The Year of Remembrance – Stars at the Opening Concert in the Dohány Street Synagogue

During the evening, the world-famous Andrea Rost will perform songs that the diva with a unique voice took to her repertoire especially for this occasion, such as the Wiegala by Ilse Weber, a Czech songwriter born in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and murdered in Auschwitz, or Donna, Donna, a Yiddish song written in 1940 for a theater operating in the Warsaw ghetto under German occupation, and also a beautiful Georg Friedrich Händel aria about the desire for freedom will also be performed on April 3, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Dohány Street synagogue. Participation to the concert is free, but registration is required.

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“… and write upon the heavens if all else be broken!” (Miklós Radnóti)

Such performers will contribute to the concert like Dr. Orsolya Korcsolán, a violinist living in Vienna, whose recordings have been released by the world's most prestigious record labels, such as Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos America and Solo Musica München, and who has been praised among others by the TIME, Scene and Crescendo magazines, and László Fekete, who is not only the already legendary cantor of the Dohány Street Synagogue since 1989, but also a world-renowned interpreter of liturgical Jewish music, his records are now considered the cornerstones of cantor art; or Dr. Gergely Nógrádi, the well-known head cantor of the Frankel Synagogue, who has interrupted his American tour, to join us in Budapest for this event.

The solo performances will be accompanied by the Erkel Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, which has been playing exceptional music for almost forty years - under the artistic direction of Eszter Lesták-Bedő - whose members play in the Budapest Festival Orchestra, among others, and whose collaborations leave a mark on modern musical culture from America to the Far East.

The evening will also feature Fülöp Takács, the young soprano talent of the Hungarian State Opera Children's Choir, who was prepared for this special occasion by Nikolett Hajzer, the head of the Children's Choir, as well as the choirs of Sirim (Lauder School) and Scheiber School, led by Kata Rév and Judit Klein.

The works performed in the program are arranged by the exceptionally talented Rezső Ott. The commemoration will be moderated by Judit Stahl, who is very rarely seen and heard in this role: she complements the breathtakingly beautiful music program with personal, touching and beautiful stories, so that we can commemorate in the deepest and most personal, emotional, yet uplifting way possible.

The program was edited and its artistic concept was created up by Eszter Bíró, the artistic director of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), who will be also the hostess of the evening.

Before the concert, Dr. Andor Grósz, president of Mazsihisz will address the audience, followed by a prayer by Dr. Róbert Frölich, national chief rabbi, and the liturgical songs by cantor László Fekete and music by organist Ágoston Tóka.

It would be hard to imagine a more dignified way to open the year of remembrance of the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary.

The opening event of the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust is realized with the support of the Prime Minister's Office, Bethlen Gábor Fund Management and the Hungarian Jewish Heritage Foundation (Mazsök).