Vespers
“Transfigured night” – the concert of Concerto Budapest and Rost Andrea
Tickets: jegy.hu
Conductor: Keller András
The concert of Snétberger Ferenc
Tickets: jegy.hu
The price of the entrance ticket includes a glass with logo and a welcome drink. Drinks are available between 21:00 – 24:00 at the Jeges-büfé (Ice-buffet)
Virgil and Lauds
Convent mass
A walk in the labyrinth
Departure from the cross at the main entrance
Number of participants: 15 people
Registration for the program is at the festival reception
Guide: Bokros árk OSB, Dr. Palotai Gabriella
“A common house”
Guide: Virágvölgyi István, curator
“Wozzeck” – Keller Kvartett, Ránki Fülöp, Rácz Zoltán
Tickets: jegy.hu
Conductor: Rácz Zoltán
“On heavenly waters” – exhibition opening and poetry reading
The opening of the installation of Tolnay Imre and Pavol Truben
Exhibition is opened by: Csordás Zoltán
During the opening ceremony Ferencz Mónika and Horváth Veronika will give readings of their poems that were published last spring.
“Hidden treasures from the collection of Pannonhalma Archabbey”
Guide: Dr. Takács Imre, curator
Departure from the cross at the main entrance
Number of participants: 56 people
Registration for the program and tickets are available at the festival reception
The program involves:
12:15 – Departure with the road train to the Pannonhalma Archabbey Museum and Gallery (PAMG)
12:30 – lunch at the Wine Terrace (the cost of the meal is included in the train ticket)
13:15 – guided tour of the permanent exhibition of PAMG with the curator
14:30 – return to the Archabbey with the road train
Road trains departing at 12:15 from the cross and at 14:30 from PAMG can be used only after registering for the program.
(For the timetable of the road train and the opening hours of PAMG during the festival see Visiting the Monastery)
“Vidovszky and Krasznahorkai”
Tickets: jegy.hu
The price of the entrance ticket includes a glass with logo and a welcome drink. Drinks are available during the interval at the Jeges-büfé (Ice-buffet)
Location: Concert Hall
Location: Concert Hall
Partner: Jász Attila
16:00-17:00
Book signing and informal talk with Krasznahorkai László, Vidovszky László and Jász Attila at the Jeges-büfé (Ice-buffet).
For prepared piano, pianist and 2-3 assistants
Assistant: Keller András, Rácz Zoltán, Vidovszky László
Wine-tasting in the Abbey Winery
Guided tour without tasting: HUF 1000
Guided tour with tutored tasting of 3 wines: HUF 2400
Guided tour with tutored tasting of 5 wines: HUF 3000
Departure from the cross at the main entrance
Number of participants: 48 people
Registration for the program at the festival reception
The baroque refectory as the stage of community life
Departure from the entrance of the Basilica
Number of participants: 30 people
Registration for the program is at the festival reception
Guide: Juhász-Laczik Albin OSB
Songs of the house – introduction to psalm-singing
Departure from the lions in front of the grammar school
Number of participants: 30 people
Registration for the program at the festival reception
Guides: Szita Bánk OSB, Vincze Iván OSB
Vespers
“The end of time” – Csalog Gábor, Keller András, Klenyán Csaba, Perényi Miklós
Location: Basilica
Conductor: Rácz Zoltán
Location: Our Lady Chapel
Vigil and Lauds
A walk in the labyrinth
Departure from the cross at the main entrance
Number of participants: 15 people
Registration for the program at the festival reception
Guide: Bokros Márk OSB, Dr. Palotai Gabriella
From Creation to New Jerusalem
A walk in the symbol-system of the Basilica accompanied by organ music
Departure from the Basilica
Number of participants: 30 people
Registration for the program at the festival reception
Guide: Dejcsics Konrád OSB
Convent mass
Archabbot liturgy for the jubilee of the consecration of the Basilica in Pannonhalma
“Kvartett” – Vidovszky and Kruppa Quartet
Tickets: jegy.hu
Vidovszky László: Zwölf Streichquartette
“O Sacrum Convivium” – Messiaen’s music and daily prayer
Tickets: jegy.hu
Sunday lunch
Departure from the cross at the main entrance
Number of participants: 56 people
Registration for the program and tickets are available at the festival reception
The program involves:
13:45 – departure by road train to Pannonhalma Archabbey Museum and Gallery
14:00 – lunch at the Wine Terrace (the cost of the meal is included in the train ticket)
14:40 – return to the Archabbey by road train
Road trains departing at 13:45 from the cross and at 14:40 from PAMG can only be used after registering for the program.
