We kindly invite you to the Szeged National Theater for the concert on May 7, 2019, starting at 7.30. p.m. The program includes Max Bruch’s rarely performed Double Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Op. 88a. The Görög Sisters are honored to be playing with the Szeged Symphonic Orchestra, led by the eminent conductor János Kovács. The concert also features Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third “Heroic” Symphony.
A closer look at the night’s performers:
János Kovács
János Kovács studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, as a student of András Kórodi and Albert Simon. Immediately after his graduation in 1973 he joined the Hungarian State Opera House as a répétiteur, and in 1976 started working there as a conductor. During the summers of 1979, 1980 and 1981 he was musical assistant to Pierre Boulez in Bayreuth for performances of The Ring cycle and also for productions of The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser and Parsifal. Between 1987 and 1990 he was principal conductor of the Hungarian State Opera House.
In addition to his constant work in the Opera House he is regularly invited to conduct the leading Hungarian symphony orchestras with a demanding repertoire that ranges from classical and romantic operas and symphonic pieces to contemporary music.
His international career has also taken him to conduct major orchestras throughout Europe and as a guest conductor he appeared on stages in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Berlin and London. János Kovács used to be principal guest conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and between 1992 and 1998 became permanent- and from 1998 principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. János Kovács gained much recognition as a concert and opera conductor in Karlsruhe, at the Badisches Staatstheater and in the Bratislava National Theatre. His debut at the Berlin Komische Oper was also a success in January 2011 and in August 2012 he conducted performances of Puccini’s La Boheme in Mexico. In March 2013 the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra appeared with three Beethoven guest performances under his baton at the Bogota International Music Festival in Colombia.
He has contributed to numerous recordings of Hungaroton, Naxos, RCA Red Seal and Delta. In addition to outstanding Hungarian artists such as Ildikó Komlósi, Éva Marton, Andrea Rost, László Polgár, Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki and János Starker, he has also worked with outstanding international artists including Agnes Baltsa, Thomas Hampson, Ramon Vargas, Leonidas Kavakos and Sergei Nakariakov.
During his career he has received several prestigious awards: Vilmos Komor Memorial Plaquette (1980), Liszt Prize (1985), Gusztáv Oláh Memorial Plaquette (1991), Merited Artist award (1996), Kossuth Prize (2001), Inter Lyra Award (2003), Gundel Artistic Award (2004) and Bartók-Pásztory Prize (2007).
The Szeged Symphony Orchestra
The Szeged Symphony Orchestra is one of the most significant musical ensembles of the Hungarian ‘Alföld’.
The Orchestra adopted its name in 1969, when Viktor Vaszy, the legendary conductor and composer, organized the ensemble into an independent institution. The orchestra is at the heart of the local musical scene, they regularly performon international stages, and also play a vital role in the opera scene at the country’s second largest opera company, the Szeged National Theater.
The founder-conductor Tamás Pál, the conductors Géza Oberfrank, and Ervin Acél, among others, played a key role in the development of the concert scene – and the life of the orchestra. Sándor Gyüdi, the current conductor, has been the orchestra’s director and conductor since 1999.
Apart from the leading conductors, the orchestra has been led by numerous noteworthy artists, including, Lamberto Gardelli, Carlo Zecchi, János Ferencsik, András Kórodi, Miklós Erdélyi, Ervin Lukács, János Fürst, Ádám Medveczky, Zoltán Kocsis, János Kovács. They are also regularly joined on stage by distinguished national and international soloists.
The orchestra has toured most Europeancountries, while in the 1990s they played gained great success with their concerts in Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil and China.
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