Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince

This programme is held in Hungarian.

Ever since its creation, the arrangement of the Wooden Prince for violin, soprano saxophone and piano has been the primary chamber music version of Béla Bartók’s masterpiece. In addition to collaborating with students of composition from five musical colleges and five different continents, the pupils of the Béla Bartók Conservatory will also interpret special transition sections to ensure that, at five separate points, the musical process is expanded with new parts inspired by the music and plot of the original piece, to be performed by a further five chamber music ensembles. At this concert, young composers from abroad pay tribute to the programme and speak about their works in short video messages. Their commentary is preceded by ethno-jazz movements inspired by the musical culture of the given country, made with the cooperation of students from the jazz and folk music faculties. The story of The Wooden Prince is also brought to life in video format, featuring visual elements created in a folk Art Nouveau-style – the work of students from the Bartók Conservatory and Kisképző School. The performance will provide a thrilling panorama of artistic endeavours carried out around the world, with Bartók’s eternal genius at centre stage.

The Bartók Conservatory – New Music event is in its 12th year at the preparatory school for the Liszt Academy. The programme is not an official part of the curriculum. Instead, it has the aim of expanding the musical range of the students and equipping them with tools of expression for interpreting the music of today. The organisers believe it is vital to involve the students as much as possible in diverse activities. The students then perform their work in concert during a project day in spring. The young musicians spend months preparing for these events – most of which deal with more relaxed themes.

Contributors
They are students of the Bartók Conservatory and the Liszt Academy.

The Wooden Prince - Video Background Graphics:
Mária Tirpák, student of the Secondary School of Fine Arts

Music transcriptions, program leader:
Götz Nándor

Speakers:
Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince, Op. 13 excerpts (transcription by Nándor Götz)
Noah Zubia Sanchez: Prince of the Ages (San Francisco Conservatory of Music – USA)
Piyush Agarwal: Sakhi Mori (KM Conservatory of Music – India)
Aurés Moussong: De Bois et de Métal (HSLU Hochschule Luzern – Switzerland)
Tim Doubinski: He Lies He Sleeps (Sydney Conservatory of Music – Australia)
and ethno-jazz improvisations