(For the timetable of the road train and the opening hours of PAMG during the festival see Visiting the Monastery)
“Magnificat” – Concerto Budapest, Saint Ephraim Choir, Rácz Zoltán
Tickets: jegy.hu
Conductor: Rácz Zoltán
Vespers
Vespers
The baroque refectory as the stage of community life
The concert of Snétberger Ferenc
Location: Basilica
Conductor: Rácz Zoltán
“Hidden treasures from the collection of Pannonhalma Archabbey”
“A common house”
Location: Concert Hall
Partner: Jász Attila
“Kvartett” – Vidovszky and Kruppa Quartet
“Kvartett” – Vidovszky and Kruppa Quartet
It is one of Hungary’s leading orchestras, with its rich history and the dynamism of its young musicians. It is one of the most progressive and versatile symphonic orchestras. Their repertoire ranges from well-loved masterpieces to newly composed works of the twenty-first century. Through its ambitious and innovative programs and special sound, it has brought a new colour to Hungary’s musical palette.
Concerto Budapest is one of Hungary’s oldest ensembles with more than 100 years of history; its predecessor was founded in 1907. In 2007, on its 100th anniversary, Keller András, a world-renowned Hungarian violinist, pedagogue, and the founder of the Keller Quartet, was appointed as the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the orchestra. Under his leadership, the orchestra underwent a major period of artistic growth and development, as the foremost young chamber musicians have joined him.
Keller András’ innovative concert programs are designed to engage both musicians and audiences alike in a dialogue with the music. To heighten this tension old masterpieces are often heard alongside contemporary pieces, often illuminating new aspects of both works that are a result of that particular pairing. Highly acclaimed Hungarian musicians such as Ránki Dezső, Kocsis Zoltán, Várjon Dénes, Perényi Miklós are regular guests of the orchestra, in addition to Concerto Budapest’s returning international guest soloists and co-musicians, including Gidon Kremer, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Martha Argerich,Roberto Abbado, Vadim Repin, Khatia Buniatishvili, Anna Vinnitskaya, Heinz Holliger, Isabelle Faust, Sir James Galway, and Jevgenyij Koroljov.
Concerto Budapest' repertoire ranges from virtuosic, large-scale symphonic works from Mahler, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky or Shostakovich to classical concertos from Mozart or Beethoven, or contemporary pieces from Thomas Adés, Lera Auerbach, Kurtág György and Krzysztof Penderecki, among others. Concerto Budapest has become a well-respected player on the international music scene. They were invited to several international festivals, the major concert halls of Europe, America and the Far East where they captivated their audience with tours of great success.
Artistic director: Bubnó Tamás, chorus-master, receiver of the Liszt-award
St. Ephraim Choir is the new name of the St. Ephraim Male Choir – one of the most popular vocal ensembles in Hungary – as it now comprises of female singers.
The male choir was founded in 2002 to record the extant Greek Catholic male choir liturgy of a Sub Carpathian priest-composer, Boksay János (1874–1940). This was their first recording. Promoting the Byzantine-rite church music traditions has since been the most important objective of the male choir. Their concert sequence Orientale lumen launched in 2012 has become the most popular vocal music event of Budapest.
In addition they have shown their other virtue as well: they are the promoters and presenters of the oeuvres of Hungarian male choir literature (Liszt, Bartók, Kodály, Ligeti) and contemporaries (Dukay, Sáry, Zombola) in national and international music.
They have toured in twenty countries over four continents; in 2006 in Poland they won – as the first non-Slavic ensemble ever – in the professional category of the Hajnówka Orthodox Choir Competition.
They have made ten albums so far. Their publication Byzantine Mosaics was given the Supersonic-prize. Their Bartók-male choir collection that was published last year has met with great success, similar to their third edition Liszt-male choir collection that was published by BMC Records.
