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March 16th Academy of Music, 7.45 p.m. BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA   BACH–WEINER: TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN C MAJOR, BWV 564 R. STRAUSS: BURLESQUE FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA DOHNÁNYI: SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN E MAJOR, OP. 40   CONDUCTOR: GENNADY ROZHDESTVENSKY WITH: VICTORIA POSTNIKOVA /piano   The ensemble was founded in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis. It gained permanent status from the Municipality of Budapest in 1992. It built up its international reputation with its concerts in Hungary and tours abroad and its recordings have won many prestigious prizes (including a Gramophone Award, often called the „music Oscar”). It often hosts world stars and its projects (semi-staged opera productions, Bartók cycle, Mahler symphonies, works by Dvořák, Liszt, Bruckner, etc.) are regularly invited to the most famous festivals and concert halls. Besides the orchestral concerts, it also organises chamber music concerts, devotes special cycles to contemporary music (New Music evenings) and to presenting talented young performers (Champagne Concerts in the Institute of Italian Culture), and has introduced programmes with commentary for children (Cocoa Concerts) and pensioners (One Forint final rehearsals). The orchestra’s music director is Iván FISCHER. Iván FISCHER Born in Budapest (1951), he studied the cello and composition, and earned a diploma in conducting under Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna College of Music. His international career began when he won the London conducting competition (1976). Both as an opera and a concert conductor, his repertoire ranges from early music to contemporary works. He is a much-travelled artist; founder and music director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, his recordings have won top prizes (most recently, three different CDs made with the Budapest Festival Orchestra won a Gramophone Award, the Diapason prize and one was voted best recording by music critics of Fonoforum). From the autumn of 2000 he became music director of the Lyon Opera and conducted a Mozart series in the Bastille Opera, Paris.   (For the 125th anniversary of the birth of Ernő Dohnányi.)   March 17th Academy of Music, 7.30 p.m. DANUBIA YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA   GLUCK: IPHIGENIA IN AULIS – OVERTURE VIVALDI: CONCERTO FOR TWO VIOLINS AND CELLO IN D MINOR, RV 565 BACH: VIOLIN CONCERTO IN A MINOR, BWV 1041 PROKOFIEV: VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 2 IN G MINOR, OP. 63 PROKOFIEV: CLASSICAL SYMPHONY, OP. 25   CONDUCTOR: DOMONKOS HÉJA WITH: ANTAL SZALAI, SÁNDOR MURZSA GRAF /violin, PIROSKA BARANYAY /cello   The orchestra was formed from eminent students of the Ferenc Liszt University of Music in 1993 and is still regarded as the youngest ensemble. It was founded by Domonkos Héja, its artistic director. It has played under many leading Hungarian and international conductors, from Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, through Rico Saccani and Wolfgang Gönnenwein to Yuri Simonov, and with such soloists as Jenő Jandó, Gergely Bogányi, Barnabás Kelemen and many others. In 2000 they performed at the Berlin international festival of youth orchestras, the Hannover Expo and at the Vatican where they performed before the Pope for the anniversary year. Domonkos HÉJA Conductor, percussionist. He was born in Budapest in 1974 to a family of musicians. He learned to play numerous instruments (violin, piano, trumpet, percussion) and graduated from the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music percussion faculty in 1997 and earned a diploma with distinction from the conducting faculty in 1998. He won a László Weiner scholarship to work as an assistant conductor with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in the 1995/96 season. In spring 1998 he won Hungarian Television’s International Conducting Competition, as well as the audience prize and the Georg Solti special prize. In November he won the Miltiades Karidis special prize at the Athens Mitropoulos Competition, as well as the Grand Prix awarded by the Chromaton Orchestra accompanying the contestants. Beside working with his own orchestra (the Danubia Youth Symphony Orchestra), he has conducted numerous Hungarian and foreign ensembles. He has now made his debut at the Budapest Opera House.   (In 2001 the orchestra won the title of National Youth Orchestra.)   