serve as the storyteller.
The Music Castle performances for young people from children’s homes and the church concert at the Lisieux St Thérèse Parish Church in Rákoshegy, Budapest, are supported by the Municipality of Budapest.
