Judit Rajk, Dóra Pétery & Erzsébet Seleljo Chamber Recital Presented by Liszt Academy

Contrary to the majority of his piano works, the organ music of Ferenc Liszt was not conceived in the spirit of consummate, virtuoso keyboard skills; instead, the profound religiousness apparent from his teens, and from closer up the intimate relationship with Catholicism, are reflected in these works. The same goes for the series of church compositions defining his middle and late creative period, in which ceremony is rare – it is far more common to identify elements of devotion and a sense of Liszt being emotionally moved. This is what places the music of Liszt on a shared platform with the meditative compositions of the great contemporary composer Arvo Pärt. Works by the Estonia composer have recently generated increasing interest in Hungary. This is the occasion to examine two pieces from his oeuvre from a new angle. The programme is complemented from the side of Romanticism by works of Saint-Saëns, and on the 20th-21st century side by compositions of Hakim and Ducommun. Soloists are experienced in performing liturgical, religious works. Singer Judit Rajk and organist Dóra Pétery are frequent chamber partners, they both teach at the Church Music Department of the Liszt Academy, and the works on display suit their common musical language. They are joined by Erzsébet Seleljo saxophonist, former student of the Royal College of Music in London and Konservatorium Privatuniversität Wien, former doctoral student and teacher of the Liszt Academy.