Little Swan Lake

On this November evening, the guitarist Mike Gotthard, who is equally receptive to the music of jazz, blues, rock and funk, will invite the audience into his own jazz-rock world where the instruments and melodies take centre stage.

An overview of the half-century career of Zsófia Balla and her work at the forefront of contemporary Hungarian lyric poetry promises to be a true celebration of the art. Born in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) and originally trained as a violinist, she became one of the central figures in Transylvania's Hungarian literary and intellectual scene before moving to Hungary in 1993.

The world-renowned composer/conductor who passed away recently at the age of 80 after being awarded the Kossuth Grand Prize this year, once said that "jazz is a fundamental element for me”. At this concert in memory of his life and work, in addition to an early piece of electronic music and a late choral work, we will hear compositions of his that are closely linked to the sounds of jazz and improv performed by prominent artists from the Hungarian jazz scene.