"This concert is about Gypsy music and the connection between Gypsy and classical music," said conductor Iván Fischer, introducing the concert for the audience of about 2,800.
József Lendvay Jr., Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra in New York's Carnegie Hall
The concert started with improvisations by the cimbalom master Oszkár Ökrös, followed by traditional Gypsy music and classical pieces inspired by Gypsy music. On the programme were Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2; Brahms' Hungarian Dances No. 1, No. 11 and No. 15; and Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen. The orchestra was joined for several pieces by the father-son violin duo of József Lendvay Sr. and József Lendvay Jr. The audience gave a standing ovation at the end if the concert and showed special enthusiasm for improvisations by Lendvay Jr.
George Soros, Kati Marton and István Hiller
"Starting this weekend, we want to build a bridge between two bridges: the Chain Bridge in Budapest and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York," Hiller said at a reception following the concert which was attended by the Hungarian-born George Soros and Charles Simonyi.
Soros, who is the cultural season's main patron, congratulated Fischer and all of the other musicians on the concert's success.
The journalist and writer Kati Marton, who is also a patron of the cultural season, said she was proud to be Hungarian under any circumstances, but was especially proud on Saturday evening. "Stay with us," she told the audience, "Hungary is full of surprises, creativity and great ideas."
The concert was the first of a series that will highlight Hungarian music and Hungarian musicians between January 24 and February 14. Among the performers will be the composer and pianist György Kurtág, the Gyspy violinist Roby Lakatos, the composer and conductor Péter Eötvös and the folk singer Bea Palya.
The ten-month cultural season in New York and Washington aims to show contemporary Hungarian art and its influence on American culture. More than 120 events involving several hundred Hungarian artists are on the programme. Venues include New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, as well as the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center in Washington.
