Rolling in Budapest Cultural information in English … Hear everything first hand

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Slowly ending the Season of Summer still awesome series of culture programs open for the audience within just days to come. Give yourself a culture tour @ Budapest’s sightful historical venues.
The 24th Jewish Cultural Festival will be held at 7 venues in Budapest between September 4 to 12., within the Motto “Tuned to joie de vivre”. The festival will be held at 6 venues – Dohány Street – Frankel Leó Street – Hegedűs Gyula Street – Rumbach Street Synagogues, and in the House of Music Hungary. The festival is traditionally organised by the Budapest Jewish Community (BZSH) in cooperation with the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ).
The main goal of the Jewish Cultural Festival is to become an important factor in the cultural tourism of the Hungarian capital and to play a role in the further development of the Jewish quarter of Budapest. In recent years, the festival has deservedly become a recognized and prestigious event in the capital’s artistic life. Meeting point to reach the audience with the stars of the Hungarian and international music scene.
This year’s series of programs to be unique of its kind offering more than 24 musical, literary and artistic programs at seven venues throughout Budapest, celebrating the Hungarian and Jewish culture.
In brief programs … When … Where … What’s show is on:
Grand Synagogue – Dohány Street – Has became traditional, to host guest artist and the audience as the main venue of the Jewish Cultural Festival. The building is the iconic site of Hungarian Neologue Jewish life. Many of the programs of this year’s festival, which will run from September, 4-8 will also be performed there.
September, 4. – 8 p.m. – Grand Synagogue – Dohány Street – Kicks off with a fantastic concert known by many Zsuzsa Koncz – “Szabadnak születtél” … (You were born free.
September, 4. – 7 p.m. – Hegedűs Gyula Synagogue – Bringing a series of events with a production of Songs in the Pest Moonlight showcasing signature pieces of famous operettas by Béla Zerkovitz and performed by the Monarchia Operett with a spectacular concert show.
September, 5. 8 p.m. Dohány Street Synagogue – On stage “Mi van Velem” – “WHAT ABOUT ME?” András Kern’s evening, star guests: Barbara Hegyi, Judit Hernádi, Béla Festzbaum and Gábor Heilig.
September, 5, – 7 p.m. – Hegedűs Gyula Street Synagogue – 100 Year Stone – concert with Péter Gerendás and his musician friends – star guests: Ibolya Oláh and Sándor Födő.
September, 5. 7 p.m. – Rumbach Synagogue – The Jewish Cultural Festival cannot end without the beautiful voice of singer-actress Andrea Malek along with her fellow musicians. Malek Andi Soulistic band will be performing Shalom, Jerusalem – we sing for you!. In the first part of her concert may hear songs with the heart-warming rhythm based on Yiddish and klezmer motifs, while in the second part she sing songs from the Hungarian composers, dearest to her heart, including Szabolcs Fényes and Pál S. Gábor.
September, 5. – 7.30 p.m. – House of Music Hungary – Absolutely worthwhile to get tic kedts to this amazing show. A real, authentic, exotic Israeli singer performance arriving to the House of Music Hungary, where the new diva of pop music artist from the East, LALA Tamar will fill the air With her radiant femininity and her distinctive voice. Lala Tamar. Within her brings North African Jewish heritage, authentically portrays the Moroccan Jewish music culture of Spain. Born in Israel to parents from Morocco and Brazil, Lala has been influenced by North African and Brazilian music from childhood. At the concert hear her transforms Ladino melodies into hip-hop’s 21st century rhythms and turns them into pulsating, upbeat pop songs.
September 6, 7 p.m. – Hegedűs Gyula Street Synagogue – Again “Genius in Synagogue” with Péter Mülle Siámi with his guests:Béla Szakcsi with Lakatos and Petra Gubik.
September, 6. – 8 p.m. – Dohány Street Synagogue -A Pianist Balázs Havasi will take the stage with his HAVASI Pure Piano show. After twenty-three sold-out concerts at the Budapest Arena, this time he will perform a solo piano recital at the Jewish Cultural Festival. Moreover, it is not only his virtuoso playing that the audience may admire this time. Balázs Havasi will introduces each piece with recollections and personal musical stories associated with it.
September, 7. – 7 p.m. – Hegedűs Gyula Street Synagogue – Falusi Mariann Klezmer, featuring: Kristóf Darvas and September, 7. 7 p.m. -Hegedűs Gyula Street Synagogue.