They are regular performers of prestigious national festivals and they are invited to a lot of foreign festivals as well. They played together with reputed ensembles and soloists during the past ten years (for example, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, The King's Singers, Amadinda and Muzsikás ensembles, The Choir of the Moscow Patriarchate, Jevgenyij Nyesztyerenko, Sebestyén Márta, Rost Andrea, Abeer Nehme, Marie Keyrouz, Szabóki Tünde, Szokolay Dongó Balázs, etc.)
St. Ephraim Choir regularly give concerts with Rácz Zoltán; their performances of Stravinsky, Ligeti and Reich at the Palace of Arts and at the Academy of Music has always had great success.
Keller András is a Hungarian violinist, the founder of the Keller Quartet, and the director and conductor of Concerto Budapest (earlier Magyar Telekom Symphonic Orchestra).
At the age of 7, Keller began playing the instrument and he was admitted to the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music at the age of 14, where his teachers were Kovács Dénes, Rados Ferenc and Kurtág György. Later, he moved to Salzburg, where he studied with Végh Sándor. In 1983 Keller won the Hubay Violin Competition after which he received an invitation from Ferencsik János to become the National State Orchestra's leader. During the same time, he worked as a soloist for the National Philharmonica and from 1984 to 1991 was the Budapest Festival Orchestra's leader. In 1987 he founded his own quartet (Keller András, Pilz János, Gál Zoltán, Szabó Judit) and they became Eviani and Reggio Emilia's String Competition winner in 1990. The quartet regularly performs at great European and American festivals and concerts; they have toured in Japan, Central and South America and New Zealand several times.
Some of the most significant events in Keller András’ career were his performances with Végh Sándor, specifically the concert in the Barbican in London to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bartók’s death, where he played at the request of Solti George, and an invitation by Princess Diana. His recordings as a soloist and chamber musician have won the most prestigious prizes; between 1996 and 2006, for example, he was awarded six times the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis. He was given the award of Bonn and in Italy he was chosen to be the Artist of the Year. His other awards include: the MIDEM Classical Award (twice), Victoire Prix, the Japanese Record Academy Award, and the French Grand prix du Disque. In 2007 he was given the Belgian Caecilia Prix for the best chamber music record of the year.
He regularly performs at the most notable festivals, like the Salzburg Festwochen, the festival of Luzern, Montreux, the London Proms, the Mostly Mozart New York, the Berliner Festspiele, the Schubertiade, the Wiener Festwochen, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the Prague Spring. Keller András holds master courses world wide, among others, at the Internationale Sommerakademie, the Prussia Cove IMS master school, at Yale University in the US, at Accademia Fiesole in Florence and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. During his concert tours he appeared in almost every noteworthy concert hall in the world: Musikverein, Konzerthaus (Vienna), Royal Albert Hall, Barbican (London), Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus (Berlin), Accademia di Santa Caecilia (Róma), Concertgebauw (Amsterdam), Carnegie Hall, and the Lincoln Center (New York).
He is a dedicated performer of contemporary music and is closely linked to Kurtág György. Several of Kurtág’s significant pieces have been premiered or performed by him all over the world. He debuted as a conductor in 2003 with the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto. He was the director of the musical programme of the Arcus Temporum Festival in Pannonhalma between 2005 and 2009. He initiated the Végh Sándor Musical Evenings with Várjon Dénes in 2006, and contributed to the establishment of the Végh Philharmony. He was appointed as the musical director of Magyar Telekom Symphonic Orchestra (today Concerto Budapest) on 1st August 2007.
His appointment at Concerto Budapest resulted in major changes in the life of the orchestra. Since 2007 besides the expanding classical repertoire, Keller András also puts emphasis on the performance of 20th century or contemporary pieces (mostly in Hungary).
Born in Budapest (1960) Rácz Zoltán began his musical studies in 1967 first on the piano and some years later on percussion instruments. Having finished studies at Bartók Béla Conservatory he graduated from Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in 1983.
As a student he became more and more interested in percussion solo and chamber music. He has regularly participated in the programs of the New Music Studio (Budapest) and presented several new pieces in concerts and recordings. During the Bartók Centenary Year in 1981 he performed and recorded Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Kocsis Zoltán and Ránki Dezső.
