International concerts and master classes await audiences from June 26 to July 4 in Vác (northern Hungary) at the 42nd Early Music Days Festival, organized in collaboration with the Haydneum – Hungarian Early Music Center.
Vác is hosting the series of events for the tenth time. The masterclasses associated with the concerts cover not only Baroque music but also the repertoires of the Classical and Early Romantic periods.
Their goal is for participants to perform works from the period and also to become familiar with historical performance practices, sound, and instrument use.
As part of the festival, the Haydneum’s collection of historical keyboard instruments will also be made available to participants. The collection is Central Europe’s largest fortepiano collection, which “guides interested visitors through the musical worlds of C. Ph. E. Bach and Haydn all the way to German Romanticism via various pre-Steinway piano types.”
Szabolcs Szamosi, executive director of Filharmónia Magyarország, emphasized in the announcement: “Participants in the masterclasses will have the opportunity to learn from outstanding masters of the domestic and international early music scene. The courses are also open to the public, so those interested can not only hear the final results but also get a glimpse into the workshop process.”
The courses are led by renowned artists from the international early music scene.
The recorder players are working with Lucie Horsch from the Netherlands, Shunske Sato teaches the historical violin, and Petra Somlai leads the fortepiano course. Singers can study under the guidance of Katalin Szutrély and Elisabeth Scholl, while György Vashegyi leads a chamber music course. Réka Nagy will cover basso continuo playing, as well as the roles of the viola da gamba and the cello, and Augustin Szokos will lead a harpsichord course.
The festival begins on June 26 with an opening concert at the Fehérek Church in Vác.
Capella Savaria and the Purcell Choir, conducted by György Vashegyi, will perform Johann Matthias Schenauer’s Requiem in C minor and Joseph Haydn’s Nelson Mass.
On June 30, the Professors’ Concert will be held at the Piarist Lookout Center, featuring the instructors of the masterclasses. On July 1, Lucie Horsch will give a concert at the Church of the Friends, with the participation of viola da gamba player Réka Nagy and harpsichordist Augustin Szokos.
As part of the program, a Renaissance dance workshop will be held July 3 at the Carillon Pavilion on Március 15 Square, led by dance instructor Gábor Kovács.
The festival continues on July 4 with the Students’ Concert, then concludes with a concert by the Orfeo Orchestra and the Purcell Choir at the Cathedral of the Assumption. Shunske Sato will serve as conductor and soloist for the evening. The program features works by Heinrich Schütz, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Via MTI; Featured photo: Pexels (Illusztration)
