To mark the 130th anniversary of its foundation, the National Philharmonic Orchestra will perform an emblematic work by Igor Stravinsky, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Premièred in 1927, the two-act opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex is at once one of the key works of its composer and of 20th century music in general. The libretto, written by Jean Cocteau and based on the drama by Sophocles, features a succession of arias, duets and chorus movements linked by the words of a narrator... – always spoken, according to the composer’s instructions, in the language of the audience (and thus in Hungarian for this performance). Generically speaking, the excitement of the work lies in its adaptability to both theatre stage and concert hall: its large-scale tableaux and chamber-scale music were conceived by the composer with the minimum of theatrical action and stage design. A small-scale work by Stravinsky, originally written for jazz band but later rearranged for symphony orchestra, will feature as an overture to the evening’s concert. Scherzo à la Russe was commissioned in the 1940s by the same Paul Whiteman, whom we also have to thank for ordering Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Prokofiev composed his fifth and final completed piano concerto in 1931, performing as the soloist at the première of the work under the baton of Wilhelm Furtwängler. The work was not originally intended as a piano concerto, as evident in the five-movement structure that deviates from the classic concerto form, and indeed Prokofiev initially gave it the title of Music for piano and orchestra. It belongs among those pieces in music history that are known about but rarely performed in concert. On this occasion, however, we will have the opportunity to enjoy a performance of the work by a French pianist recognised as a world-class interpreter of the piano repertoire of the first half of the 20th century.
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.