The December 26 performance of the Budapest Festival Orchestra is always both a Christmas concert and a birthday concert in one: a celebration of music, without any rigid ceremonial props. Just like any real present, the program of the performance will once again remain a surprise until the very last moment.

At last year’s jubilee Christmas event, Iván Fischer wowed the audience by transforming the evening into a special New Year’s concert. He selected a holiday line-up which showed off the musical diversity of the Monarchy and did so even more richly than the New Year’s concerts in Vienna. On top of that, at the end of the performance, the audience was given the chance to partake in the joy of making music. The amateur choir of 150 members of the BFO’s extended family spent a month and a half getting ready to perform the piece with the accompaniment of their favorite orchestra.

Will this year’s Christmas concert deliver similar surprises, or something completely different? All we can say with absolute certainty is that we do not know. It will be a surprise.

The musicians of the Budapest Festival Orchestra will probably don their unusual roles and show off their skills in exciting genres and styles on stage, as dictated by Iván Fischer’s inexhaustible ideas. One thing is certain; it will be an exceptional musical experience.

For the BFO, the best birthday present during the past forty-one years has been the opportunity to make music for – and at times with – its loyal audience. Join us for Christmas 2024!