Our concert held in the Kodály Centre and Müpa at the end of January is a real Oscar-awardee! Corigliano’s Violin Concerto is based on the Oscar-winning movie, The Red Violin, with the marvellous Elina Vähälä as the night's soloist.

Early in the new year, the concert offers genuine 20th-century music, which, however, is no Avantgarde. The eponymous piece is a violin concerto whose music is rooted in the soundtrack of the movie The Red Violin. Corigliano’s work is deservedly popular, and now the Pécs-based audience can also enjoy it live, interpreted by the acclaimed violinist, Elina Vähälä. Bernstein’s Candide was inspired by Voltaire’s 18th-century writing, while its music is clearly 20th-century American. Dohnányi’s Symphony No. 2 can be linked to the great Romantic compositions in several respects; in fact, it evokes even Bach's music on occasion. Still, it has its very own individual message. The Chicago Tribune's review commented on the night's guests, Elina Vähälä's rendering as "The fluent, stylish performance by the gifted Finnish violinist Elina Vahala, in her Chicago debut, revealed a musician whose brilliant technique is matched by abundant spirit, sensitivity and imagination". Elina Vähälä made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve and was later chosen as the orchestra’s ‘Young Master Soloist’. In 2008, she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. The orchestra plays under the baton of its chief conductor, Tibor Bogányi.