Dohány Street Synagogue
Sunday – 6 p.m. – March,17. 2024.
Herald News … How about to spend an evening where musical fesco in which romance and pasion unite together with returning of the world-renowned Australian pianist, David Helfgott to the Capital of Hungary, where else than @ the Dohány Street Synagogue.
With his unparalleled talent and captivating performance style, Helfgott has left memorable
footprints on numerous international stages. The brilliance of piano artistry will shine offering the audience an uplifting experience of brilliant piano playing for all age to the audience.
The evening will be centered around exceptional, immortal masterpieces such as Chopin’s intimate and profoundly emotional “Ballade No. 1 in G Minor” and the eternally relevant “Ballade No. 4 in F Minor,” guaranteed to stir passion and soul. Through Liszt Ferenc’s awe-inspiring creation, “Ballade No. 2 in B Minor,” we gain insight into the pinnacle of piano artistry. The etude “Un Sospiro” evokes the dazzle of love. Beethoven’s unforgettable, iconic “Appassionata,” his 23rd sonata, will resonate within the walls of the Synagogue, alongside Mendelssohn’s exceptional piece “Rondo Capriccioso.”Addinsell’s magnificent “Warsaw Concerto” evokespaints a intertwine, while Chopin’s “Op.24 in A Minor” etude, the “WinterWind” sweeps in like a true snowstorm, ushering piano imagery into spring. The power of art lives within the piano notes and in the depths only understood through the language of music.
About David Helfgott … Based on his life story, the biographical drama “Shine” received 7 Oscar nominations. Geoffrey Rush, who portrayed David Helfgott, won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor! In 1996, the international release of the Oscar-winning film “Shine” brought renewed attention. As a result, Helfgott’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto became the best-selling record of the period in Australia, the UK, and the United States. In October of that year, David Helfgott made history with four consecutive sold-out concerts at the Sydney Opera House. He then embarked on a worldwide tour, performing in numerous cities in the USA and Canada, including the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, before returning to London’s Royal Albert Hall. Since then, Helfgott has been regularly touring worldwide, appearing at the Beijing Music Festival, Vienna’s Musikverein, Copenhagen’s Tivoli Koncerthall, London’s Barbican Centre, Austria’s Erl Festival Hall, and frequently performing at the Sydney Opera House.
Born in Melbourne, he demonstrated exceptional piano talent as a child, winner in the state finals of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition six times. At the age 17, he began studying with Alice Carrard, a student of Bartók and István Thomán, Liszt’s pupil. Two years later, he traveled to London to study at the Royal College of Music under Cyril Smith’s guidance. Smith, with 25 years of teaching experience, considered Helfgott the most brilliant student and likened him to Horowitz in both technical skill and temperament. During his time in London, he won several awards, including the Dannreuther Prize for the performance in a competition concert, for his rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. While facing increasing emotional instability and mental agitation towards the end of his stay in London, the 1970s marked a period of frequent hospitalizations. He returned to the concert stage in the 1980s. He then embarked on a worldwide tour, performing in numerous cities in the USA and Canada, including the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, before returning to London’s Royal Albert Hall. Since then, Helfgott has been regularly touring worldwide, appearing at the Beijing Music Festival, Vienna’s Musikverein, Copenhagen’s Tivoli Koncerthall, London’s Barbican Centre, Austria’s Erl Festival Hall, Sydney Opera House.
Organizer’s kind request is to the visitors must adhere to Jewish religious regulations during the concert. Men are required to enter and stay with covered heads. Most probably because the weather is still in the mood of late wintertime, anyway women should have their shoulders covered upon entry and throughout their stay in the syganogue building.”
The concert is organized by Green Stage Production.
Tickets may be purchased through: eventim.hu/en/tickets/david-helfgott-in-concert-budapest-dohany-utcai-zsinagoga-623678/event.html
Recommendation by Aggie Reiter
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