March 18th Hungarian State Opera House, 7.30 p.m. BUDAPEST PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA   MENDELSSOHN: SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN A MAJOR (ITALIAN), OP. 90 ORFF: CARMINA BURANA   CONDUCTOR: RICO SACCANI WITH: ZSUZSANNA BAZSINKA, ZSOLT DERECSKEI, VIKTOR MASSÁNYI /vocal, THE HUNGARIAN STATE OPERA HOUSE CHORUS (choirmaster: Anikó Katona) AND CHILDREN’S CHORUS (choirmaster: Gyöngyvér Gupcsó)   This symphonic orchestra can boast a most august history. Formed in 1853, its first re-si-dent conductor was Ferenc Erkel. He was suc-ceeded by Sándor Erkel, István Kerner, János Richter, Erno Dohnányi, János Fe-ren-csik and András Kórodi. In 1990, Erich Bergel took over the helm, and in 1997, it was the turn of Rico Sacca-ni. Comprising of the finest instru-men-tal musicians from the Opera House Orchest-ra, besides stage work, it is a concert or-chestra that has in its time worked with such names as Liszt, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Saint-Saëns, Bartók and Kodály. In autumn 2000, the orchestra enjoyed suc-cess-ful tours of Germany and Japan. Rico SACCANI Born in Arizona to an Italian family, he began his musical career as a pianist. His conducting career took off when he won the Karajan Competition and he is now much in demand as an opera and concert conductor. He is very popular in Hungary and in autumn 1997 was asked to be the resident conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.   March 18th Academy of Music, 7.30 p.m. BUDAPEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA   TCHAIKOVSKY: ROMEO AND JULIET – fantasy overture KAMILLÓ LENDVAY: PIANO CONCERTO RACHMANINOV: SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN D MINOR, OP. 13   CONDUCTOR: TAMÁS VÁSÁRY WITH: LÁSZLÓ BARANYAI /piano   The orchestra was formed in 1943 and its first conductor was the then general music director of Hungarian Radio, Ernő Dohnányi. The orchestra is one of the finest in Hungary and highly respected all over Europe. It has worked with many distinguished musicians over the years and itself has toured four continents. It regularly performs and records the entire spectrum of the symphonic and oratorio repertoire. Since 1993, the orchestra’s principal conductor and general music director has been Tamás Vásáry.   March 22nd Law Faculty Ceremonial Hall, 7.30 p.m. CAMERATA TRANSSYLVANICA (artistic director: János Selmeczi)   MIKLÓS CSEMICZKY: SONATA PER ARCHI JÁNOS VAJDA: CHAMBER SYMPHONY JÁNOS KŐMÍVES: SOLSTICES – Hungarian première GYÖRGY SELMECZI: OPERETTA – world première GYÖRGY ORBÁN: SHEETS FROM AN ALBUM FOR COUNT RASUMOFFSKY   CONDUCTOR: JÁNOS KOVÁCS WITH: JÁNOS SELMECZI /violin ARS NOVA VOCAL ENSEMBLE (choirmaster: Katalin Kiss)   March 22nd Academy of Music, 7.30 p.m. LES MUSICIENS DU LOUVRE – GRENOBLE   HANDEL: CONCERTO GROSSO IN G MAJOR, OP. 6 NO. 1 C. P. E. BACH: SYMPHONY IN D MAJOR, W 183 (H 663) J. P. RAMEAU: LES BORÉADES – suite   CONDUCTOR: MARC MINKOWSKI   Marc Minkowski (1962) began his musical career as a bassoonist. He learnt conducting under Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux Memorial School. As a bassoonist he worked in the Chapelle Royale, in Les Arts Florissants directed by William Christie and in the Clemencic Consort. In 1984 he won first prize in the Bruges International Early Music Competition. In the same year he founded his own ensemble, Les Musiciens du Louvre. He is also artistic director of the Amsterdam Baroque Soloists and of the studio opera of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. Minkowski conducts mainly Baroque music. An important feature of his repertoire is the priority given to French music. This repertoire includes works of Lully, Charpentier, Marais, Rameau, Mondonville, Mouret, and Boieldieu. Among the non-French composers he has devoted most attention to Handel. Minkowski – like most performers regarded as early music specialists – also likes to conduct works of later composers (such as Jacques Offenbach). He has made recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Erato and EMI.   (With the support of the French Institute and the AFAA.)   Marc Minkowski March 23rd Budapest Convention Centre, 7.30 p.m. IGOR OISTRAKH (violin) and the FERENC LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA   MOZART: DIVERTIMENTO IN D MAJOR, K 205 MOZART: VIOLIN CONCERTO IN A MAJOR, K 219 VAŇHALL: SYMPHONY IN G MINOR BEETHOVEN-MAHLER: STRING QUARTET IN F MINOR, OP. 95   CONCERTMASTER: JÁNOS ROLLA   They gave their first concert in 1963. The ensemble was formed from final year string musicians at the Franz Liszt Music Academy, and they soon acquired an inter-national reputation. They have now made over 200 records and CDs, and have per-formed with many of the finest musicians of the century (e.g. Sviatoslav Richter). They have their own festival in Zemplén county and every year organise a National Chamber Music Con-vention and Course. Their first artistic di-rector was Frigyes Sán-dor, who was succeeded after his death in 1979 by János Rolla.   