"It may appear now as if everything is in perfect order, but if we don't make changes, the classical music concert halls will be empty in 10-15 years," KLASSZ Music Office director Orsolya Erdődy said at a press conference held at the turn-of-the-century merry-go-round in Budapest's Amusement Park.
As well as regular classical concert-goers, the office will target young people, communicating its message in a dynamic and creative way.
"Only in this way can we prevent the slow disappearance of classical music audiences," said Erdődy.
Hungary's classical music scene has few ties with young people and makes little effort to attract them to the traditional and contemporary music of the concert hall, unlike in nearby Vienna, Erdődy complained. Our mission is to bring a new dynamic to the organisation of concert series and other events, and to reward concert organisers, she said.
"It is important to plan big classical music season earlier than before and to put their organisation...in the hands of a lively team of young people," said Hungarofest managing director Rita Rubovszky.
Among KLASSZ's biggest projects will be several anniversaries of composers: Haydn in 2009, Ferenc Erkel and Mahler in 2010 and Liszt in 2011.
Already this year, KLASSZ is organising a series of Haydn concerts at the Esterházy Castle in Eszterháza, where the composer was the court musician, said Kálmán Varga, who heads the National Monument Trust, which oversees the castle. KLASSZ is organising 37 concerts at "Hungary's Versailles" between July 4 and September 14. Among the performers at the series will be the Zemlinsky Quartet, the Artis Quartet, the lute master Steven Stubbs, the English violinist Simon Standage, the Budapest Strings, the Accord Quartet, Alexei Lubimov, the Festetics String Quartet and, the hosts of the event, the Orfeo Symphony and the Purcell Chorus under the direction of György Vashegyi.
For 2009, KLASSZ is organising more than 250 events, including festivals, exhibitions and professional conferences, to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Hadyn.
In addition to organising concerts and other musical events, KLASSZ will award scholarships to young performers and cultural managers.
