Várdai and Vigh unveil musical treasures in Budapest

By Alexandra Ivanoff, 15 December 2016

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Reviewed at Liszt Academy: Grand Hall, Budapest on 14 December 2016

Saint-Saëns, Fantaisie for Harp, Op.95

Saint-Saëns, Fantaisie in A major, for violin and harp, Op.124

Saint-Saëns, Morceau de concert, Op.94

Saint-Saëns, Allegro Appassionato, Op.43

Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto no. 1 in A minor, Op.33

Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals: The Swan

Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Gergely Vajda, Conductor

Andrea Vígh, Harp

István Várdai, Cello

Vilmos Szabadi, Violin

Stuck in purgatory: Tannhäuser at Budapest’s Wagner Days

Orsolya Gyárfás, 29th June

Individual performances impress, but conducting and production both prove too meandering in this year’s Wagner Days Tannhäuser.

***11

Perth welcomes the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

David Smythe, 3rd December

The Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with Riccardo Frizza conducting mix homeland sounds of Liszt and Kodály with Beethoven and Rachmaninov.

****1

Commanding Götterdämmerung brings Müpa's Ring to a blazing end

Orsolya Gyárfás, 18th June

With Iréne Theorin's Brünnhilde rejuvenated, the Ring receives a worthy finale at the Budapest Wagner Days.

****1

Wälsungenblut: Schneider and Skelton shine at Budapest Wagner Days

Orsolya Gyárfás, 16th June

The pure magic of Ádám Fischer and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra delights with two brilliant leads, but others disappoint on the second day of Müpa's Ring.

***11

A thunderous end to the 2019 Budapest Ring

David Karlin, 16th June

A Ring cycle of sustained excellence closes with telling contributions from Foster, Vinke and Pesendorfer in the three lead roles.

*****

Konieczny's Wanderer outstanding in Siegfried in Budapest

David Karlin, 15th June

Müpa's Ring sees all-round musical excellence for a third night in row, which will be remembered more than the various distracting miscues in the staging.

****1

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Alexandra Ivanoff

Alexandra Ivanoff is an American journalist who, after singing for five seasons with the San Francisco Opera, lived for eight years in Istanbul, where she began her career as a music journalist with Time Out magazine and Today's Zaman newspaper in that city. After one year in Berlin and now in Budapest, she reviews from various cities and festivals in Europe, as well as Istanbul, New York, and Los Angeles. She has degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music in NY and Yale University Graduate School of Music.

Camille Saint-Saëns: Várdai and Vigh unveil musical treasures in Budapest