March 24th HAS Ceremonial Hall, Roosevelt tér, 7.30 p.m. INGRID KERTESI and the BUDAPEST CHAMBER SYMPHONY   BERG: LYRIC SUITE – Andante amoroso VIVALDI: IN FURORE – motet BERG: LYRIC SUITE – Allegro misterioso BACH: JAUCHZET GOTT IN ALLEN LANDEN – aria from Cantata No. 51 BERG: LYRIC SUITE – Adagio Appassionato HANDEL: LET THE BRIGHT SERAPHIM – aria from the oratorio Samson SCHOENBERG: VERKLÄRTE NACHT, OP. 4 SCARLATTI: SU LE SPONDE DEL TEBRO – cantata   CONDUCTOR: ZSOLT HAMAR   March 24th Vigadó Concert Hall, 7.30 p.m. JUNGE DEUTSCHE PHILHARMONIE   SCHUBERT: ROSAMUNDE – overture WOLFGANG RIHM: VIOLA CONCERTO - "Over the line IV." (world première) The composer, who is 50 this year, lives in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, studied and teaches at the academy there HANS ZENDER: BARDO FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA SCHUBERT: SYMPHONY NO. 8 IN B MINOR (UNFINISHED)   CONDUCTOR: HANS ZENDER WITH: TABEA ZIMMERMANN /viola, GUSTAV RIVINIUS /cello   Since its foundation in 1974 the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie has been one of the most interesting and sought-after ensembles on the German orchestral scene. It is made up of the most gifted students of all the conservatoires of Germany, the orchestra meets three times a year for intensive rehearsal. The ensemble is a regular guest at the Berlin Festival and in Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, the Cologne Philharmonie and the Musikhalle in Hamburg. Under the direction of renowned conductors it develops concert programmes in which contemporary music is as indispensable as the Classical-Romantic orchestra repertoire. In 1983 under Gary Bertini they performed the complete oeuvre of Anton Webern, in 1990 they worked with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez, in 1988 and 1991 they made highly successful tours of Scandinavia and the United States with Michael Gielen. In 1994 at the Festival d’Automne in Paris they participated in the premiere of Heiner Goebel’s Surrogate Cities. In 1995-ben they played in the Royal Albert Hall, London. In 1997 they went on two major tours: giving concerts in Amsterdam, Helsinki, Kuopio, St Petersburg and Moscow under Rudolf Barshai; and a tour to Italy and Spain under the direction of Lorin Maazel. Brilliant interpretation, committed playing and exceptional programmes are the ensemble’s hallmarks, and it has won many awards for them: these include first prize in the Herbert von Karajan Competition, the German Critics Prize, the Mozart Medal of the City of Frankfurt, the Grand Prix Année Européenne de la Musique, the German Culture Prize and the Ernst von Siemens Foundation Bursary. Illustrious conductors and soloists have worked with the orchestra: Eliahu Inbal, Kyrill Kondrashin, Charles Dutoit, Witold Lutosławski, Heinz Holliger, Lothar Zagrosek, Seiji Ozawa, Mauricio Kagel, Peter Eötvös, Gidon Kremer, Daniel Barenboim, Ingo Metzmacher, David Shallon, Andreas Delfs, Christian Tetzlaff, Sabine Meyer. Since 1995 Lothar Zagrosek, general music director of the Stuttgart State Opera has been the orchestra’s principal guest conductor and artistic adviser. The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie is a member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras, (E.F.N.Y.O.). In March and April 2002 the orchestra is making a long concert tour which is to include Budapest. The planned programme clearly reflects the ensemble’s programme policy. It features two contemporary works (Hans Zender: Zwei Kalligraphien and Wolfgang Rihm: Concerto for   (An event of the Baden- Württemberg Days. With the support of Deutsche Telekom.)   Hans Zender Tabea Zimmermann March 25th Budapest Convention Centre, 7.30 p.m. CONCENTUS MUSICUS WIEN and the ARNOLD SCHÖNBERG CHOR   MOZART: LITANIAE LAURETANAE, K 195 (D MAJOR) MOZART: REGINA COELI, K 127 (B FLAT MAJOR) HAYDN: MASS IN B FLAT MAJOR, HOB. XXII:10   CONDUCTOR: NIKOLAUS HARNONCOURT WITH: MARIA CRISTINA KIEHR, ELISABETH VON MAGNUS, HERBERT LIPPERT, ANTON SCHARINGER /vocal   Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1929) was born in Berlin, but grew up in Graz (Austria). He studied the cello in Vienna where from 1952 to 1969 he was a cellist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. As an orchestral musician he was able to work with Karajan, Fricsay, Celibidache, and Giulini. Clemens Kraus in particular was a strong influence. In 1953, together with