Kodály 136 Presented by Liszt Academy

Zoltán Kodály is one of a selected group of composers whose names have become symbolic on several fronts during their lifetime. Even in the 1930s, his birthday was commemorated as a festival of music by his students, students who themselves went on to become outstanding celebrities, composers, music historians, critics and aesthetes of Hungarian music. With its December concerts, the Liszt Academy is continuing the tradition started by these followers; naturally, these are organized on the 16th of the month, the anniversary of the birth of the composer. The programme is always changing; sometimes it is diverse, while sometimes it focuses on a specific part of his oeuvre: in the past there has been a choral concert, a contemporary composers’ evening, a performance of chamber works, as well as the performance of larger-scale pieces such as Psalmus Hungaricus. Of course, in this spirit of tradition it would be impossible to leave out celebratory compositions showcasing the Kodály heritage: here children's, men’s and mixed choral works are respectively performed by Cantemus Children Choir, Honvéd Male Choir and Alma Mater Choir.