There’s a definite Russian flavour to the 39th edition of the Budapest Spring Festival this April, which opens and closes with great operas by Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky. Csaba Káel, CEO of Müpa and chair of the executive board organising the festival, took some time to explain more about his planning ethos and the importance of Franz Liszt to Hungarians, whose music is a strong festival thread.
The festival, launched in 1981, opens with Mussorgsky's epic opera Khovanshchina in a concert performance. Why did Csaba Káel choose this work and what lessons does the opera teach us today?
“Diversity of art forms and genres has always been a core value for the Budapest Spring Festival,” Káel explains, “while commitment to quality and innovation is also an essential part of our mission from the beginning, that’s why it has become one of the most important and internationally acclaimed performing art festivals in Central Europe. The intention to come up with something unique and extraordinary for the opening night inspired us to choose Khovanshchina.” Mussorgsky’s opera, which opens with an evocation of Dawn over the Moscow River, is usually presented in one of two versions: either in Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestration, or in Dmitri Shostakovich’s edition, published in 1958. But along the banks of the Danube, Káel’s festival is heading down a different route. “We are going to present the opera in János Bojti’s reconstruction, which is a version faithful to the composer’s original intentions, based on the existing relevant sources.”
Káel explains that the festival has been always focused around certain themes and the cultural diversity of a selected country every year. “In 2019 the cultural treasures of Russia are going to be highlighted, so the programme of the opening night also reflects on the inspiring fusion of Hungarian and Russian culture. The opening concert is not the only event dedicated to Mussorgsky. Estonian pianist-composer Kristjan Randalu has transcribed Pictures at an Exhibition for saxophone and piano duo, together with legendary jazz saxophonist David Liebman.”
The festival also welcomes some giants of the Russian classical world. Yuri Bashmet brings his Moscow Soloists for a programme of string orchestra favourites, including Tchaikovsky’s evocative Souvenir de Florence. The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra joins the Prague Philharmonic Choir for an evening including Shostakovich’s suite from his film music for Hamlet. “We are proud to have a spectacular closing weekend at the festival,” Káel explains, “with maestro Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra giving a concert performance of Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, while Prokofiev’s Cinderella is going the be performed twice by the Mariinsky Ballet at the Erkel Theatre.”