In 1984 he has founded Amadinda Percussion Group and remains its artistic director to this day. In 1985 the group won the first prize at Gaudeamus Contemporary Music Competition in Rotterdam. During the past years Amadinda became one of the most renowned percussion groups all over the world. Their concert-tours have been performed in 33 countries over 4 continents. They are regularly invited to perform at all prestigious music festivals in Europe like Paris Autumn, Prague Spring, Zagreb Biennale, Warsaw Autumn, Tampere Biennale, Bath Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Festival, BBC Proms, Berlin Biennale and Wiener Festwochen. Amadinda has also performed at Carnegie Hall and Meyerson Hall in the USA, Japan, Mexico City, Australia, China, Lebanon, Armenia and four times in Taiwan at the Taipei International Percussion Convention. Amadinda has recorded more than ten CD-s for Hungaroton, including the complete percussion works of John Cage. Additional recordings were made for TELDEC (The Ligeti Project) and for Tzadik, New York.
John Cage dedicated his 72 minutes long composition Four4 to Amadinda. The piece was premiered in Tokyo during the group's first tour in Japan in 1992. In 2000, they performed at the world premiere of Ligeti György's new piece Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedővel, for mezzosoprano and percussion, which was also composed for the group. In 2009, Steve Reich, one of the greatest living composers composed and dedicated a new piece for the group - Mallet Quartet – for Amadinda’s 25th anniversary. The piece was first performed in the Palace of Arts in Budapest in 2009.
In 1988 the Amadinda Percussion Group was awarded Liszt Ferenc Prize by the Hungarian government as well as the Order of the Merit of the Hungarian Republic by the President of Hungary in 1997, the group received the Kossuth Prize in 2004, and the Bartók Béla – Pásztory Ditta prize in 2008.
During these years Rácz Zoltán appeared as a soloist and conductor as well. He played and also recorded for the BIS label Peter Eötvös 's percussion concerto Triangel - under the baton of the composer. Performance venues included Berlin, Vienna and Budapest, among others. He performed Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Schiff András and Bruno Canino in several European countries, e.g., in Wigmore Hall in London, in Berliner Festwochen, at the Mondsee Festival, and at the Biennale di Venezia. Their recording of the piece was published on the DECCA label.
He has been the principal timpanist of the Budapest Festival Orchestra between 1992 and 1996 as well as the editor of a contemporary music program for the Hungarian Public Television for five years. In 1997 he founded the UMZE chamber ensemble with Wilheim András a music historian, and he has been the artistic director of it ever since.
Since 1990 Rácz Zoltán has been a professor at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. He has held numerous masterclasses: Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (1996); Groznjan, Croatia (1997); the Juilliard School of Music and Yale University, USA (1998); Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, Toho Gakuen College of Music and Nagoya College of Music in Japan (1999); First International Percussion Summer Camp, Taiwan (1999); Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia (2002); Janacek Academy, Brno, Czech Republic (2008); and at the Bartók - New Music Festival held in Hungary in 1990, 1998, 2002 and 2003.
In 2002 Rácz Zoltán received the award of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres given by Madame Catherine Tasca, Minister of Culture and Communication of the French Republic.
Born in Hungary in 1962, Bojtos Károly began his musical studies at a music school in Budapest, in the classical percussion class of Balázs Oszkár. Later on, he studied with Schwartz Oszkár at the Bartók Béla Conservatory of Music. He graduated at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music with a major in percussion in 1985. His professor at the Music Academy was Petz Ferenc. From 1992-1999 he was a permanent performer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He has appeared regularly in the performances of UMZE Chamber Ensemble, since its founding. He taught percussion at the DUO Music School between 1997 and 2001. Since 2002, he has been a percussion teacher at the Dunaharaszti Elementary Art School in Hungary.
Bojtos Károly is the leader of Amadinda’s instrument development and research program.
As a member of Amadinda, Károly Bojtos has received the following awards:
Liszt Prize Ferenc (1988)
Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, Officer’s Cross (1997)
Kossuth Prize (2004)
Pro Urbe Budapest (2006)
Bartók Béla – Ditta Pásztory Prize (2008)
Gábor Csalog was admitted to the Special Talents Department of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest at the age of 11. His teachers were Erna Czövek, Dezső Ránki, Zoltán Kocsis, György Kurtág and András Schiff.
After completing his studies he was assistant to György Sebők at Indiana University in the United States. He often plays contemporary music, and has a constant working relationship with many Hungarian composers, including László Sáry and Gyula Csapó.
