The MÁV Symphony Orchestra will open its new season on 24 September 2026 at 7:00 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy, offering a unique musical experience with internationally acclaimed guest artists and intimate moments of celebration.
At the season-opening concert, Italian bel canto, soaring Russian Romanticism and the joie de vivre of Italy will come together under the baton of Antonello Allemandi. In keeping with tradition, the evening will also include the presentation of the orchestra’s most prestigious internal distinction, the Artist of the Year Award, which this year is also connected to an extraordinary family story spanning generations.
The musical programme revolves around passion, romance and profound emotion. The evening opens with the Overture to Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Energetic and reminiscent of Rossini’s style, the overture by the master of bel canto evokes the conflict between Verona’s rival families and establishes the dramatic setting with rolling timpani and military fanfares.
The programme continues with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s iconic Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, one of the most emotionally powerful works in the classical repertoire. Its celebrated melodies have also found their way into popular culture: songs such as All by Myself, made famous by Celine Dion, and Full Moon and Empty Arms, sung by Frank Sinatra, both draw on themes from this masterpiece. Its overwhelming emotional power, compelling virtuosity and sweeping melodies continue to captivate audiences 125 years after its premiere.
The soloist in Rachmaninoff’s celebrated concerto is Zagreb-born pianist Martina Filjak, winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and a regular guest at venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Vienna’s Musikverein. Her playing is distinguished by dazzling virtuosity and profound emotional intensity. She made her Hungarian debut in 2014 as a soloist with the MÁV Symphony Orchestra at the Bartók Plus Opera Festival in Miskolc.
In the second half of the evening, we return to the story of Verona’s famous lovers, immortalised in Shakespeare’s tragedy. Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture is one of the pinnacles of the orchestral repertoire, featuring its immortal love theme, which Rimsky-Korsakov admired as possessing “unspeakable beauty” and “burning passion”, alongside the fierce clashes between the Capulets and Montagues.
The concert concludes with Tchaikovsky’s exuberant Capriccio Italien, bringing the irresistible bustle of a Roman carnival and the dizzying rhythms of the Neapolitan tarantella to the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy.
The MÁV Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the distinguished Milan-born conductor Antonello Allemandi, a frequent guest at such leading opera houses as La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Formerly Music Director of the Orchestre Colonne in Paris, he is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Grand Theatre in Poznań.
Allemandi first worked with the MÁV Symphony Orchestra in autumn 2022 at the Hungarian State Opera, conducting Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. He later returned to the orchestra for a programme of Italian music, and last year encountered the ensemble again as President of the Jury of the Antal Doráti International Conducting Competition.
A Vocation Across Generations: Artist of the Year Award
One of the most intimate moments of the season-opening concert will be the presentation of the orchestra’s Artist of the Year Award, decided by secret ballot among the musicians. This year’s recipient is Balázs Sándor, Principal Clarinet of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra and a lecturer at the Liszt Academy.
Behind the prestigious award lies a touching family story. Balázs Sándor’s mother, Katalin Bahil, remains a violinist with the orchestra to this day, while his father, János Sándor, previously held the very same Principal Clarinet position that his son took over in 2022 following a successful audition. Balázs therefore grew up within the community of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra from childhood and has now received one of the ensemble’s highest professional honours.
The concert is presented in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest.
A limited number of tickets are still available:
https://mav.jegy.hu/program/bellini-rachmanyinov-csajkovszkij-antonello-allemandi-martina-filjak-e1-190392/1419173
