Subjective! With András Batta
From November to January, the symbol of György Cziffra, a gigantic piano, will move into the lobby of the House of Music. A piano installation, torn to pieces, which presents the struggles and triumphs of this extraordinary artist and wonderful man through the experience of the work of art.
Cziffra was a virtuoso in the original, noble sense of the word: his impressive knowledge of the piano was combined with virtuous service to art, charisma and taste. In a broader sense, all great performers are virtuosos. He is a bearer of secrets, wired to the light and dark spheres of the transcendent world.
The history of music has been a succession of virtuosos, from ancient shamans to today's stars. Who are they? Angels? Demons? Where do they come from and where do they go? Have they disappeared? Have they become immortal? Did they stay with us? Among other things, András Batta improvises variations on these themes in his autumn series.
Schedule
What is considered virtuosity by the community of a given culture is almost impenetrable in the expanse of space (geographical aspect) and time (historical aspect). Here in Europe we have celebrated and celebrate Paganini or Liszt in reincarnations of virtuosos, but what does this mean in the musical customs of, say, the island of Bali or an African tribe? To us, the Far Eastern genres such as the Indian raga, the Indonesian gamelan, the Japanese gagaku or the no-drama mean little, while these musical expressions and genres are studied for decades on the other side of the world and their best are celebrated as true virtuosos.
In the same way, we can adventure in passing time. Shall we consider as a virtuoso a melodious medieval monk who dazzled the congregation with long, ornate melodies? Or the Renaissance composer who composed a forty-part work and performed it? What was the nature of the virtuosity of Bach, Mozart or Beethoven?
This time, we extend the world of virtuosos to virtuosos from all over the world, in space and time.
House of Music Hungary
A music education centre and concert venue in the heart of the City Park, behind the airy futuristic glass facade of Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto.