Crossroads: Hungarian Music in Conversation with the World

FREE CONCERT

Supported by the Prime Minister’s Office (Hungary), Bethlen Gabor Fund, Ministry of Culture Innovation (Hungary). Partner: Liszt Institute New York.

Embark on a musical journey through the heart of Hungarian identity featuring Hungarian-Romanian pianist extraordinaire Alexa Stier and Hungarian multiple award-winning clarinetist Noémi Sallai, where tradition meets innovation and folk melodies intertwine with virtuosic expression. This richly textured recital celebrates the soul of Hungarian music, from Béla Bartók’s haunting folk arrangements and explosive Piano Sonata to Gergely Vajda’s mesmerizing Lightshadow Trembling for solo clarinet. Rarely performed gems like György Kurtág’s evocative Játékok miniatures and Béla Kovács’s fiery tribute to De Falla highlight the program’s emotional depth and stylistic variety.

The evening also pays homage to Hungarian romanticism and modernism with works by Rezső Kókai, whose Hungarian Dances radiate nostalgia, grief, and joy. Italian flair and German Romanticism round out the program in the dazzling operatic fantasy by Luigi Bassi and the poetic turbulence of Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 2.

This is more than a concert — it is a dialogue between past and present, tradition and imagination, performed by artists whose virtuosity and sensitivity bring these voices to life.

Alexa Stier, piano
Noémi Sallai, clarinet

BÉLA BARTÓK – Three Hungarian Folksongs from Csík, Sz. 35a
GERGELY VAJDA – Lightshadow Trembling for solo clarinet
GYÖRGY KURTÁG – Selections from “Játékok” (Games), Volume V
BÉLA KOVÁCS – Hommage á DeFalla for solo clarinet
BÉLA BARTÓK – Piano Sonata, BB 88, Sz. 80
LUIGI BASSI – Concert Fantasia on Motives from "Rigoletto" for Clarinet and Piano
ROBERT SCHUMANN – Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 22
REZSŐ KÓKAI – Four Hungarian Dances for Clarinet and Piano