People travel for various reasons, some people head out for some much needed rest and relaxation, while others are compelled to travel for work or business and yet others travel in order to see the famous sights and learn about new cultures. Often some travelers undertake a journey to a specific destination in order to enjoy a particular festival or event keeping in line with their passions. If you belong to the later group and especially enjoy the Arts and Cultural event then you should try not to miss the spectacular Budapest Spring Festival which is scheduled to take place at various venues in the charming Hungarian capital of Budapest from the 20th of March to the 5th of April 2009.
This gorgeous city which is dotted with imposing buildings and historic open squares provides a perfect setting for the Budapest Spring Festival. This cultural extravaganza was first held in Budapest (which is also known as the Queen of the Danube as it has the mighty river flowing through it) in1981 and since then it has grown into a two week affair that includes orchestral and chamber concerts, jazz, contemporary dance, film screenings, exhibitions and much more. This largest annual cultural event in Hungary features more than 200 events and showcases the amazing talents of a whole host of Hungarian performers and composers as well as those of several international artists.
These events at this year’s fest as always will be held at various venues around Budapest like the Hungarian National Museum which will host the 27th Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition. This exhibition commemorates the 1989 opening of the Hungarian Border to East German refugees, which was an event that helped to shape the structure of modern day Europe. Other venues include the Millenáris Park , the Museum of Fine Arts, the Operetta Theater, the Hungarian State Opera House, Thália Theatre, the Railway Museum and the Academy of Music amongst others.
The Budapest Spring Festival also has many events targeted at children that are classified under a special section known as ‘ Through Children’s Eyes’. These events include an exhibition called ‘The Little Mole and His Friends’, music and dance programs like Lets go to Rio, Etude, Music Dance ABC and much more. For a complete list of these events and ticket information do visit the official website of the Budapest Spring Festival.
Some highlights of the Program of the Budapest Spring Festival include:-
Theater
This section will have the Hungarian premiere of The Park by Botho Strauss which is to be held at the National Theater at 7pm on March 20th.
Opera
The Opera section will feature many delights like the Hungarian premiere of Haydn: Philemon and Baucis which is to be held at the Railway Museum on March 21st and Puccini’s Turandot, conducted by Péter Oberfrank., which will be staged at the Hungarian State Opera house on the 22nd and 28th of March.
Orchestral Concerts
These concerts will feature performances by Joshua Bell and Camerata Salzburg on the 20th of March, Oleg Maisenberg and Kremerata Baltica on the 21st of March, the Scottish Chamber Music Orchestra on the 26th of March and the Budapest Festival Orchestra on the 3rd of April.
Jazz
This section will feature Jazz performances by Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester on the 23rd of March while the famous Nigel Kennedy Quintet which will feature the great English violinist will perform on the 2nd of April.
These are but a few of the nearly 200 events which have been planned for this grand cultural fest and if you plan to travel to Budapest to take in some of these amazing performances be sure to take advantage of the attractive rates being offered by various Budapest hotels like the Gold Hotel, the Aquarius Hotel and the Sissi Hotel.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 at 12:02 am and is filed under Europe, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Thanks Alina. Do read on for more interesting posts to come on various global destinations.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Leon, Budapest is truly wonderful. Happy to know that you enjoyed the post. Do check back for more.
September 12th, 2009 at 10:19 am
The folk dance is the most important for the culture