The Romanticism in the 19th

and 20th century chamber

music festival marking the

anniversaries of the births of Frederic

Chopin and Gustav Mahler and death

of Ern Dohnnyi takes place on 17

and 18 December (two earlier concerts

were held on 26 and 27 November) in

the Great Hall of the Hungarian

Academy of Sciences (MTA). The

Budapest Times spoke to the festivals

organiser, pianist Dnes Vrjon.

For how long have you been organising

chamber music festivals?

Since 2005 there have

been concerts every

two to three

months during

the concert

season. We

intend to

continue

holding

such

concerts

in the

future.

Can you tell

us about what

to expect from the

chamber music

festival?

We are presenting three

composers, all of whom have

anniversaries this year: Chopin,

Mahler and Dohnnyi. However, we

have tried to broaden the horizon of

the festival so works by other

composers of their time will also be

performed. Mahler, Chopin and

Dohnnyi are very different figures

with very different music, but I have

managed to find points of contact

between them nevertheless. We have

created a new, exciting world with

pieces by the three protagonists and

those for example by Alban Berg,

Alma Mahler and Witold

Lutoslawski.

Do you have a personal connection to

the works that have been selected?

Yes, of course. Only pieces that I

feel a connection with and that are

important to me are on the

programme. They are

works that should be

performed again

and again.

What can

a u d i e n c e s

expect?

Chopins

chamber

music will

be special

because it

is only

p e r f o r m e d

fairly rarely.

Then there are

the compositions

by Dohnnyi, which are

from his youth but display an

incredible maturity. The works by

him that will be played during the

festival were so much to the liking of

Brahms that they were performed in

Vienna at his request. And from

Mahler we can cross to Alma

Mahler, Alban Berg and Alexander

von Zemlinsky, a circle of excep-

tional composers at the turn of the

century. I cant single out any of the

works because they are all special

and even unique. The overall

picture is important. Chamber

music festivals are about coopera-

tion, the concept of the festival and

the compositions rather than about

individual star musicians.

When did you begin planning the festival?

I began planning it at around the

time when the Haydn Year came to an

end. The organisation of such a

festival is always a gradual process.

You need to think through all the

possible variations, coordinate the

performances and contact the musi-

cians. That takes time but I have

enjoyed it greatly.

What are your hopes for the festival?

I hope that I can make young people

enthusiastic about chamber music. Of

course I also would like chamber music

to become better established in

Hungary and for people to be more

open to this form of music. Unlike at a

traditional concert several different

pieces are performed that can be very

different from one another, for

example a song cycle followed by a trio

and then a piece for piano. We have a

theme around which all the elements

of the performance are based. It is

rather different from what concert-

goers are used to.

For me music is a form of communi-

cation. No CD or YouTube clip can

replace the pleasure of a concert. If

you attend a performance, then you

prepare yourself psychologically.

That creates a kind of understanding

between the performer and the audi-

ence for which there is no substitute.

Although we now have access to

music everywhere, there is definitely

still a place for concerts and live

music. At a concert the audience

shows respect for the composer and

the musicians and plays an active part

in the music. It is a kind of ritual.

Ines Gruber

The ticket

The concerts of the chamber music festival

Romanticism in the 19th and 20th

century take place on Friday and

Saturday (17 and 18 December) in the

Great Hall of the Hungarian Academy

of Sciences (District V, Roosevelt tr 9) at

7.30pm.

Tickets cost HUF 4,500 (HUF 2,250 with

concessions) and are available from

www.ticketportal.hu and www.jegy.hu.

For more information about the festival see

www.erkel-mahler.hu.

The manDnes Vrjon studied from 1984 to1991 at the Liszt Ferenc MusicAcademy in Budapest. He attendedthe international master classes ofAndrs Schiff from a young age andshortly after graduating was awardedthe Gza-Anda Prize in Zurich, one ofthe greatest accolades for a concertpianist. Since 1994 he has been anassistant professor at the Liszt FerencMusic Academy and was awarded theLiszt Prize in 1997. Vrjon regularlyperforms at classical music festivalsworldwide and is regarded as one ofthe most important Hungarian musi-cians of his generation.

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Works to be heard time and time againFestival marks the births of Frederic Chopin and Gustav Mahler & death of Ern Dohnnyi

For me music is aform of communication. No

CD or YouTube clip can replacethe pleasure of a concert. If you

attend a performance, then youprepare yourself psychologically. Thatcreates a kind of understandingbetween the performer and the audi-

ence for which there is no substi-tute.

festival organiserDnes Vrjon