Szent István Philharmonic - Revolutionary Artists

28 October 2023, 4:00 pm
Müpa Budapest - Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1.

The programme for this concert by the Szent István Philharmonic has been put together based on a bold and unconventional concept. Evoked in the contemporary premieres in the first half of the concert are both the historical figure and the literary output of the poet and revolutionary Sándor Petőfi, and after the interval we will get to hear works by the world-famous Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, known for his film scores, including the extremely popular and frequently rearranged dance piece from Zorba the Greek that will crown the evening.

The first part features works by two prominent contemporary Hungarian composers, Tímea Dragony and László Dubrovay, for whom the love poems of Sándor Petőfi have served as a source of inspiration for recent creations of theirs. In Dubrovay's view, the theme of love in Romantic poetry is always spawned by feelings of desire and unhappiness. With Petőfi, though, it is out of a happy emotional state that his love poems derive their wonderful images and similes, address the key questions about life and death, and illustrate the magical harmony of man and nature. In the case of Dragony's new cantata, however the composer's intention was to present the diversity of forms of love. Permeated with joy, yearning and drama, the musical language of her composition Star Beam also bursts with the energy of unbridled happiness.

Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis found global fame with the music he wrote for the 1964 film Zorba the Greek. Among his works slated for the second half of the concert are excerpts from his oratorio Axion Esti (‘It Is Worthy'), which relates the story of Greece based on the Greek Orthodox liturgy, with traditional Greek plucked instruments also playing an important role.