Alongside the magic of symphonic music, chamber music represents the purest and most intimate form of making music together. As members of a large ensemble, the outstanding musicians of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra create extraordinary musical experiences in concert halls. Occasionally, however, they also have the opportunity to showcase their individual virtuosity and subtle musical sensitivity as chamber musicians.
On 14 November 2026 at 4:00 p.m., at the French Institute in Budapest, the musicians will transport audiences to the elegant, mysterious and dreamlike world of turn-of-the-century Paris, exploring how two geniuses of French Impressionism, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, discovered their own distinctive and unmistakable musical voices.
Programme and Performers
Claude Debussy: Piano Trio in G major, L. 5
Dávid Pintér – violin, Richárd Rózsa – cello, Rita Váray – piano
Composed when Debussy was just 18 years old, this charming and unpretentious piece of salon music was written at the Florentine villa of the renowned patron Nadezhda von Meck. Its light-hearted opening movement, scherzo adorned with playful pizzicato passages, slow movement built around an intimate dialogue between cello and violin, and passionate finale reveal a musical treasure that remained lost for nearly a century before being rediscovered in 1982.
Claude Debussy: Petite suite (Little Suite), L. 65
Rita Váray – piano, Ábel Veress – piano
Written for piano four hands, a medium particularly dear to Debussy, the Petite suite evokes the Rococo world of Paul Verlaine’s poetry and scenes of Parisian life. Through the performance of the piano duo, audiences will experience the gently rocking journey of En bateau (In a Boat), the playfully awkward procession of Cortège, the delicate courtly dance of the Menuet, and the sparkling energy of the concluding Ballet, enriched by elements reminiscent of Javanese gamelan music.
Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F major, M. 35
Dávid Pintér – violin, Dorottya Kerényi – violin, Eszter Kalocsai – viola, Richárd Rózsa – cello
Ravel was not yet thirty when he composed his String Quartet. He was undoubtedly inspired by Debussy’s quartet, written a decade earlier, adopting a similar structure while creating a work that is considerably more classical and restrained in character.
In the hands of the musicians of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, audiences will discover the gentle ebb and flow of the opening movement, the captivating rhythms and pizzicato passages of the second movement, the intimate emotional outbursts of the slow movement, and the restless, elemental power of the finale, bringing the afternoon’s musical journey to a thrilling conclusion.
Join the musicians of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra on this special musical journey and experience the magic of chamber music up close in the Auditorium of the French Institute in Budapest!
