by OLGS, guest blogger.
Tonight, the University of Debrecen and the City of Debrecen and the Ministry of Culture hosted conductor Tamás Vásáry and a student group he founded called the "Zoltán Kodály World Youth Orchestra," in honor of an earlier Hungarian composer. Here is Tamás Vásáry's home page.
The students met their conductor twelve days ago and planned a program of two Kodály pieces, one an excerpt from an opera "Háry János" that includes a folk song taught to Magyar language students in the summer program. Very timely.
Next, the conductor escorted to the stage the pianist Tamás Erdi to play the Ferenc/Franz Liszt "A-dur zongoraverseny." At this point in my report to readers of *Domestic Tranquility* I have to note that at Hungarian concerts, no printed progams are distributed. Instead, somebody gives a mini-lecture at the beginning and announces the pieces to be performed, so I might well have gotten it wrong and it was actually Liszt's Sonata in B Minor. Mr. Erdi has made a recording of this piece, available on the "Hungaraton" label, but unfortunately, not available in the U.S.
After intermission, the youth orchestra played the "Csajkovszkij" (English: Tchaikovsky) Fifth Symphony. I expect that maestro Vásáry has conducted this piece numerous times, but he put such energy into his conducting and brought such a response from the student musicians that the large audience applauded and applauded for ten minutes until finally the orchestra played an encore, fittingly, of one of Brahams's "Hungarian Dances."
Quite a night for Debrecen to honor its most famous living artist.
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