At its season-opening concert - traditionally given on the eve of the anniversary of Béla Bartók's death - the Hungarian National Philharmonic performs works by composers who are tied together by several threads. All three created new schools of composition in the first half of the 20th century and influenced each other to varying degrees. All three also emigrated to the United States. Igor Stravinsky's sparkling Concerto in D for string orchestra was commissioned in Hollywood in 1946 for ...the same Basel Chamber Orchestra for which Bartók also composed in the 1930s. Four years earlier, Arnold Schoenberg - having also freshly acquired US citizenship - composed one of the most devilishly difficult works in the concerto repertoire. Written using the 12-tone technique and conceived in the spirit of the New Viennese School, it is no coincidence that it is rarely performed in concert. A regular guest soloist with the orchestra and prize-winner at a clutch of international competitions, Dávid Báll has already proven on several occasions that he relishes challenges and possesses the high level of technical mastery to overcome them, to the great delight of audiences.
The second half of the concert features Bartók's one-act opera composed in 1911, a gem of the musical repertoire which is unique in a number of ways. The composer's sensitive and sensual music guides us through spiritual processes that present a couple's relationship with a requisite mystique and distinctive symbolism. The orchestra is joined for this performance by two outstanding Hungarian singers.
Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Refreshments – Without the Queue
Thanks to our new catering service at the Átrium Snack Bar, you can forget about waiting in line during intermissions for some refreshments and get your order prepped especially for you by the time the intermission actually starts. Find out more about pre-ordering here.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.