his wife Alice Harnoncourt, he founded the Concentus Musicus Wien, as a specialist ensemble for the performance of early music on authentic instruments. From 1957 the group was giving regular concerts. Concentus Musicus Wien is one of the world’s most distinctive ensembles. All the members are deeply committed to their instruments but none of them lives from this activity; there are no organisational rules and the musicians share the fees equally. And since they do not accept either state subventions or support from sponsors, travel abroad is a real luxury for them. It took many years of dedicated sacrifices to collect their stock of Renaissance and Baroque instruments, and also the fact that at the different auctions they proved not only to have a good expert eye, but also to be cunning buyers. From 1970 Harnoncourt has been a frequent guest in the opera houses of Europe (Milan, Zurich, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Vienna); his repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to Berg. The few years he spent in Zurich are an especially memorable chapter in his career as an opera conductor, when he worked with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Claus Helmut Drese, former director of the Zurich Opera, summed up their co-operation very aptly: "Ponnelle gave Harnoncourt’s strong intellectual imagination and desire to interpret a body, the liveliness and breath of a body.” Thanks to his direct style, his always fresh and sparkling intellect, his disposition as a teacher in the positive sense, Harnoncourt is welcomed as a conductor by many European orchestras (Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonia). As an orchestra member summed up Harnoncourt’s work: "...he is a conductor who transmits a great deal of energy. Musicians usually feel that they are being leached and deprived of their energy. You never leave Harnoncourt feeling depleted. He is able to breathe life into us even when we are sitting there half dead. I don’t know where he himself gets the energy from.” Harnoncourt was one of those who launched authentic performance practice and is perhaps its most influential theoretician an   Nikolaus Harnoncourt March 26th Vigadó Concert Hall, 7.30 p.m. OPUS POSTH.   PHILIP GLASS: THE COMPANY IANNIS XENAKIS: AROURA ANTON BATAGOV: REAL AUDIO VLADIMIR MARTINOV: AUTUMN BALL OF ELVES ARVO PÄRT: TABULA RASA   ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: TATJANA GRINDENKO   Tatjana Grindenko, violinist, founded the first early music ensemble in Eastern Europe, the Moscow Academy of Early Music in 1982 mainly with the aim of performing 17th–18th century chamber music on period instruments. Grindenko is not only an excellent violinist but also an internationally recognised scholar and expert on period performing practice. Her master courses are very popular. Besides early music and unusual, little known rarities, Grindenko and the Academy perform also the works of contemporary Russian and foreign composers. For their contemporary music concerts they appear under the name of Opus Posth. The group has been operating within the Academy since 1999.   March 27th Academy of Music, 7.30 p.m. INTERNATIONALE BACHAKADEMIE STUTTGART   BACH: ST JOHN PASSION, BWV 245   CONDUCTOR: HELMUTH RILLING WITH: MARLIS PETERSEN, INGEBORG DANZ, MARKUS ULLMANN, JAMES TAYLOR, SEBASTIAN NOACK, MORTEN ERNST LASSEN /vocal GÄCHINGER KANTOREI STUTTGART BACH-COLLEGIUM STUTTGART   RILLING was born in 1933 in Stuttgart. He studied in his home town, as well as in Rome and New York. In 1957 he became the choirmaster and organist of the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche, where he established the "Figuralchor" which he led until 1980. In 1954 he founded the Gächinger Kantorei and in 1965 its permanent instrumental accompanist, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart. With these two ensembles Rilling has recorded all Bach’s church cantatas and oratorios. The enormous undertaking lasted 15 years and appeared in 1985 (the 300th anniversary of Bach’s birth). The two ensembles are regular participants in the International Bach Academy of Stuttgart which was founded in 1981 and is attended by young conductors, singers and instrumental musicians from all over the world. In 1994 UNESCO bestowed its IMC Music Award on the Academy and in the following year Helmuth Rilling received the Theodor Heuss Prize in the category of „Acts of Reconciliation”. Rilling had appeared in Budapest on a number of occasions. He has conducted the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Radio Chorus, as well as the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra and he has also given a guest performance with the Gächinger Kantorei. His appearances are always eagerly awaited both by the public and by specialists.   (An event of the Baden-Württemberg Days.)   Helmuth Rilling March 28th Academy of Music, 7.30 p.m. MATÁV HUNGARIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA   DEBUSSY: PRINTEMPS BARTÓK: TWO PICTURES – IN FULL FLOWER, VILLAGE DANCE, OP. 10 STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING   CONDUCTOR: ANDRÁS LIGETI   This orchestra, formed in 1907 as the Symphony Orchestra of the Post Administration – known abroad as the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra – has operated under the name of its maintaining body (MATÁV) since 1992. Their repertoire covers all periods and they have their own subscription series in the Academy of Music, the Vigadó Concert Hall and in their own hall in Páva utca. Their musical director is András Ligeti.   March 29th Vigadó Concert Hall, 7.30 p.m. YURI BASHMET (viola) and the MOSCOW SOLOISTS   TCHAIKOVSKY: STRING SERENADE, OP. 48 BRITTEN: LACHRYMAE – for viola and string orchestra, op. 48a SCHUBERT–MAHLER: DER TOD UND DAS MÄDCHEN   Yuri Bashmet was born in Rostov-on-Don in 1953. He studied at the Moscow Conservatoire with Vadim Borisovsky and Feodor Druzhinin. He subsequently became the youngest person ever to be appointed to a professorship at the Moscow Conservatoire. In 1976 Bashmet won the International Viola Competition in Munich. This first prize rapidly launched his international career and – almost without precedent – he gave solo viola recitals in the world’s major concert halls. His playing has inspired numerous composers, among them Alfred Schnittke (whose Viola Concerto dedicated to Bashmet was premiered in Amsterdam in 1986), the Georgian Giya Kancheli, John Tavener, Poul Ruders and Sofia Gubaidulina. He premiered Gubaidulina’s Viola Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Kent Nagano in 1997. Bashmet also gave the world premiere of Benjamin Britten’s recently edited Double Concerto with Gidon Kremer and the Hallé Orchestra under Kent Nagano. In 1986 he founded the Moscow Soloists. After a few successful years the ensemble disbanded since a number of its members left Russia. However, Bashmet remained in Moscow. A few years later, in 1992 he re-established the ensemble with musicians nominated by professors of the Moscow Conservatoire as the cream of the new generation of string players. The ensemble made its debut in Moscow in May 1992 and a day later appeared with great success in the Pleyel Salon in Paris. With Gidon Kremer and Mstislav Rostropovich, they have recorded Schnittke’s Triple Concerto, as well as the Brahms Clarinet Quintet and a transcription of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 13. Outstanding among his chamber partners have been Sviatislav Richter, with whom he appeared in Budapest in January 1985. „Bashmet is now one of the world’s best viola players, in both instrumental and musical aspects. It is in itself an indication of his quality that Richter chooses or accepts him as a chamber music partner (…) Bashmet plays with perfect technique and a beautiful sound; his noble singing tone, free of all dross, which also has passion, and his splendidly flexible bowing, his intellect which not only presents but also penetrates the music hold the promise of the finest prospects,” wrote György Króo of that concert.   March 29th Academy of Music, 7.45 p.m. BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA   JANÁČEK: THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN – suite BERG: VIOLIN CONCERTO DVOŘÁK: SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN D MAJOR, OP. 60   CONDUCTOR: JIŘI BELOHLÁVEK WITH: GYÖRGY PAUK /violin   Jiři Belohlávek March 30th Vigadó Concert Hall, 7.30 p.m. NEW AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN HAYDN ORCHESTRA and the WIENER SINGAKADEMIE   HAYDN: DIE SCHÖPFUNG – oratorio   CONDUCTOR: ÁDÁM FISCHER CHOIRMASTER: HEINZ FERLESCH WITH: CORNELIA HORAK, HELMUT WILDHABER, ALFRED REITER /vocal   The New Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra and the Wiener Singakademie The ensemble was founded by conductor Ádám Fischer (1987) with the aim of creating a joint orchestra from the finest musicians of Austria and Hungary and to perform the works of Haydn in their original environment, in the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt. The main venue of their performances is still the castle’s Haydnsaal. The orchestra has 45 members, slightly more than Haydn had at his disposal in the golden age of court music. The ensemble presents concert and opera productions at the International Haydn Festival and is recording the