Energy boom in Müpa with the Pannon Philharmonic
Who wouldn’t hum along Frank Sinatra while he is singing New York, New York, My Way or Cry Me a River? Swing isn't just the entanglement of music and dance but a sensation of agelessness: the fascinating joint rhythm of the performers and their audience. Thanks to András Vass’ ingenious scoring, swing's energy is freed from night bars, and with a symphony orchestra of nearly a hundred members, it will burst on the grand stage of Müpa on 19 April. After the roaring success and encore concert of the internationally compelling new material’s world premiere in Pécs – with singers like Gábriel Farkas, Mónika Nika Veres and Bálint Magyar, under the baton of Péter Illényi – the Pannon Philharmonic decided to stage it also in the capital.
In the field of classical music, the Pannon Philharmonic has earned the audience's acknowledgment thanks to its high-quality standard. The musical sound comes first no matter in what period or genre we find ourselves: Baroque, Classical, Contemporary, Opera, or crossover. The ensemble, regularly immersing in genre-related adventures in their hometown, Pécs, will, for the first time, present its unique musical material in Budapest.
As a member of the audience put it, "We could witness the energy boom of swing"; indeed, the spectators moved and hummed along with the singers.
The permanent conductor of the orchestra, András Vass can boast a number of symphonic orchestration projects, proving his broad sense of musical styles: from the symphonic arrangement of Schubert’s string quartet to the form-disruptive scoring of ABBA's greatest hits. Nearly a year of preparations preceded the re-arrangement of Sinatra's music, which required hundreds of hours of scoring work. Due to the accurate stylistic insight and the perfect harmony of the symphonic, beat and big band sounds, the final product will provide the audience with singular pleasure. Balázs Alpár is credited with the Sinatra Medley, usual in this genre. For this concert, the musicians of the Pannon Philharmonic are completed with some outstanding artists: besides the beat group, five saxophonists and a pianist.