Polls conducted annually by the UK classical music magazine Classic FM show that for some time the works of Karl Jenkins have been the most played in contemporary classical music. His distinctively individual sound boldly traverses strictly defined stylistic boundaries, so that elements of the jazz-rock idiom in which he played in the early phase of his career can be discerned in his work alongside the later crossover trends typical of his Adiemus albums.

Jenkins’ music has successfully drawn younger generations back into concert halls everywhere, and scarcely a day passes without one of his works being played somewhere in the world. Since its appearance a decade ago, his mass The Armed Man has been performed more than 1,000 times in more than twenty countries, its better-known melodies interpreted by innumerable performers from Enya to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to Eminem.

The music of Karl Jenkins, a star of the Montreux Jazz Festival in the 1970s, effectively intersperses classical and popular music forms, producing an extremely enjoyable, loveable whole that incorporates harmonic, clear melodies. His exciting rhythms, deploying a veritable army of wind and percussion instruments, practically carry away the audience, who celebrated this grand work inspired by the Arany ballad – and commemorating the known martyrs and nameless champions of freedom in both Hungarian and Welsh history – with an enthusiastic standing ovation at the world première in Budapest.

The work faithfully follows the dramatic structure of the Arany ballad, as the participants at the Welsh feast each make their appearance while a mysterious stake smoulders once again in the shadow of Montgomery Castle... A live recording will be made of the concert for subsequent release on CD.

Date and time: 29 June 2012, 7.30 pm - 10.00 pm
Bartók Béla National Concert Hall

Beethoven: Egmont Overture, op. 84
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor (“Fate”), op. 67

Karl Jenkins – János Arany: The Bards of Wales – cantata (Hungarian-language première)

Prices: 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 Ft

Source: Palace of Arts
Address: 1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1.