complete symphonies of Haydn under the baton of Ádám Fischer. The orchestra’s style and sound, in the words of Ádám Fischer, is characterised by what could be called a living historicising, which is not the same as the authentic mode of playing and style. Fischer and his orchestra consider their main aim to be to continue the musical “dialect” and orchestral tradition characteristic of Vienna and in general of Central Europe which, in the case of a few instruments, for examples, can mean use of the older forms. The Wiener Singakademie is one of Austria’s oldest music ensembles; it has been operating since 1858. It has a very broad repertoire ranging from the classical oratorios to 20th century compositions. The choirmaster is Heinz Ferlesch. They have appeared in Budapest on numerous occasions, often together with the New Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra.   (A joint production of the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Budapest Spring Festival.)   March 30th Academy of Music, 7.45 p.m. BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA   JANÁČEK: THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN – suite BERG: VIOLIN CONCERTO DVOŘÁK: SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN D MAJOR, OP. 60   CONDUCTOR: JIŘI BELOHLÁVEK WITH: GYÖRGY PAUK /violin   Belohlávek (1946) studied at the Prague Academy of Music and then at the master courses held by Sergiu Celibidache. In 1971 he won the Karajan competition. He was still in his twenties when he was appointed music director of the Czech Symphony Orchestra. Since 1989 he has been music director of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and at the same time also directs the Prague Philharmonics, an orchestra he founded. He has appeared with many of the world’s major orchestras and from 1995 has been a regular guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. His recordings are issued by Supraphon and Chandos.   March 31st Italian Institute of Culture, 7.30 p.m. STUTTGARTER KAMMERORCHESTER   BACH: “OH MENSCH, BEWEIN DEIN SÜNDE GROSS” BACH–JAN KRENZ: TWO RICERCARE FROM MUSIKALISCHES OPFER – for saxophone quartet and strings BARTÓK: SEVEN CHORUSES WITH ORCHESTRAL ACCOMPANIMENT BARTÓK: DIVERTIMENTO PHILIP GLASS–RAVI SHANKAR: “PASSAGES” FOR SAXOPHONE QUARTET AND STRINGS (transcription by Dennis Russell Davies)   CONDUCTOR: DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES WITH: RASCHÈR-SAXOPHONQUARTETT, HUNGARIAN RADIO CHILDREN’S CHORUS (choirmaster: Gabriella Thész)   Over the past 50 years the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester has become one one of Europe’s leading orchestras, mainly with its performances of Baroque works – especially Johann Sebastian Bach – and the Viennese classics. The founding conductor – Karl Münchinger – was followed by such outstanding artists as Ferdinand Leitner, Trevor Pinnock, Frans Brüggen, Helmuth Rilling, Andreas Delfs and Dmitrij Sitkovecki. Many renowned soloists have worked with the ensemble, from Henryk Szeryng to János Starker, from Frank Peter Zimmermann to Heinrich Schiff, from Christian Zacharias to Mischa Maisky. It is an indication of the orchestra’s openneness to the new that two highly influential performers of modern jazz, Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek also figure among the guest artists. From 1990 to 1995 Martin Sieghart directed the orchestra. He was followed by Dennis Russell Davies (1944). Davies, who has become known first of all for the performance of contemporary music, expanded the ensemble’s repertoire and opened a new period in the history of the orchestra, creating important Britten, Shostakovich, Penderecki, Glass and Schnittke performances.   (An event of the Baden-Württemberg Days.)   March 31st Academy of Music, 7.30 p.m. NATIONAL PHILHARMONICS   DEBUSSY: PRINTEMPS BARTÓK: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 DEBUSSY–KOCSIS: SEVEN SONGS (Les ingénus, Fantoches, Rondeau, La faune, Caprice, Fête galante, Noël des enfants qui n’ont pas de maison) BARTÓK: MUSIC FOR STRINGS, PERCUSSION AND CELESTA   CONDUCTOR: ZOLTÁN KOCSIS WITH: BORIS BEREZOVSKY /piano, JÚLIA HAJNÓCZY /vocal   The orchestra has valuable traditions, has made over a dozen prize-winning recordings and has a prodigious repertoire. Under its earlier name of State Symphony Orchestra it enjoyed a golden era under conductor János Ferencsik. Since 1997 as the National Philharmonic Orchestra it has been organising its own concerts and under the artistic direction of Zoltán Kocsis as general music director it has already given the world premieres of a number of works in Budapest.   BORIS BEREZOVSKY

[ Budapest Spring Festival 2002 ]