Szeged Carnival

This programme is held in Hungarian.

During our thematic weekend titled City in the House – Szeged, the Szeged Family Day on Saturday concludes with an evening concert where the Szeged Symphony Orchestra presents its Vivaldi and Piazzola program under the title "Eight Seasons".

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons violin concerto series is one of the most popular musical works. Its concept inspired Astor Piazzolla, the "King of Tango," an Argentine composer, to compose his own Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, in which he humorously quotes Vivaldi’s piece at several points. The works are not played successively but are "embedded" within each other: the seasons appear by placing the related pieces of the two compositions side by side.

Since the opening of the House of Music, it has been part of our mission to showcase the musical life of Hungarian cities, resulting in the creation of our City in the House series, where cities with a rich musical and cultural life like Pécs, Székesfehérvár, Veszprém, and Debrecen have already showcased their diverse musical life, outstanding ensembles, art festivals, and emerging talents in a colorful program cavalcade. On the weekend transitioning from spring to summer at the end of May and beginning of June, the audience at the House of Music can also discover Szeged's musical life. The City in the House series embodies the mission of the House, and the program offering of Szeged simultaneously presents genre diversity, educational programs, and opportunities for future talents to showcase. During the Szeged Family Day on Saturday and the Szeged Cavalcade on Sunday, the widest range of genres is represented, from classical music – led by the Saturday evening concert of the Szeged Symphony Orchestra – through productions by the Kövér Béla Puppet Theatre, folk and jazz performances, to educational talks.

The Sunday program breakdown:

OPEN-AIR STAGE

14:30-14:40        Folk Music Welcome

14:40-14:45        Welcome - Hosted by Anita Beslin

14:45-15:15       Folk Music Mini-Concert - Anna Csizmadia, Gábor Nagy, Balázs Szokolay Dongó

15:15-15:30        Folk Dance Performance – Tiszavirág Association

MUSIC GARDEN

15:30-16:00       Brass on the Road

OPEN-AIR STAGE

16:00-16:30        Attila Blaho and Flóra Tabatabai Nejad

18:00-18:30        Deák Big Band – Featuring Flóra Tabatabai Nejad

CONCERT HALL

20:00-21:30        Nyers

FOYER

10:00-20:00        Tourinform – Szeged Open-Air Festival, SZIN - Raffle, Discounted Ticket Offers

The Concert of Anna Csizmadia, Gábor Nagy, and Balázs Szokolay Dongó

Anna Csizmadia, a junior Prima award-winning singer from Kupuszina, Gábor Nagy, a folk musician and ethnographer awarded the Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit and Balázs Szokolay Dongó, a Prima-award-winning folk musician, are outstanding performers of Hungarian folk wind instruments and representatives of both contemporary and authentic music. In the trio's concert, songs and melodies selected from the old-style layer of Hungarian folk music are presented in an authentic and contemporary manner. The music originates from the Southern Great Plain, Southern Region, Gyimes, around the Küküllő River, Moldavia, and the Palóc region. One of the group's strengths is that both Balázs Szokolay Dongó and Gábor Nagy are masters of the Hungarian bagpipe. The band approaches the Hungarian folk music treasure with sensitivity and humility, as they all create within the genre of authentic Hungarian folk music, and during their joint concert, they express a unique and distinctive sound.

Tiszavirág Association

Our association was established in 2016 with groups from Deszk, Röszke, and Szeged. Currently, nearly 250 dancers belong to the "Tiszavirág family". The leader of the association is Gábor Tóth, a folk dance pedagogue awarded the Heritage Prize, and his wife Katalin Goda, also a Heritage Prize-winning folk dance instructor. We are very diverse, yet we represent unity with our multitude of colors. When we discussed how to introduce ourselves, the unanimous answer was…we are a FAMILY. Dance and community represent an island for all of us in everyday life where difficulties take a back seat and we can draw strength from the time spent together.

Southern Great Plain / Dance and Music

The old counties of Bihar, Békés, Csongrád, Csanád, Arad, Temes, and Torontál became almost entirely uninhabited during the Ottoman occupation. These areas were later settled by many Romanians, Serbs, Slovaks, and Germans, bringing diversity to the region's culture. The richness of the region's folk art is also due to its ethnic diversity. The instrument arrangement (bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, clarinet) follows the old - essentially pre-string music - tradition. The playing style is characterized by extremely rich ornamentation and fast, brisk trills: they "tallabilléznek" with their fingers. In the region's dance repertoire, the old layer is represented by dances called oláhos or ugrós, and a significant part of the Lower Tisza region's dance treasure is the slow and fast csárdás belonging to the new style, known locally as lassús and frisses.

Brass On the Road

The Brass On the Road band was formed in March 2012 by 12 amateur musicians. Besides the 9 wind instruments, a solo and a bass guitar, as well as drums, also play a role. Among the band’s arrangements shaped to their own image, in addition to the well-known melodies of the 60s and 70s, there are film scores, jazz standards, and 21st-century hits. At concerts, whether in a concert hall, church, wedding, gastro, wine, beer festival, or simply in the street, a free-spirited, sensational atmosphere is guaranteed!

Attila Blaho and Flóra Tabatabai Nejad

The joint program of Attila Blaho and Flóra Tabatabai Nejad provides a unique musical experience, where jazz and contemporary classical music meet. Flóra, who has been learning classical piano since the age of six, got acquainted with the world of jazz as a student of Attila Blaho. In their performances, alongside jazz pieces, their own compositions are also featured, inviting the audience on a special musical journey with their joint program.

Deák Big Band

The Deák Big Band from Szeged is a gap-filling formation in the city’s life. The band's repertoire includes traditional jazz, swing, big band numbers, as well as more modern funky, and Latin pieces. The ensemble follows the traditions laid down by founder Miklós Kiszin. Their current leader is Gyula Horváth. The concert features: Flóra Tabatabai Nejad.