September, 7. – 8 p.m. – Dohány Street Synagogue – A perfect day and timing to pay tribute to the unparalleled oeuvre of Barbra Streisand, the celebrated star of New York’s Broadway, who turns 80 this year. The evening will feature wonderful artists such as Andrea Szulák, Mónika-Nika Veres, Bálint Gájer, Boldizsár László and the Don Lázi Swingtet led by trumpeter István Lázár. The concert will feature world-famous songs such as Hello, Dolly, The Way We Were and A Star is Born and songs from the musical Funny Girl.
September, 8. – 7 p.m. – Hegedűs Gyula Street Synagogue – DO YOU STILL LOVE IT!? – GERGELY RÓBERT’S NOSTALGIC CONCERT OF THE BEST SONGS OF THE 60s, 70s, 80s.
September, 8. – 8 p.m. – Dohány Street Synagogue – In th previous years at the Jewish Cultural Festival already know by many who have already been at their concerts, the legendary Fegya Jávori and his band, the Budapest Klezmer Band whom will again give life on stage to the traditional Yiddish motifs with a touch of Gypsy and folk music, spiced up with a touch of modernity. Special guest Opera singer Andrea Rost, celebrating her birthday will take the stage at the Dohány Synagogue, this time performing Hungarian, Gypsy and Yiddish folk songs. Another special featuring at the concert will be Fegya’s band joined by such masters of folk music with Mátyás Bolya, Miklós Lukács and Balázs Szokolay Dongó.
The Synagogue on Frankel Leó Street offers two programs in two days:
September, 5. – 7 p.m. – The Klezmerész band will take the stage with their star guest, Veca Janicsák. Founded 18 years ago, the Klezmerész ensemble needs no introduction to the audience of the Jewish Cultural Festival. The band plays Yiddish and Sephardic songs in Hebrew and Hungarian and has been a regular participant in the event for more than 10 years. The unique sound of the band is created by the special vocals of two extremely talented singers Judit Klein and Judit Török, and now they are joined by a third well known performer for the first time Veca Janicsák.
September, 6. – 7 p.m. – Fírankel Leo Synagogue – World-renowned cellist Pál Banda will perform. Throughout his career, the celliust has worked with artists such as György Solti, András Schiff, Rudolf Serkin, Cladio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Lorin Maazel. His current program includes J.S. Bach’s Suite in C major and Suite in C minor, both written around 1720, and both of which require exceptional preparation and technical skill to perform. Pál Banda has been a member of the English Piano Trio since 2012 and is a professor at the Purcell School and the Royal College of Music in London, regularly giving masterclasses in cello and chamber music around the world.
September, 6. – 7 p.m. – Rumbach Synagogue – The Israeli Nigun quartet will perform a special piece of music, translating the musical motifs of Hasidic mysticism into the language of contemporary jazz. Nigun combines the melodic treasures of traditional Hasidic culture with contemporary Jewish-Israeli music, creating an almost new musical genre.
September, 8. – 7 p.m. – Rumbach Synagogue – Orsolya Korcsolán and the Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra will give a concert titled 4 Worlds, 4 Seasons. The production promises to bring together klezmer, romantic music, liturgical songs and the Baroque era, presenting four worlds: the romanticism of Max Bruch, the vibrant and buoyant music of the young Mendelssohn, Fegya Jávori’s klezmer-Doyna for violin and orchestra, and Vivaldi‘s most famous work, the Four Seasons.
Sunday, 11. – 7 p.m. – The Mediterranean Sea will “roar” as Mara Aranda, one of the biggest Spanish stars of Sephardic music, takes the stage. Initially, the artist and her fellow musicians worked on Arabic, Balkan, Greek, Israeli and Turkish melodies based on Valencian roots, which is why she was dubbed “The voice of the Mediterranean”. Latter Mara Aranda turned her attention to Sephardic Jewish music, also her current concert she will offer an insight into how Sephardic music might have sounded in the Middle Ages through a unique orchestration of medieval and modern soundscapes.
September, 12. – 7 p.m. – Closing the events programs at the Rumbach Synagogue will conclude with Andrea Bauer and her fellow artists performing Queen of Sheba. The work tries to go down to the beginning where good and goodness come from in human beings, what spiritual content is implied by the feeling of belonging somewhere, the awareness of being part of, i.e. witnessing and experiencing, the natural world and its awakening.
September, 12. – 7 p.m. – The series of events at the Hegedűs Gyula Street will be closed by festival regulars, the versatile Sabbathsong Klezmer Band. The 10-member group has many surprises in store for this year’s concert theevent not to be missed.
Tickets can be reachable through http://www.zsidokulturalisfesztival.hu and/or http://www.broadway.hu

Within the slideshow snaps were taken at the Rumbach Street Synagogue at an earlier media conference.

Recommendation and snaps by Aggie Reiter