Mozart was reported to have said that of all the instruments, the clarinet has the sound that most closely resembles the human singing voice. And even if the maestro didn't say it himself, as the quote originates from a contemporary paper, he might still have agreed given that every note of two of his later works, the Clarinet Quintet and Clarinet Concerto, testifies to the assertion. The clarinet fascinated composers at the end of the 18th century with its soft, pliable sound, large range... and rich harmonics, as well as its unusual feature of being perfectly suited to playing both soaring melodies and virtuoso runs. After Mozart, the older Haydn and Beethoven both made the instrument a permanent member of the orchestra, and its rich playing potential expanded continuously in the 19th century. The ideal clarinet tone is not attained easily, and for someone to coax a beautiful sound from the instrument they must certainly become familiar with its secrets. Beyond the player's technical armoury, no small degree of sensitivity is required, for the clarinet has a soul.
Born in 1990, the Junior Prima award-winning István Kohán is a musician who befriended the instrument at a very early age. Such was his talent that it was never in any doubt that he would choose a solo career, with all its risks and countless dangers for most woodwind players. Kohán is already the proud winner of four international competitions, and triumphed at Japan's most prestigious music competition in 2013. It is thus by no means premature to declare that within a few years we may count on him as the successor to Kálmán Berkes, himself once ranked among Hungary's best clarinettists and today primarily active as artistic director of the Győr Philharmonic.
Presented by: Palace of Arts
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.
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.