(MTI) - Hungary's cultural state secretary Geza Szocs welcomed the orchestra and the guests, among them President Pal Schmitt, at the event, which he said was a landmark of one of the Hungarian EU Presidency's priorities, namely cultural diversity. "This orchestra is a prime example of that diversity," he said. Szocs added that the oeuvre of composer and pianist Franz Liszt, whose birth bicentenary is celebrated this year, is a good example of how to reconcile an attachment to one's homeland and to the European community.
Zsofia Zimanyi, the festival's outgoing director, presented a conductor's baton to the new director, Zsofia Vitezy, at the event. Zimanyi said this year's 31st annual festival had two main themes: the EU Presidency and the Liszt bicentenary. She said she would pass the baton now knowing that the Budapest Spring Festival has become a well-known brand around the world over the past 15 years.
On Saturday a concert by the Florentine Maggio Musicale Orchestra at the Palace of Arts featured Indian conductor Zubin Mehta, who bid farewell to the festival.
Mehta said he loved performing in Budapest, where he is always received by a receptive audience. He said the programme of the Budapest Spring Festival is world class in terms of the richness and the caliber of both artists and works performed.
The star conductor closed the season with Verdi opera overtures and Gustav Mahler's "Titan" Symphony No.1. in D major, composed in Budapest.