Since 1980 he has studied and worked with György Kurtág, of whose works he is an authentic performer, and of which he has given several premiers. Besides Hungary, he has given recitals in almost every country in Europe and in the United States. He has played with Miklós Perényi, András Keller, Boris Pergamenchikov, Heinz Holliger.
As an editor for Könemann Music Budapest he has made the new Urtext edition of Chopin’s complete piano works. He teaches chamber music and piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
In 2003 he was awarded the Liszt Prize.
He has participated in many recordings, most recently on solo piano discs released by BMC Records: Schubert (BMC CD 84), Ligeti / Liszt (BMC CD 095), Scriabin (BMC CD 099). He is the performer of the edition of György Kurtág’s Games, cooperating with the composer (BMC CD 123, BMC CD 139), released for Mr.Kurtág’s 80th birthday.
Kiss Zsolt was born in 1979 in Kapuvár. He started to play the piano when he was 8. At the age of 13 he continued his studies at the Richter János Music School; his majors were organ and solfeggio-music theory. His organ teacher was first Hoffmann László, then Baróti István.
In 1999 he was admitted to the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, organ department. He graduated in 2003 under Lehotka Gábor. During his studies he attended the courses of Gárdonyi Zsolt, Karasszon Dezső, Koloss István, Jesper Madsen, Pálúr János, Szathmáry Zsigmond.
Currently he is the music and organ teacher of the Benedictine High School of Pannonhalma, and the chorus-master of the Basilica in Pannonhalma.
Kiss Zsolt has given several concerts in Germany, Austria, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia and in different towns throughout Hungary.
Klenyán Csaba, a clarinet artist, was born in 1969 in Vác. His musical studies – from a beginner to the highest level – were guided by Szabó Ede, Maczák János, Mihalitz Gábor, Balogh József and Kovács Béla. He is a soloist, chamber musician and the soloist clarinettist of Concerto Budapest. Besides his classical repertoire he puts significant emphasis on interpreting contemporary music as well. Several composers wrote for him or dedicated to him their works. He is a founding member of UMZE Chamber Ensemble, the Új Dimenzió Műhely (New Dimension workshop), and he has been the soloist clarinettist of Weiner-Szász Chamber Symphony since 1999. He regularly plays improvisation music besides classical music; in this activity his partners are the most eminent representatives of national jazz and improvisational music. He has won several international competitions. He was awarded seven times the prize of the Artisjus Society, he was given the Soros prize in 2001, and the Liszt Prize in 2003. His records have been published by BMC Records and Hungaroton.
Kruppa Bálint started to play the violin at the age of 6. He was admitted to the Academy of Music at the age of 11 and he graduated this year (2016). His teachers were among others Perényi Eszter, Kokas Katalin, Ábrahám Márta, Banda Ádám, Rolla János, Wagner Rita, Keller András and Devich János.
Kruppa Bálint is the leading violinist of the Kruppa String Quartet established in 2012; they have performed several times at the Quartettissimo String Quartet Festival.
His results at different competitions include: 2nd prize of the International Telemann Competition, 2nd prize and special prize of the Kovács Dénes Memorial Competition, and 1st prize and special prize of the Weiner Leó National Chamber Music Competition in the sonata-category. This year he was awarded the Junior Prime Prize and Gundel Artistic Prize in the classical music category.Kruppa Bálint has performed as a soloist of the Liszt Ferenc Chamber Ensemble, Anima Musicae Chamber Ensemble, Óbudai Danubia Orchestra and Concerto Budapest, and he gave concerts together with Bogányi Gergely, Keller András, Vigh Andrea, Csalog Gábor, Fejérvári Zoltán and the Ránki family.
His concerts were broadcasted several times by Bartók Radio and Duna Television.
Kruppa Bálint plays a master violin prepared in the 19th century by Nemessányi Sámuel, the common right of which was granted to him by the Friends of the Liszt Academy of Music for 3 years.
Osztrosits Éva is a Master I degree student of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music under the tutelage of Kokas Katalin. She has achieved outstanding success at several competitions. In 2010 she was awarded the 2nd prize at the Kovács Dénes Violin Competition, and a year later with her team they won the Major Prize at the 6th National Chamber Music Competition. At the 11th National Chamber Music Competition and meeting (March 2014) she was given the Award of Excellence, and at the 4th National Zathureczky Ede Violin Competition she was given the Award of Excellence and the Special Award for “the best player of a Hungarian piece”.
