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LISTEN TO YOUR EARS!
“Storytelling” concerts by pianist Balázs-Fülei at METTRIN
In the 2026/2027 season, Liszt Prize-winning pianist Balázs FÜLEI will continue his highly successful series of introductory concerts at the METTRIN Arts Center in Bánk.
The artist has earned recognition in both the domestic and international cultural scenes not only for his virtuoso piano playing but also for his unique program concepts and engaging narration. Following his previous, highly successful series exploring the five senses, this time he will take us on a musical journey through the world around us with masterpieces by various composers.
The seven performances will feature works inspired by nature or that depict nature itself through the language of music. Whether it’s a sunset, a rainy morning, birdsong, a hot day, or the tranquility of the forest.
1. NIGHTS AND DAYS – Sunday, October 25, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
The cycle of life is marked by periodic changes in the days, months, and seasons. Musical period is one of the most important fundamental elements of music-making: a musical idea and the form built upon it have an arc that extends from the starting point through the climax to the resolution. At Fülei’s concert, the musical messages of activity and passivity, sparkling light and gloomy days come to life.
• Beethoven: Sonata in C-sharp minor (“Moonlight”)
• Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 5 – Andante
• Debussy: Clair de Lune
• Mozart: Sonata in A major, K. 330
• Liszt: Evening Bells
• Chopin: Nocturne in B-flat minor
• Albeniz: Sevilla
• Janáček: Our Evenings
• Ravel: Night Butterflies
• Bartók: Music of the Night
2. BIRDS AND TREES – Sunday, November 29, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
The rustling of the forest and the chirping of birds surround us all. This presentation explores how all of this has influenced composers who create with exceptional sensitivity: do they merely imitate nature, or do they recreate it according to their own perceptions?
• Liszt: Two Concert Etudes (“Song of the Forest,” “Dance of the Elves”)
• Grieg: Peace in the Woods
• Sibelius: Tree Suite
• Liszt: St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds
• Messiaen: L’alouette calandrelle
• Ravel: Birds of Sorrow
• Liszt: The Cypresses of Villa d’Este – Thrénodie II
3. MOUNTAINS AND WATERS – Sunday, February 14, 2027, 5:00 p.m.
High-mountain landscapes and the vastness of the seas have inspired countless composers. This concert showcases how composers elevate their experiences and impressions to a literary level, or how they use sound alone to depict what they have imagined.
• Liszt: Liszt: The Valley of Obermann
• Ravel: A Boat on the Ocean
• Liszt: The Fountains of Villa d’Este
• Liszt: At the Spring
• Mendelssohn-Liszt: On the Light Wings of a Song
• Liszt: The Lorelei
• Liszt: Legend No. 2 (St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves
4. STORM AND SILENCE – Sunday, March 7, 2027, 5:00 p.m.
The essence of classical music lies in the constant alternation between tension and release. Long, quiet periods are followed by tense, stormy clouds, which eventually subside once more. This musical device can be found in nature in exactly the same way—and the audience can easily recognize the world around us in these works.
• Beethoven: Sonata in F minor (“Appassionata”), Op. 57
• Debussy: Gardens in the Rain
• Schumann: Fantasy in C major, Op. 17
• Liszt: God’s Blessing in Solitude
5. SNOW AND HEAT – Sunday, April 11, 2027, 5:00 p.m.
Living in a climate with four seasons, we are all familiar with the shivering cold and the exhaustion of a heat wave. The weather fundamentally shapes our mood and temperament. This concert explores how music can evoke the atmosphere of both the cold and hot seasons around us.
• Liszt: Snowstorm – Transcendental Etude
• Schubert-Liszt: Winter Journey – The Inn
• Gershwin: Summertime
• Ginastera: Three Argentine Dances
• Heinz Holliger: Elis
• Schubert: Piano Piece in E-flat Major
• Albeniz: Granada
• Liszt: Venice and Naples
6. FLOWERS AND WINES – Sunday, May 2, 2027, 5:00 p.m.
Beauty, fragrances, magnificent sights, and tranquility are nature’s true gifts, and they take center stage at this concert. The program explores whether all of this can exist without passion, and whether the intoxicating, musical power of wine can ever be restrained.
• Sibelius: Iris
• Haydn: Fantasy in C Major, Hob. XVII:7
• Debussy: La puerta del vino
• Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 5 – Scherzo
• Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6
• Schumann: Romance in F-sharp major, Op. 28/2
• Liszt: Csárdás macabre
+ 1: LANDSCAPE AND THE WANDERER – June 2027
A musical composition is often nothing more than a journey taken, in which the wanderer travels from somewhere to somewhere else. The performance highlights that it is not the starting point or the destination that matters most, but the very experience of moving forward, as the landscape passes by or rushes past, and the wanderer changes along with it. This musical journey does not end here: the series of discoveries can continue anywhere, even after the concerts.
• J. S. Bach: English Suite in G minor, BWV 808
• Schubert: Sonata in A major, D 959 – Andantino
• Liszt: Landscape
• Debussy: Pagodes
• Liszt: By the Lake at Wallenstadt
• Mozart: Fantasy in C minor, K. 475
• Grieg: Wandering, Lost in My Thoughts
BALÁZS FÜLEI’S PORTRAIT
„It gave me a great pleasure to listen to the performance of the young Hungarian pianist, Balázs Fülei. According to his achievements I find him one of the most promising Hungarian artists of his generation.” – Zoltán Kocsis
Balázs Fülei is a Franz Liszt, Artisjus and Junior Prima award winner pianist with more than thirty piano concertos in his repertoire, including all the concertos by Beethoven, Brahms and Bartók among them. The sophisticated compilations of his solo recitals, usually accompanied by the artist’s personal introduction, always put classical music in an exciting new perspective. He is assistant professor at the Liszt Academy and has been the Head of the Department of Chamber Music since 2015. He has held masterclasses all over the world and he is the founder and artistic director of the Echo Summer Academy held every year in the Károlyi Castle in Fehérvárcsurgó.
Balázs Fülei has also created a new genre based on his excellent lecturing, communicating and verbal skills. It is new at least in Hungary, since the tradition of so-called “storytelling” concerts in America dates back several decades and is linked to Leonard Bernstein. At these unusual concerts, the pianist includes the audience, presents the pieces performed with a few stories; often projects pictures and quotes poems related to the topic. He aims at bringing music closer to everybody, to put the audience in the perspective of their own lives.
Balázs Fülei has entered the international music scene at an early age. He had his debut solo recital in 2008 at the Carnegie Hall in New York considered one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world; besides he has given concerts in the Konzerthaus Vienna, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow, the Kioi Hall Tokio and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam as well. He played together with leading symphony orchestras in Hungary and abroad. Balázs Fülei has already performed not only in almost every country in Europe, but also in Israel, the United States of America, Australia, Japan, China and Vietnam.
Tickets: mettrin.jegy.hu
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