Ahead of its guest appearance in Budapest, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will present to the Belgrade audience the repertoire with which it will introduce itself in a few days at the famous Palace of Arts (Müpa). The dress rehearsal will be open for the public on Friday, 18 November, where our faithful concertgoers will hear the music of Tajčević, Paganini, Ravel and Stravinsky (Belgrade Philharmonic Hall, 10am).
 
A regular guest of our orchestra, conductor Fabrice Bollon will direct the Belgrade Philharmonic for the first time outside Serbia, in an entirely sold-out concert. The presentation of our orchestra in Budapest, as well as the Belgrade warm-up, opens in the rhythm of Marko Tajčević’s Seven Balkan Dances for Orchestra, and closes with Igor Stravinsky’s sensual Firebird.
 
“I feel deeply honoured about leading the orchestra that I know very well in an important guest appearance at one of the most prestigious concert venues in Europe. The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has a lot of energy and its performance enthusiasm is contagious. Although I have no experience with Hungarian audiences, I am confident that they will be delighted by our orchestra”, said conductor Bollon, emphasizing his pleasure to also present music of Serbian composers: “I believe that the presentation of Serbian music in guest appearances is very important. That is how you discover various audiences and introduce them to your tradition, which is unique”.
 
Hungarian violinist Kristof Barati will make his debut with our orchestra with quite a virtuosic repertoire. He will play Paganini’s Violin concerto No 1 and Ravel’s Tzigane on Stradivari’s famous Lady Harmsworth violin, kindly offered by the Stradivarius Society of Chicago. Selected as Müpa’s Artist of the Season, the performances of this violinist of younger generation have been hailed by the critics as inspiring and acrobatic.
 
In its history, the Belgrade Philharmonic has performed in Budapest three times, the last one in 1980. All of today’s orchestra members, including the conductor and the soloist, are debuting in Müpa – the most modern cultural institution in Hungary. For more than ten years, its concert seasons have included world-class events, and its building is one of the most modern temples of art in Europe.