In 2016 she won the Yamaha-scholarship as the only Hungarian, then at Weiner Leó National Chamber Music Competition she won the first prize in the sonata-category, and the second prize in the string quartet-category.
Osztrosits Éva has performed several times as a soloist with renowned orchestras, among others the Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra and the Camerata Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of the Savaria Symphony Orchestra.
She is the participant in famous festivals like the International Chamber Music Festival in Lockenhaus or the International Chamber Music Festival in Kaposvár (Kaposfest), where she had the opportunity to work with artists like Nicolas Altstaedt, Jose Gallardo, Kelemen Barnabás, Vilde Frang, Alina Ibragimova, Fenyő László, Kokas Katalin and Fejérvári Zsolt.
She is the member of Kruppa-kvartett; in 2013 they gave an independent concert at the Quartettissimo String Quartet Festival and were invited to attend the Bartók-master course of Takács-Nagy Gábor and Devich Sándor, which took place in 2013 in Genoa.
Osztrosits Éva has attended the master courses of such famous performers as Takács-Nagy Gábor, Keller András, Kelemen Barnabás, Zakhar Bron, Kokas Katalin, Rohmann Imre, Eugene Drucker (Emerson quartet), Ulf Schneider, Jonathan Cohen, Wagner Rita, Devich Sándor, Komlós Péter, Simon Standige, Zalai Antal, and Gulyás Márta.
It is inevitable to think of Andrea Rost’s interpretations when speaking about Gilda in Rigoletto or Violetta in Traviata. The widely renowned soprano became a representative artist in Hungarian and international opera scenes. The operatic star has played on the most important stages in the world and has already shown her beautiful voice in numerous leading soprano roles of the opera repertoire.
Andrea Rost graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and during her university years she was invited in the Hungarian State Opera to sing Juliette in Gounod’s opera. Right after university she first interpreted as the singer of the Wiener Saatsoper, those soprano roles that launched her international career. Besides Adina, Susanna and Lucia di Lammermoor she also sang Violetta, the role that later became the brand of her professional career. Worldwide fame came in 1994 with Ricardo Muti, who invited her to his Rigoletto premiere in the Scala di Milano to sing Gilda, her other emblematic role. After this great success she has been invited to the most important opera houses in the world, London, Paris and Madrid, after these she conquered the oversea stages as well: she sang in New York, Los Angeles and in Washington. She has worked with the best-known conductors like Sir George Solti, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Claudio Abbado.
Besides the opera performances she has had numerous concerts in the most important concert halls and also contributed to several CD and DVD recordings. Her popularity and activity is still unbroken and she is still open to new genres. The proof of that is the recently published audiobook, the Operatales.
Born into a family of musicians in Budapest, Hungary in 1960, Váczi Zoltán studied music at the Bartók Béla Conservatory of Music and at the Liszt Ferenc College of Music in Budapest between 1975 and 1984. He majored in percussion and graduated in 1984. Váczi Zoltán is a founding member of the Amadinda Percussion Group. He has never studied composing.
In the early 1990’s, Váczi Zoltán and Holló Aurél decided to create a series of pieces for percussion instruments with the purpose of connecting the traditional high cultures of percussion with the most outstanding musical trends of the 20th century, while recognizing, adopting, retaining and possibly further developing certain musical achievements. Titled beFORe JOHN, the series will include nine compositions altogether, eight of which have been completed to date. beFORe JOHN is trying to express in the language of percussion instruments the various qualities of richness that surround us in an attempt to create a percussion cosmos (with recognized order and principles) out of the percussion universe (a mass of sheer materials and a multitude of instruments).
Compositions:
The Primitive (1993)
RECONSTRUCTION / beFORe JOHN6 (1997)
Traditions I – II / beFORe JOHN7 (with Aurél Holló – 1998)
HEADS or TAILS? / beFORe JOHN4 (with Aurél Holló – 2000)
Beyond the Glass Mountain… / beFORe JOHN9 (2012)
Ghost Table / beFORe JOHN8 (2003)
As a member of Amadinda he was awarded the following prizes:
Liszt Ferenc Prize (1988)
Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic (1997)
Kossuth-Prize (2004)
Pro Urbe Budapest Prize (2006)
Bartók Béla – Pásztory Ditta Prize (2008)