BPO 170

23 November 2023, 7:30 pm
Müpa Budapest - Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1.

The first ‘philharmonic concert' to be held in the city of Pest took place on 20 November 1853 under the baton of Ferenc Erkel, becoming the first stop in the 170-year journey of what would later come to be known as the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. The chroniclers say that this day marked the birth of symphony orchestra life in our country, as Erkel used the occasion of this first concert to announce a season ticket consisting of five more such events, allowing the audience thenceforth to come into regular contact with the magic of European classical music.

In the first half of this jubilee concert, the orchestra pays tribute to their founder. After the Festival Overture and true to tradition, the art of the present will also get an airing with a new composition by Hungarian composer and conductor Gergely Vajda. The second part of the concert features a great audience favourite of Czech Romanticism: in 1899, the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra presented Dvořák's Ninth Symphony, catchily titled ‘From the New World', to the Hungarian audience, with enormous success. Conducting this grandiose work will be the Italian maestro Marco Comin. The other conductor for the evening, Gergely Madaras, has long required no introduction to audiences both here and abroad. Throughout the concert, hostess Szilvia Becze will relate some of the most memorable moments from the BPO's past 170 years. On 23 November, come celebrate the birth of Hungarian symphonic orchestra life together with us and be part of a concert of historic cultural importance!