Starting Friday evening, the free music programmes will range from the young French Frank Braley's piano music to the popular Serbian Boban U Marko Markovic Orkestar, Jamaican-born soul singer Dorretta Carter with "A Tribute to James Brown" and jazz concerts by the young talents of the Budapest Franz Liszt Music Academy on Saturday. The main venues will include the Millenaric centre, the Chain Bridge, which will be closed to traffic during the fete, and the National Gallery on Castle Hill.
The sixth annual Midsummer's Night of Museums, when collections stay open all night and offer a variety of cultural programmes for visitors will also be organised this weekend at 70 venues in Budapest and 160 elsewhere in Hungary. Highlights will include a Festival of Flames by Vajdahunyad Castle in the City Park, a beauty parlor in the setting of Roman Times at Acquincum and a panorama terrace with superb views of Budapest opening at the National Gallery. Many small museums will offer late-night opening hours and special programmes for visitors.
Museums will co-operate with the Music Festival to organise joint events.
The European Music Festival originally started in 1997 when 16 towns from 12 European countries signed a charter on providing live music in the open air free of charge. Its roots were formed at a similar event that began in France in 1982, and the festival, held on June 21 each year, now spans over 100 countries.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
