Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Presents LISZT MOSAICS

Through live music and traditional dance, Hungary's music and dance history will be celebrated in an evening concert. An evening in two halves, the first part will celebrate the folk and classical music of the time and will be an exploration of how folk music inspired classical. Art Director of Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, violinist István "Szalonna" Pál, will lead some of the traditional folk music, including the piece that was the origin of Bartók's Duos for Two Violins, and will be joined by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Oleg Caetani, and renowned Canadian violinist Alexandre Da Costa in Bartók pieces that have drawn influence from traditional Hungarian music (full programme below).

The evening then shifts to focus on one of the most famous Hungarian composers, Franz Liszt. With music that reaches across the centuries, these mosaics of instrumental, dance and song arrange themselves into a single, grand tableau to bring the past to life and find the roots of our own present. In addition to works by Liszt, the evening features the music of Paganini and Chopin, contemporaries who influenced the composer, alongside some of the finest pieces of Hungary's romanticism.

Liszt Mosaics is founded on three thematic pillars, emblematic of his life's work: Liszt the Hungarian, Liszt the priest and Liszt the virtuoso. Through the concert performance, the performers explore how the individual aspects of the composer are interdependent and defined by each other.

Hungarian State Folk Ensemble has travelled the world for more than 70 years, bringing a diverse repertoire of dances, some of which are centuries old, and have previously drawn inspiration from the classical works of Bartók and Kodály. They will be travelling to the UK with: violinist István "Szalonna" Pál who plays authentic folk music; Saint Efrém Male Choir, specialists in Hungarian Byzantine music; and pianist Marcell Szabó

Joining them from the UK and Canada are the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and violin virtuoso Alexandre Da Costa, winner of many national and international first prizes, including the International Violin Competition Pablo Sarasate.

Director-choreographer Gábor Mihályi said, "I hope that my wishes will be fulfilled to combine the performance of this traditional folk music and song with my choreographic approach that will result in an interesting and exciting show for the London audience. With this show, while it is inspired by folk-dance, our hope is that its nature of being quite contemporary will come to the forefront, and that the tradition only appears in a less obvious way because it's very much a show for today's world. The aim is to leave the museological approach towards folk-dance behind. My hope is that this joint artistic work of dance, of music, and of visual elements of contemporary dramaturgy will be a very colourful spot in the London scene."

Programme (Act 1)

1. Béla Bartók: 44 Duos for Two Violins (Ferenc RADICS, Alexandre da COSTA)

• Duo No. 17, No. 18. - Marching Songs
• Duo No. 36 - Bagpipes
• Duo No. 44 - Transylvanian Dance

1. The origin of Bartók Duo's - traditional Hungarian folk music (Eszter PÁL, István PÁL Szalonna, HSFE Orchestra)
2. Béla Bartók: Violin Rhapsody No. 2 Violin and Orchestra (Alexandre da COSTA, István PÁL Szalonna, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
3. Traditional folk music from the Transylvanian Kalotaszeg (Eszter PÁL, HSFE Orchestra)
4. Béla Bartók: Divertimento 3rd movement (Allegro assai) (Oleg CAETANI, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
5. Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (Alexandre da COSTA, Oleg CAETANI, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, HSFE Orchestra)

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