To mark the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Pest, Buda and Óbuda, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, with the support of the Municipality of Budapest, announces a competition for composers. The Budapest Festival Orchestra will perform the winning submission, with Iván Fischer leading the ensemble, at a major outdoor concert as part of the Budapest 150 event series.
“Bridges are important in the life of the capital, because you have to cross the Danube somehow. When they joined Óbuda, Buda and Pest, uniting them as one big city, the bridges gained even greater significance. Music is actually the best bridge, not only connecting cities, but also people. There are no linguistic boundaries, and people with the most diverse thoughts may enjoy the same music. Already back in 1923, on Budapest’s 50th birthday, they recognized the importance of music. Ernő Dohnányi, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály were asked to compose pieces for the celebration. We hope to continue this tradition now, one hundred years later, on the 150th birthday of Budapest, and therefore announce this call for composers to submit a new, festive piece, which the Budapest Festival Orchestra will premiere at a jubilee concert,” said Iván Fischer, music director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, describing the composers’ competition.
The deadline for submissions in the single-round, open competition is April 30, 2023. Entries should be submitted using mottos rather than entrant names. Importantly, submissions should befit the spirit of the 150 year old capital, the unification of the three cities, and the complex cultural, historical and urban identity of Budapest. In terms of genre, submissions should be classical music pieces for orchestra, celebratory overtures, no shorter than 5 minutes and no longer than 10 minutes in duration. The professional panel of judges will decide among the submissions by May 30, 2023.
