Bartók Autumn in Paris

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Béla Bartók. On this occasion the Liszt Institute Paris launched a program series entitled Bartók Autumn, featuring a wide range of cultural and academic events supported by HAA. The opening event, an international conference, took place on September 26.
The conference was opened by Gábor Richly, Secretary General of HAA, Adrienne Burányi, Director of the Liszt Institute, and François Naulot, Director of the Bibliothèque Musicale La Grange-Fleuret. This was followed by a short concert performed by cimbalom artist Erzsébet Gódor and pianist Domonkos Csabay, HAA scholarship recipients.
The academic program featured six lectures delivered by scholars from France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Hungary. Philippe Albera (University of Geneva) spoke about the relationship between popular and classical music, with particular attention to Bartók and Ligeti; Laurent Feneyrou (CNRS) examined Bartók's reception in Italy after 1945; Carl van Eyndhoven (Bartók Archives, Brussels) focused on Bartók's reception in Belgium. Claire Delamarche (University of Lyon) analysed the Concerto from both scholarly and biographical perspectives, while László Vikárius (Bartók Archives, Budapest) presented the current state of the Bartók Complete Edition. One of the most remarkable lectures was delivered by Jean-François Boukobza, who spoke about Bartók as a pianist. The lectures were followed by a roundtable discussion. Supported by HAA, the conference concluded with a sold-out concert by pianist Domonkos Csabay and oboist Lajos Lencsés, followed by a reception.
On the eve of the anniversary of the death of Bartók, September 25, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the statue of Béla Bartók, created by sculptor Imre Varga, which has stood since 1982 in Place Béla Bartók in the 15th district of Paris. Alongside the staff of the Liszt Institute Paris and the Hungarian Embassy, Gábor Richly, Secretary General of HAA also attended the commemoration this year. Following the wreath-laying and the international conference, the program continued on September 27 with a concert outside Paris: in the great hall of the Royal Abbey near Le Mans, Erzsébet Gódor performed, among other works, Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances, as part of a large-scale concert entitled On the Banks of the Danube….
The Bartók commemorative series is to continue throughout autumn 2025 with the support of the National Cultural Fund of Hungary. At the end of November the Sárik Péter Trio is to present their album X Bartók, followed by the Párniczky Quartet, who is to introduce their project entitled Bartók Electrified in Paris. After these two jazz concerts the series is to conclude with a classical music program: young countertenor Zoltán Daragó is to perform a selection of Bartók's works written for singing voice and piano.
October 5, 2025