The Qualitons presents Iván Szenes 100
October 2024 | ||||||
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Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
World Music, Jazz, Popular Music
Liszt Fest
Iván Szenes, the most prolific originator of Hungarian hit songs, who also knew the ins and outs of theatre, was born 100 years ago. In his case, it is indeed no exaggeration to say he had countless songs to his name as a lyricist and partly as a composer. According to his own ‘statistics,' he wrote around 2000 compositions, of which 120 became hits. We know most of them by heart, and may not even suspect he was responsible for lines we quote as adages. Over an incredibly rich and long career, he worked with Pál Jávor, Katalin Karády, Pál Szécsi, Géza Hofi, Zsuzsa Cserháti and Sarolta Zalatnay. Here are just a few titles to indicate the riches Iván Szenes has left to posterity: ‘Kicsit szomorkás a hangulatom' (Gloomy Today), ‘Nehéz a boldogságtól búcsút venni' (Farewell to Happiness), ‘Kicsi, gyere velem rózsát szedni' (Let's Go Pick Roses), ‘Kislány a zongoránál' (Little Girl at the Piano).
One of the most exciting acts on the Hungarian popular music scene, The Qualitons are keen to use their unique fusion style to explore the world of the 1960s and 1970s, as it's not the first time the band has reimagined legendary songs - most recently, they revived the music of the iconic band, KEX. Now they will bring to life Szenes's œuvre in Müpa Budapest's concert hall.
Program and cast
The members of the band:
drums, voice
Levente Boros
bass guitar, vocals
Ernő Hock
keyboards, voice
Ádám Menyhei
guitar, voice
Barna Szőke
keyboards, synthesizer, voice
András Weil
Palace of Arts Müpa Budapest
When Müpa Budapest, Hungary and its capital's new cultural hub, opened in 2005, it was built to represent more than 100 years of Hungarian cultural history. As a conglomeration of cultural venues, the building has no precedent in 20th century Hungarian architecture and has no peers in the whole of Central Europe.
The creators of this ambitious project, the Trigránit Development Corporation, prime contractor Arcadom Construction and the Zoboki, Demeter and Partners Architectural Office, were driven by the desire to create a new European cultural citadel as part of the new Millennium City Centre complex along the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Danube waterfront. The result is a facility whose construction quality, appearance, functionality and 21st century technological infrastructure makes it ideally suited to productions of the highest standard. The building is also highly versatile and equipped to host performances of any genre and almost any scale.