As tradition has it, for the national holiday of 15 March, the Pannon Philharmonic has made a selection from the works of past and contemporary Hungarian composers. For maestro Zsolt Jankó, this solemn event will mean his debut with the orchestra.

On 15 March, we look into the mirror of the past, the present and the future. We face the intentions, plans, and activities of the March Youth of 1848 and the ethos of freedom. We will also look into our own lives: where are we now, and what prospects do we have for the future? This concert gives us an opportunity for this introspection. In László Dubrovay’s composition, we can meet the most famous March Youth of the 1848 Revolution, Sándor Petőfi, born 200 years ago, as nine of his poems were set into music by the composer. These poems don't focus on the revolution but rather revolve around lyrical love. It is as if Petőfi was talking to us in a personal tone, stressing that he wasn't only a freedom fighter but also a man of subtle emotions. The performance of this work marks a world premiere, too: the poems appear in a new light, potentially with new meanings.

Kodály’s Peacock Variations take us back to the most ancient roots of Hungarian folksongs. The individual variations mark various stations in this incredible emotional journey, whose final message and ultimate vision can be summed up with the words: There is hope!

LÁSZLÓ DUBROVAY  – 80

Kossuth and Erkel Prize-winning composer, Meritous Artist, and Professor Emeritus of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, a regular member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts.

László Dubrovay was awarded the Kossuth Prize in 2013 for composing in a great diversity of genres; his works are composed in a personal tone yet harmoniously fitting into the living continuity of Hungarian musical culture, and his oeuvre combining traditional Hungarian musical elements with more modern composing techniques, sound research findings and the technical novelties of various instruments.

The maestro is also a recipient of the Bartók-Pásztory Prize (1996), the Arisjus Award, and the Prima Award.

″I was born in Budapest on 23 March 1943 and started playing the piano at the age of four. I attended the Béla Bartok Conservatory and the Academy of Music at the Department of Composition, graduating in 1966. My professors of composition were István Szelényi, Ferenc Szabó and Imre Vincze. On a scholarship of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), I continued my studies in West Germany between 1972 and 1974, taking courses in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Hans-Ulrich Rumpert. This is where I became acquainted with the most recent sound research findings, various composition techniques and electronic music. In 1985, I spent a year in West Berlin within the framework of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm. Between 1966 and 1971, I worked at the College of Drama and Film in Budapest; in 1971 and 1972, I acted as repetiteur at the Hamburg State Opera. Then in  1974 and 1975, I worked in the electronic studios of the WDR. Since 1976, I have taught music theory at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. I have won various prizes at international composition competitions in Stettin (1973), Triest (1974), Linz (Ars Electronica – 1992) and Budapest (1997). I am the recipient of various accolades, such as the Erkel Prize (1985), the Bartók-Pásztory Award (1996) and the Meritous Artist Award (1998). I have created electronic and computer music in the electronic studios of WDR, the West Berlin University of Technology, in Cologne, Freiburg, Berlin, Lüneburg, Stockholm, Bourges, and Budapest and created works in nearly all genres, such as operas, dance productions, symphonic, chamber music, solo pieces and compositions for wind ensembles, choirs, as well as electronic and computer music.″