Since last
autumn, Budapest’s
museum and gallery landscape has had a new addition: the House of the Hungarian
Secession opened its doors in October 2007. The history of the private
initiative dates back ten years, to when the construction company of Tivadar
Vad was restoring historical facades near Szabadság tér in District V.

In 1944, as the Red Army descended on Budapest, ErnĹ‘ Dohnányi, the great Hungarian
composer and world-renowned piano virtuoso, fled his native land, never to
return. 

The Budapest Art Expo at the MűvészetMalom (Art Mill) in Szentendre
offers a cross section of the work of mostly Hungarian artists from the past
two years. 

Gogol Bordello play a type of music labelled Gypsy punk, which sounds
like a cross between traditional Gypsy music and The Clash. Their songs also
reveal the influence of Les Negresses Vertes, Mano Negra, Jewish klezmer sounds
and ska.

The World of Wellness fair presents 
premium wellness opportunities from 4 to 6 April at the VAM Design
Center on Király utca.
World of Wellness is the first in a series of events which will focus on new
themes each month in the space.

Budapest’s secret nuclear bunker and hospital opened
two weeks ago, providing both an insight into the history of military hospitals
and some of the secrets of the Communist regime. It is the guided tour, which
offers a wealth of anecdotes relating to every room, rather than the exhibits,
which makes a visit worthwhile.

A review of the collections at Prague’s Lobkowicz
Palace and Salzburg’s Mozart Geburtshaus reveals both positive and negative
aspects of American cultural influence on European art and history.

Passion
comprises three one-act ballet pieces, each just under an hour, by three of the
most outstanding contemporary Hungarian choreographers: Yvette Bozsik, Antal
Fodor and Iván Markó.Not
surprisingly, the common theme of the show, which premiered at the State Opera
House on 8 March, is the fiery emotion, which the artists each approach from
very different angles.

Ákos
Matzon’s exhibition Párok (Pairs) confronts visitors to the Symbol Gallery with
pairs of pictures with similar colours, motifs and brushstrokes.

Easter is a
Christian holiday intended to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but
today it appears to be turning into another celebration of gluttony. According
to a recent study by the research institute AC Nielsen, Hungarians spent some
HUF 2.2 billion (EUR 8.4 million) on around 900 tonnes of confectionery in the
couple of weeks before Easter last year.