Joseph HAYDN: Symphony No. 80 in D minor, Hob. I:80
Béla BARTÓK: Cantata profana, BB 100, Sz 94
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Igor STRAVINSKY: Symphony of Psalms

The son Boldizsár László tenor
The father Miklós Sebestyén bass-baritone
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Mátyás Antal

Named after the founder and former leader of the Hungarian State Choir, the predecessor of the National Choir, the Pászti season ticket unsurprisingly offers a rich bounty of vocal music: early music and contemporary pieces, as well as a cappella works and oratorical masterpieces, all courtesy of composers from both Hungary and elsewhere.

Conducting the first concert will be Mátyás Antal, who headed the Hungarian National Choir for a quarter of a century and is turning 80 this year. After appropriately kicking off the occasion with Haydn’s 80th symphony, he will then go on to lead the ensemble in two legendary masterpieces: Bartók’s Cantata Profana and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. For the second concert, current choirmaster Csaba Somos invites music lovers on a journey through Italy with works (where either the composer or the theme is Italian) by Bruno Bettinelli, Pietro Clausetti, Morten Lauridsen, Jonathan Dove, Willem Jeths and Tamás Beischer-Matyó.

The third concert commemorates yet another birthday, this time that of the Hungarian National Choir itself, which to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding will perform – again with Somos wielding the baton – works by Brahms and Mendelssohn: the former’s Schicksalslied (“Song of Destiny”) and the latter’s anthem Hör’ mein Bitten and the massive but rarely heard Lobgesang, the “Song of Praise” catalogued as Mendelssohn’s second symphony. The soloists for this evening will be Polina Pasztircsák, Lilla Horti and Szabolcs Brickner.

The final event in the subscription will be truly sensational. The 2025/2026 season of the Hungarian National Philharmonic features several remarkable events, one of which is Massenet’s oratorio La Vierge, now being presented for the first time ever in Hungary, with György Vashegyi on the podium. Taking the stage to sing the title role will be the outstanding French mezzo-soprano Aude Extremo.