Sinfonietta Rīga, Ólafur Arnalds, József Balog, Soharóza, Recirquel New Circus Society, East Gipsy Band, Masego, Flat Earth Society, The King’s Singers and Peeping Tom. More than 100 programs in countless genres, nearly 40 locations around Budapest, starting on the 5th of October and will last for 17 days: CAFe Budapest Contemporary Art Festival is hitting town an stirring up the art scene.

This year, one of the most important event in the region is taking place in Budapest  with international and domestic world stars of contemporary art, festivals, premieres and unusual public programs, making this autumn unforgettable. Ólafur Arnalds will debute his new album entitled re:member, The King’s Singers is preparing for a world premiere at the festival, the Hungarian composer, Levente Gyöngyösi is playing his new piece in Budapest for the first time. Recirquel New Circus Society‘s “My Land” was already an overwhelming success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the new production is being featured at CAFe Budapest for the first time for the Hungarian audience.
Soharóza presents an unusual genre of “catwalk concert”, this year at the 20 years old Trafo, József Balog pianist is playing Péter Wolf’s , Wolf-temperier Klavierpiece, while the jubilant Budafoki Dohnányi Orchestra is presenting a piece by Károly Binder and Roland Szentpáli for the first time ever in the Müpa.

The genius, born 100 years ago, Leonard Bernstein, will be honoured at the festival with Candide,  balancing on the boundary between musical and viola opera, by György Böhm on stage, in the title role with János Szemenyei. His dark-toned two-chamber opera, Trouble in Tahiti with Gyula Fekete’s two-acted actor will be shown on the evening at the Academy of Music.

Music and Cinema will be featured together on 9 October at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall: Murnau Der letzte Mann (The Last Man) is composed by the French composer-piano artist, Karol Beffa, lead by Dubroczky Gergely, experimenting with Budapest Sound Collective. A must-see Werner Herzog documentary from 2010, Cave of Forgotten Dreams will be screened at the Uránia National Film Theater on 18 October: the award-winning artwork is accompanied by Ernst Reijseger’s composer composition.

Each year, the festival focuses on the culture of a country: in the year 2018 the Baltic Artists are at the focus. At the opening concert of the festival, Estonian and Latvian works will be performed thanks to Sinfonietta Rīga’s orchestra and Erki Pehk conductor, but the Estonian compositions will also appear on the evening of the world-famous French Quartet Quatuor Diotima and the famous guitarist Katona Twins Fifty-Fifty. On October 6, one of the most exciting pop music productions in the Baltic States, Estonian Girls in Pearls, takes the stage on A38.

Walking or just by the subway you can taste the unforgettable festival atmosphere. Sándor Márkus’s “urban fighter” installation is a big mirror towards the streetlife.. Joan Català’s Catalan artist’s touching play and an exceptional social experience at the same time: starring a column and a man. The Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, with the fifth year of its existence, is remembered for its 105 years of name, the world’s best known photojournalist on Erzsébet Square, with a special outdoor installation. At Fővám tér metro station, Horváth Éva Mónika can see the imposing size of the mass installation of Mass Dynamics.

CAFe Budapest is also a real “festival in the festival” this year: this year the audience of the Budapest’s biggest rhythm of the region, the buddhist rhythm, together with Hangvető, is attracted to the audience for the third time. The latest performance of the Hungarian compositions will be the guest of the Mini-Festival, which will feature the Latina composer, Selga Mence, joining the Baltic Focus on four concerts.

Art Market Budapest, literary enthusiasts of the Art Margin Literature Festival and Book Fair will promise better programs, concerts, guided tours and brunch in the “realm” of Miklós Szőke Gábor’s artist in the “empire” of the three-day Dante XXI. as part of a series of programs. As a new festival venue, the Instant is a series of concerts: Black Flower, Mongooz And The Magnet, Senegal Performer-Composer, Ibaaku and Swing à la Django, Juli Horányi and Fodor Máriusz will play on stage. In the afternoon of Open Art Studios, the 13th time the studios and workshops will be opened to entertain behind the scenes.

Cover photo: CAFe Budapest Press