THE FLUTE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Béla Drahos was born in Kaposvár in 1955. He is an outstanding, highly acclaimed flutist, who has won numerous grand prizes at international competitions early in his career. In addition to his solo and chamber music activities, he was the solo flutist of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for many years and has released numerous recordings. In the meantime, he was studying conducting, making his conducting debut in 1992. In Székesfehérvár, he was the founding conductor of the Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra, and in recognition of his successful work, he was made an honorary citizen of the city in 2017. He is a professor at the Faculty of Music of the University of Pécs. In two of J.S. Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos, the flute plays a leading role, accompanied by a second solo instrument and by several other solo instruments. Ferenc Doppler was working closely with Ferenc Erkel, and enriched the Hungarian music of the Romantic period with several great solo pieces for flute. Mozart's concerto for flute and harp is an outstanding piece of the instrument's literature.