# Wonderful Experience - Organ Concert in Budapest!



## Guest

Recently I was in Hungary for the purposes of adopting a little girl. While that was certainly the highlight, I took advantage of the fact that I would be in Budapest itself for a week to try and find a classical music performance to attend. Given my limited window, the only thing I could find was an organ concert, but it was wonderful.

I took my two older boys (10 and 13) to hear a ~1 hour performance at the Szent Istvan (Saint Steven) Basilika on the Pest side. The organist was Gyula Pfeiffer, who, as I read, teaches in the town of Györ, west of Budapest. He was accompanied for various pieces by violin (Éva Duválvy), trumpet (György Geiger), a tenor (Xavier Rivadeneira), and a soprano (Zsuzsanna Skoff). The performances were fine - I thought the soprano's voice was a bit under-powered for the repertoire and the setting. But it was still a wonderful experience!

The performance included:
Bach - Tocatta in D Minor, Air from Orchestral Suite No. 2
Handel - Rejoice from The Messiah
Albinoni - Sonata di Chiesa
Handel - Largo from Xerxes
Vivaldi - Largo from Winter
Gounod - Ave Maria
Widor - Tocatta from the Organ Symphony
Liszt - Ave Maris Stella
Albinoni - Adagio
Franck - Panis Angelicus
Massanet - Thais Meditation
Schubert - Ave Maria
Mozart - Alleluja from Exsultate, Jubilate

More than the performance, it was an incredible experience. Not the best performance ever, but hearing it, in this venue, with my boys, is an experience I will always remember (and sitting in ridiculously uncomfortable seats, which still cost $100 for the 3 of us!).


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## perempe

how many people attended? unfortunately, these tickets are more expensive than opera performances in Erkel Theatre.

if you have luck, you can go to free organ concerts in Budapest (Matthias Church, Lutheran Church of Budavár, Fasori Church, Church of St. Anne at Batthyány Square).


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## Don Fatale

Glad you had a wonderful time in Budapest, and congratulations on you adoption. I trust all has gone well.

Not just in Budapest there is a trend for rather overpriced concerts in cathedrals, i.e. compared to concert halls, but at least it was a great experience for you.


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## perempe

Today's concert in Pasarét Franciscan Church - Bach's St John Passion
there are free concerts as well here, just have to know where to go! János Kovács was the conductor, and the soloists were also from the Opera (Tamás Szüle, Atala Schöck, István Horváth, etc.).


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## perempe

there will be two free organ recitals on Sunday: the first one in the Lutheran Church Of Budavár (18:00) then another in Matthias Church (19:30). the distance between the two is 400 meters.


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## Guest

perempe said:


> there will be two free organ recitals on Sunday: the first one in the Lutheran Church Of Budavár (18:00) then another in Matthias Church (19:30). the distance between the two is 400 meters.


Noticed you are in Eger. We spent most of our time in Hajduszoboszlo, with regular trips to Debrecen, but we did get to tour Northern Hungary and spent a day in Eger. We really enjoyed it there. Beautiful city with wonderful churches. We also enjoyed Sopron.


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## perempe

Who else was there? I missed the first peice -Muffat's Passacaglia in g- of the first concert because of the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Adrián László Nagy (organ) & Bernadett Nagy (piccolo*) played in Lutheran Church Of Budavár. 
Muffat: Passacaglia in g
Pachelbel: Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiss gar wohl
Vivaldi: Piccolo Concerto in C * RV443
(Allegro, Larghetto, Allegro)
Böhm: Vater unser im Himmelreich
Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 538

Ádám Tabajdi played in Matthias church.
Widor: Organy Symphony No.6. - Allegro
M. Dupré: Prelude and Fugue in G minor
O. Messiaen: L'Ascension (excerpts)
C. Franck - Organ Chorale No. 2 in B Minor
M. Duruflé: Toccata


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## Krummhorn

I had the wonderful experience of playing that organ for a Corpus Christie Mass in 1992 while my [then] church choir was on an European tour.

What made it interesting is that the choir sang from the nave floor near the steps to the chancel ... I had to anticipate the delay time, almost one second, and play ahead of the director's tempo. There were a series of mirrors to see the altar area from the console which is in the rear gallery.

I assume than they have updated to CCTV by now. It was a 4 manual organ Hungarian built pipe organ and a delightful sound.


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## perempe

There will be 2 free organ recitals on Sunday. Péter Mekis will play from 6:00PM in Deák tér Evangelical Church and János Palúr will play from 7:30PM in Matthias Church. use bus 16 or 16B to get to Matthias Church after the 1st concert.


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## perempe

PÉTER MEKIS

Böhm: Prelude, Fugue, and Postlude in G minor
Händel: Fugue in G minor, HWV 605
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major, BWV 852
Buxtehude: Prelude in G minor, BuxWV 148
Bach: Prelude in E-flat major, BWV 552/1
Adagio from Organ Sonata No.1
Siciliano from Flute Sonata in E-flat major, BWV 1031
Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552/2
---
JÁNOS PALÚR

Pálúr: Improvised Suite on a 16th Century Genevan Psalm
Kodály-Pálúr: Adagio
Widor: Symphony for Organ No. 6


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## perempe

There will be 2 free organ recitals again on Sunday. The 1st one will be in Kálvin Square Reformed Church with Szilárd Kovács from 5:00PM, while the 2nd one will be in Matthias Church from 7:30PM with Mónika Kecskés (Duruflé's Suite Op. 5 / Saint-Saëns' Prière Op.158 / excerpts from Eben's Windows / Widor's Symphony for Organ No. 5).


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## Guest

Wishing I was back over there right now!


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## Guest

Do you know whether they do many organ recitals in the Reformed Church in Debrecen? We stayed just outside of Debrecen while we were there, only spent the final week in Budapest.


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## perempe

Concerts in the Reformed Great Church of Debrecen


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## perempe

there will be two free organ concerts on Sunday
16:30 Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Bosnyák square
Petra Varga plays Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur
19:00 Capuchin Church (Corvin tér, 500 meters south of Batthány Square)
Mónika Kecskés' organ recital


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