Hungarian Gems Series - Concert #1

"All areas of traditional folk culture exerts such a primal force and energy and conveys such eternally valid massages that they become an inexhaustible treasury of the arts at all times" These are László Dubrovay's words on the power of traditional folk culture. At Concerto Budapest's Hungarian Gems Series, we can hear a unique selection of his compositions inspired by folk music, which enjoy a special position in his output. As one of the most prolific Hungarian composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Dubrovay has been working on integrating folk music elements – based on various musical principles – into his own musical language for decades. He is deeply intrigued by the various timbres and performance technical possibilities of folk instrumentsThe piece Soundlandscape Hungary for example is based on the sounds of Hungarian folk instruments, such as canoe, Turkish whistle or koboz. Among other things, the instrumental setup –  scored for tarogato and a string quartet – makes Dubrovay's Tarogato Quintet a singular piece. The master composed his Concerto for Folk Instruments and Orchestra, which is also inherently linked to Hungarian culture and roots, for the Millennium celebrations.