Intense work has continued at Crescendo Summer Institute; exciting concerts and lectures at Crescendo Festival
The second Promenade Concert of Crescendo Summer Institute was held at 5 p.m. on 29 July 2015. Pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Luis Bonfa, Paul Constantinescu, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Edvard Grieg, Joseph Haydn, Édouard Lalo, Sebastian Lee, Patrik Gergő Oláh, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Astor Piazzola, Amilcare Ponchielli, Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, Franz Strauss, Giuseppe Verdi and Henrique Waldemar were performed by Andrew Brothers (USA, piano), Judit Czentnár (HUN, piano), Mateus Dela Fonte (BRA, guitar), Liliána Dominkó (HUN, cello), Fanni Fekete (HUN, clarinet), Elisabeta Furtuna (ROU, piano), Kristóf Gellér (HUN, French horn), Dafne Guevara (USA, flute), Chika Hanyuda (JAP, piano), János Bence Higyed (HUN, trumpet), Margaretha den Hollander (NED, bassoon), Balázs Havalda (HUN, trumpet), Philipp Hutter (SUI, trumpet), Vanda Irimiás (HUN, violin), Imola Villő Kis (HUN, violin), Anna Liliána Kiss (HUN, piano), Marta Klimczak (POL, flute), Rebeka Viola Máté (HUN, double bass), Hanna Wiktoria Michałowska (POL, soprano), Vilmos Mohácsi (HUN, double bass), Benjámin Mohácsi (HUN, marimba), Swetlana Meermann (RUS, piano), Mariann Mikkelsen (DEN, soprano), Victor Mendelev (BUL, tenor), David Mocan (ROU, French horn), Vilmos Mohácsi (HUN, double bass), Patrik Gergő Oláh (HUN, violin), Isabela Saavedra (COL, cello), Noémi Sallai (HUN, clarinet), Shelby Sender (USA, piano), Gyula Váradi (HUN, violin) and Ye-Ree Kim (KOR, piano).
A public talk was held on the night of 29 July 2015, with the participation of teachers and led by Beat Rink. Our guests were Kristin Ditlow (USA, piano), Gábor Bretz (HUN, opera singer), Eugene Alcalay (USA, piano) and David Daly (Ireland, double-bass). The audience could hear answers among others to the following questions: What has been the funniest situation of these artists’ careers? How do they process their success? How do they relax after a performance or a concert? What is their perspective on living out their profession?
Lectures by Dr Marcel S. Zwitser are always a special treat. At 5 p.m. on 30 July 2015, he gave a lecture in the Synagogue, entitled “Turning Pages in Bach’s Study Bible”. In 1935, the personal study Bible of Johann Sebastian Bach – in three massive volumes – was found unexpectedly. The immense value of the discovery was that in this Bible edition Bach had annotated several passages that provide an unprecedented view into Bach’s personal Christian faith. After many years of lobbying, a complete facsimile of Bach’s copy of this so-called Calov Commentary will be available at the end of 2015. This publication is being overseen by an international team of scholars, who will publish a volume with articles on the Calov Commentary alongside this publication (to be expected in 2016). Dr Marcel S. Zwitser belongs to this scholarly team and will lecture on Bach’s annotations in his study Bible. During the event, excerpts from Bach’s partitas were performed by Dominika Blatt (HUN, piano).
The Sectional Concert of the Baroque Section master class, held in the Synagogue at 8 p.m. on 30 July 2015, featured Italian-influenced pieces by Bach. It is widely known that Italian composers and style made a great impression on Bach. This influence can be especially heard in his Brandenburg concertos and the harpsichord and violin concertos. Among Bach’s large output of secular cantatas there are two with Italian texts: Cantata 203 (Amore traditore) and Cantata 209 (Non sa che sia dolore). Furthermore, in the 1740s he even transcribed one of the most popular Italian sacred works, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater into German based on Psalm 51, while he left most of the music unaltered. This piece is entitled “Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden” (BWV 1083). The concert program of the early music section of Crescendo 2015 gives a glimpse into Bach pieces birthed under Italian influence. During this concert, the Triple Concerto in A minor for flute, violin and harpsichord (BWV 1044) was also performed. The following artists contributed: Theodore Bikish (USA, harpsichord), Sylvie Chopard (SUI, violin), Eszter Draskóczy (HUN, violin), Fanny Gurgel (HUN, cello), Dávid Hauck (HUN, cello), Aleksandar Janković (SRB, double bass), Milan Jeremić (SRB, flute), Adriána Kalafszky (HUN, voice), Bálint Karosi (HUN, harpsichord), Dóra Király (HUN, baroque bassoon), Marta Klimczak (POL, flute), Eszter Kruchió (HUN, violin), Hanna Wiktoria Michałowska (POL, voice), Anna Molnár (HUN, voice), Marini Peikidou (GRE, baroque viola), Iwona Siemeniuk (POL, voice), Simone Strohmeier (GER, violin). Paolo Paroni (ITA) was the conductor for the night.
Nightly small-group talks have continued, reflecting on the following topics of morning Tune-ins:
– Why is worldview important?
– The thinking heart
Tokaj, 31 July 2015
Eszter Dudás
artistic leader
Crescendo Summer Institute