The Music Evenings in the Great Forest concert series for Saxophone and Violin, and Percussion Gala was a great success again this year at the Liszt Hall of the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts of the University of Debrecen.
The 22nd International Summer Academy for Young Musicians attracted many music lovers again this year. The Saxophone and Violin Gala was opened by saxophonist Levente Puskás and pianist Judit Váradi with Robert Planel’s Prélude et Saltarelle. Then came Erwin Schulhoff’s Hot Sonata.
“The composer of Hot Sonata is one of the artists who in the 1920s introduced elements of jazz into their works, which were
degenerate music at the time,” said Levente Puskás. Judit Váradi shared a personal story about János Vajda’s Sonatina saying that the composer had repeatedly refused their requests to write a piece for them for saxophone and piano, and then surprised them with the piece.
Violinist Vilmos Oláh participated for the first time as an artist teacher in the Young Musicians International Summer Academy for Young Musicians, and concertmaster of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Balázs Boda accompanied him on piano. The two artists performed Riccardo Drigo: Valse, Christoph Willibald Gluck: Melody, Henryk Wieniawski: Polonese in D major,
Camille Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Pablo de Sarasate: Introduction and Tarantella, Ernő Dohnányi: Andante.
The Percussion Gala featured a performance by Sonus percussion ensemble, students of the Summer Academy’s percussion master class, and American percussionist Mark Ford. István Szabó stressed that the percussion concert was different from all the others, because it is not only the master teachers who perform, but also the students who can show that they are the best students in the world.
The varied programme started with African traditional music, then came Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fugue in D minor, followed by Steve Reich’s 6/4. The audience then heard a performance of Botond Gyuricskó on marimba. Carlos Chavez: Toccata, a classical piece for percussion, in which it was as if many clocks were ticking and striking at the same time.
Mark Ford performed his piece Stubernic with the help of two students on marimba.
The Kodály Zoltán Youth World Orchestra conducted by Tamás Vásáry and Zoltán Bolyky is going to perform on 22nd July, (Saturday evening) at 7 p.m. in Debrecen in the great Reformed Church, Debrecen.
Following the Debrecen performance, on Sunday, Slovak Radio will broadcast a concert in Bratislava, and on Monday in Budapest in the Great Hall of the Music Academy the international team of the world orchestra will perform for the audience.
press release
