The city plays music together: Jamming and America in Budapest

The city will dance, make music, play and celebrate for 17 days and anyone can join in this colourful cavalcade – since we are all contemporaries. We will bring along exciting and diverse performers of various musical genres to this year’s festival, including bohemian jazz, experimental modern or classical music to be explored.

I come from America! On 30 April, the programme series starts with the opening concert of Budapest Festival Orchestra, entitled Classical Music From The 20th Century America. The concert begins with a work by William Grant Still, “the doyen of African-American composers,” one of the greats of symphonic jazz, and continues with a violin concerto by John Adams, one of the most prominent composers of the post-Steve Reich era. For the latter it would be hard to find more authentic performers than Leila Josefowicz and David Robertson, who worked with the composer personally.

Our classical music series continues on 9 May when you can enjoy a concert by Gergely Dubóczky and Budapest Sound Collective titled “Star Hours” – Ligeti, Bach, Beethoven – in the recently inaugurated House of Music, Hungary. This young and dynamic ensemble plays the musical masterpieces of various periods with a dynamic approach, deconstructing the wall between the audience and the musicians.

We celebrate springtime with a new jazz festival: between 25 April and 10 May JazzFest Budapest makes the city’s heart beat to music. Over 200 performers from various generations and formations celebrate this timeless genre in clubs and outdoor flash mob concerts, with students and the renowned greats of jazz playing together across Budapest. You are also welcome to numerous other musical delicacies at venues from Óbudai Társaskör Óbuda Society) through CEU’s auditorium to Epres Lane in Újpalota, of which more information is available in one place in the genre filter of the website where the city makes music #cityofmusic.