Welcome to our blog on events and exhibitions of Szeged Week in Cambridge, 18th-25th November.
We aim to cover events in Szeged Week as they happen.
SUNDAY 18TH NOVEMBER
Piano recital at Emmanuel College. We kicked off with an excellent piano recital at Emmanuel
College, in association with the Emmanuel College Music Society. Kelvin Chan, a young science
undergraduate, gave a sensitive and lively performance of piano music by Mozart, Fauré, Ravel
and Prokofiev. We held a drinks reception after the performance. For more information about
the Emmanuel College Music Society see: www.emmamusic.co.uk
MONDAY 19TH NOVEMBER
Concert at the Cambridge Guildhall. We held a successful concert of choral music by Matyás Seiber
at the Guildhall. We were pleased that Klara Breuer and Laszlo Magocsi of the Hungarian embassy
and Ian Nimmo-Smith, the leader of the council, were able to attend drinks reception before the
concert and meet representatives from the Anglia Ruskin and Cambridge Universities.
We had excellent performances by the Seiber Consort, a group of Cambridge singers led by James Eisner.
They reflected the range and diversity of Seiber’s music, including compositions based on traditional
folk songs (Hungarian folksongs and Yugoslav folksongs), a short and powerful Missa Brevis
(composed for a full choir but here performed by seven singers), some delightful settings
of Nonsense Songs by Edward Lear, and a triumphant final rendition of Yugoslav folksongs
('See the Brave Hussars' etc). The Seiber Consort gave a performance of precision,
sensitivity and superb quality.
Laszlo Magocsi , Julia Seiber Boyd, Klara Breuer and Ian Nimmo-Smith at the Guildhall
Seiber Consort at the Guildhall
TUESDAY 20TH NOVEMBER
Talk and exhibition on medieval Hungarian coins at the Fitzwilliam Museum
Dr Adrian Popescu gave a fascinating talk on mediaeval and early modern
Hungarian coins – ‘Denarii, Obols and Florins’ – beginning with the Roman coinage
of Pannonia through to the coins of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Howard Williams: Talk on Hungarian Music at Darwin College. Beginning with a 17th century
(?) folksong, he showed how traditional folk music had continually influenced Hungarian
classical music up until the present day. He identified pairs of great Hungarian
composers: Erkel and Liszt in the 19th century; Kodaly and Bartok in the early
20th century, and Ligeti and Kurtág in the late 20th century. He showed how
Hungarian conductors such as Solti, Ormandy, Dorati and Szell had carried interest
in Hungarian music to worldwide audience. He spoke of the importance of the
teaching of music in Hungarian schools, pioneered by the great Zoltan Kodaly.
A thoroughly enjoyable introduction to Hungarian music by a friendly and
knowledgeable expert for who has spent many years as chief conductor of the
Pécs Symphony Orchestra in Hungary.
WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER
Hungarian Cinema at the Arts Picture House. Istvan Szabo’s ‘Being Julia’, starring Annette Benning and Jeremy Irons.
THURSDAY
6 pm A very enjoyable evening talk on “Animation Masters from Hungary & Britain” – by Vivien Halas – the development of animation and an illustrated retrospective of several Halas & Bachelor films including Animal Farm, and an opportunity to purchase (DVD’s) – Library at Bellerbys Language School Queen’s Campus, Bateman Street.
Attended by the Mayor of Cambridge, Councillor Jenny Bailey and the President of the Society, Jocelyn Charity.
Photographs of Szeged on display
Exhibition at CUP Bookshop
FRIDAY
Waitrose, Trumpington – tasting of Hungarian wine & salami – all day.
3pm An interesting lecture on the virtues of Vitamin C in Medicine – and how fruit & vegetable had been shown to combat scurvy – and isolation of the sources of Vitamin C, by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi – Nobel Prize winner in 1937 - ., given by Professor Kay-Tee Khaw
at theAlice Fisher Lecture Hall – Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
6pm Evening Recital at Clare College Chapel by Alison Smart (soprano) accompanied by Katharine Durran on piano, enjoyable venue for a selection of songs by Poulenc, Burrell, O’Regan, Seiber, Faure, Chilcott, Skempton, & Crane.
SATURDAY
7.30pm The Taverner Choir – gave an enjoyable and lively concert at Little St. Mary’s Church
Reflecting the musical development in the 20th century in the two nations with songs by Bartok & Kodaly, as well as Tippett & (the entire second half) with a Britten cantata to St. Nicolas.
SUNDAY
9pm The audience adjusted their hearing to enjoy a rare Clavichord recital – by Francis Knights.
Playing (mainly) Buxtehude. Francis Knight is one of the few real experts in the UK on the instrument and gave a fascinating introductory talk about its capabilities. As a result of talking to Julia Seiber Boyd after the event, a copy of the manuscript score of Seiber’s piece for the Clavichord has been sent from the British Library and will be part of a forthcoming concert by Francis Knight, in 2008.
EXHIBITIONS
We have been fortunate to have exhibitions in a number of places in the city. They include an exhibition at the Guildhall of photographs of Szeged taken by local photographer Gordon Morrison (the Society’s visiting artist in 2006) and a display at Cambridge University Press Bookshop of books on Hungary. Other exhibitions took place at the Law Faculty, The University Botanic Garden, and the History Faculty Library.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS for January 2008, include the AGM (Darwin College) on 16th January & Concert on 19th January at the Queens Building, Emmanuel College – Performance by Marie Noel Kendall (piano) and Pal Banda (‘cello).
