Chamber recital by Iveta Apkalna and Gábor Boldoczki

7 May 2024, 7.30 p.m.
Müpa Budapest - Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1.

What kind of instrument is the organ? Old? New? Serious? Fun? And what kind of music is it suited to? Baroque? Or perhaps modern works? And what is it really? A keyboard instrument or a member of the wind family? After all, it does have keys - but it has pipes too! And how does it behave when paired with a pure-blooded wind instrument, the metallic-sounding trumpet? We will all get the answers to these questions at this exciting joint recital by one of the most original and inventive organists of our time, Iveta Apkalna, and our own homegrown trumpet megastar Gábor Boldoczki.

One can safely say without fear of exaggeration that Müpa Budapest's organ concerts opened a new era in the history of organ playing in Hungary. In the past, many people might have thought organ works excessively serious and abstract: pieces written by Baroque music teachers in wigs and meant to be listened to while cradling your head in your hands. At Müpa Budapest's organ concerts, however, it became clear that the organ literature is full of discovery, colour, playfulness, and excitement - not to the mention the fact that the organ is also suitable for modern music, indeed for all kinds of music! Joining the organ at several points this evening will be the trumpet, creating an exciting partnership. Nevertheless, we will also hear both instruments played solo, and the list of composers is a highly diverse one, ranging from Vivaldi and Bach to the 20th- and 21st-century music of George Enescu, Stanley Friedman, Sofia Gubaidulina, Naji Hakim and Péter Eötvös. One of the most celebrated organists of our time, Latvia's Iveta Apkalna trained in England and Germany after studying in her homeland, and today her playing captivates audiences all over the world. As far as Gábor Boldoczki is concerned, it is sufficient to say that he is one of the top trumpet players on the planet: a universal artist, for whom composers like Krzysztof Penderecki and Fazıl Say have composed works.

The concert will be preceded from 6.30 pm by an introductory presentation in Hungarian entitled Prologue, by musicologist Gergely Fazekas, where concert ticket holders will be invited to get to know the performing musicians and the works to be performed more closely.