Alongside works by Mozart and Beethoven, an unconventional arrangement of a Bach piece will also be performed at Márton Bóna’s debut album launch concert at the Pesti Vigadó on September 20. In the special finale of the pianist’s programme, inspired by personal memories, András Zeffer, Máté Péter Award-winning performer known from the world of rock music, will join him on the Hammond organ.
An inaugural album is always an important milestone, but for Márton Bóna it means even more: the recording connects the musical experiences that shaped his childhood and his family memories with everything he represents as a performer today. The concert gives space to this personal story, while taking well-known pieces from the classical repertoire towards an unusual instrumental encounter.
His early musical experiences also inspired the programme of the album.
He wanted to put together a programme that would evoke the atmosphere of listening to music together as a family, while also paying tribute to the memory of his father. On the album, Mozart's D minor Fantasy is followed by Beethoven's C-sharp minor Moonlight Sonata and C minor Pathétique Sonata, taking the listener on a kind of emotional roller coaster.
“One of the highlights of our shared music-listening experiences was when Fischer Annie's Beethoven sonatas record was put on the player. Interestingly, and a tremendous honour for me, I played Fischer Annie's piano in the studio where we recorded the album, so the sound of this wonderful instrument can be heard on the record,” Márton Bóna revealed.
The closing piece of both the concert and the album is an innovative arrangement of a Bach prelude, in which the sound of the classical piano meets that of the Hammond organ, an instrument traditionally associated with rock music. The arrangement was created through the collaboration of Márton Bóna and András Zeffer, and the unusual instrumental pairing is not merely a spectacular experiment: it also creates an opportunity to reach audiences who come to classical music from other musical genres.
“Reworking a Bach piece is always a bold undertaking,
but the fusion of classical works with other styles is an interesting musical direction that can help make classical music more popular among a wider audience. In our duo, both the visual experience and the sound are impressive, and the boundaries between genres can be crossed more easily when the two instruments are played together,” Márton Bóna explained.
Although music is a universal language capable of reaching audiences regardless of national borders and cultural differences, the pianist, who studied and graduated from a conservatory in Vienna, proudly embraces his Hungarian roots:
“At my concerts abroad, I always include at least one Hungarian composition in the programme, so that I can also introduce our country's musical heritage to international audiences.”
Pianist Márton Bóna's album launch concert will take place on September 20 at 6 p.m. in the Southern Hall of the Pesti Vigadó. The album accompanying the concert will be released on both CD and vinyl.