The Budapest Klezmer Band
Organisers of the annual Jewish Summer Festival, which began in 1998, have apparently decided the time is right for a change and have rebranded it the Jewish Cultural Festival. Looking at the program for the week-long event from this Sunday August 30 to September 6, it seems pretty much like business as normal though.
The emphasis remains on concerts and musical happenings, with wider variety offered by a book fair, film screenings, photo and fine arts exhibitions, and gastronomy programs. The festival is intended for Jewish and non-Jewish audiences alike.
Again, the three main venues are the synagogues in Dohány utca and Rumbach Sebestyén utca, and Goldmark Hall in Wesselényi utca, all in District VII. Other venues are the Uránia National Movie Theatre, Gozsdu udvar, Belvárosi Színház, Liszt Ferenc Music Academy and the Hotel Gellért.
An early highlight this Monday promises to be “What’s Wrong With Me? An Evening with András Kern”. The popular and prize-winning actor will be joined by guests Judit Hernádi, Barbara Hegyi, Béla Fesztbaum and Gábor Heilig.
Kern and Hernádi have sung together on several occasions and they issued a joint record titled “Kernádi”. Heilig was the musical director on almost all of Kern’s records, and the composer and lyric writer of several of his songs. Kern and Hegyi have played many parts together but this will be the first time they sing together in concert. Fesztbaum is an actor who plays piano and sings.
Also this Monday, László Fekete, chief cantor at the Dohány utca synagogue, will present “Shiru Lashem Shir Chadash – Sing a new song to the Eternal Father… ”, a concert by Hungarian Jewish cantors. Fekete explains: “The concert consists of the popular songs and adaptations of prayers from our life in the synagogue. Besides the traditional melodies we can catch up with new musical endeavours in international practice.”
This Sunday – Budapest Klezmer Band Concert: 25 Years, 25 Concerts.
This Sunday – Concert by György Ferenczi and the Rackajam fusion jazz-rock-blues band.
This Monday – “The Sheriff of Dohany Street”, a theatre production by Füge and Kaposvár University. The script is based on testimonies of Holocaust survivors and the play takes place in complete darkness, where the absurdity and horror of the jokes are reinforced with repetitive sequences of music and rending songs.
September 1 – “Hungary, you are beautiful, you are magnificent” – works by Hungarian Jewish composers. Editor: István Gyarmati.
September 1 – “The Rooster is Crowing…” – Muzsikás concert with guests Mária Petrás – voice (Moldova), Zoltán Farkas “Batyu” – drum, gardon, Kálmán Balogh – dulcimer, Bob Cohen – fiddle, voice.
September 1 – Babos Makrokozmosz jazz concert.
September 2 – János Székely: “Caligula’s Governor”, joint production by Füge and the Vádli Occasional Theatre
Company.
September 2 – Concert By Ferenc Snétberger on guitar and the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra led by János Rolla.
September 2 – Films by Miklós Jancsó: “Message of Stones – Budapest” (1994) about the Jews of Budapest of twenty years ago, and Béla Fáy: “It can be like this”, a documentary on the contemporary world of the Jewish quarter, followed by a discussion with Béla Fáy and Nyika Jancsó.
September 3 – Péter Kárpáti: “The Fourth Gate”, Hassidic legendry. Füge Production, Gólem Theatre – Secret Company.
September 3 – Dance of the Happy Souls, a László Fassang organ concert with star guest Andrea Fullajtár.
September 3 – The Golden Age of Romanticism, concert by pianist János Balázs, winner of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition and multiple music competitions.
September 6 – Film music from all over the world, a concert by the Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra with screenings of short films and extracts showing the relationship between cinema and music.
September 6 – “Bridges” – European Jewish Day of Culture, Kolozsvár (Cluj) in Budapest – Hungarian and Jewish folk culture with actors and musicians from Transylvania and Maramures.
Tickets (HUF 1000-12,000), information: www.zsidofesztival.hu
