Melos-Ethos

Performers:

• The Slovak Philharmonic [profile of ensemble] (SK)
  

  THE SLOVAK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA was established in 1949. Two internationally reputed personalities, Václav Talich (1949 – 1952) and Ľudovít Rajter (1949 – 1976) stood at the orchestra’s birth. Other chief conductors who have played an important role in the orchestra’s musical evolution include Tibor Frešo, Ladislav Slovák, Libor Pešek, Vladimir Verbitsky, Bystrík Režucha, Aldo Ceccato, Ondrej Lenárd, Jiří Bělohlávek, Vladimír Válek, Peter Feranec, Emmanuel Villaume and James Judd. The orchestra has made numerous recordings for radio, television and the music publishers OPUS, Supraphon, Panton, Hungaroton, JVC Victor, RCA, Pacific Music, Naxos and Marco Polo. The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra regularly gives guest performances on leading European stages and festivals, as well as in Cyprus, Turkey, and the USA, and they regularly have concert tours in Japan, South Korea, Oman and United Arab Emirates.

  www.filharmonia.sk

• Amadinda Percussion Group (HU)
  

  AMADINDA PERCUSSION GROUP (Zoltán Rácz – the artistic director, Zoltán Váczi, Aurél Holló, Károly Bojtos) has been formed in 1984 in Budapest by four musicians, just after having graduated from the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music. When founding the ensemble central point of their activity has been double. On one hand to present masterpieces of percussion music, unknown to the Hungarian audience so far, on the other hand to perform the music of Hungarian contemporary composers in their country and abroad. One of their principal intention is to inspire Hungarian and international composers to create new pieces. Over the last years, they have also been researching music of traditional percussion cultures – true to the group’s name which refers to a traditional xylophone from Uganda. In their effort to expand percussion repertoire, the members of the Amadinda Percussion Group have composed their own works and have transcribed for percussion outstanding pieces from the classical tradition that they consider suitable for their instruments.

  From the very beginning Amadinda has cooperated with world famous artists like John Cage, Peter Eötvös, Zoltán Kocsis, György Kurtág, György Ligeti, András Schiff. The Amadinda Percussion Group has received the Hungarian Composers Award several times, has been honoured with the Ferenc Liszt Award and received the prestigious state award of the Republic of Hungary – the Kossuth Award – in 2004. The ensemble has also won the First Prize of the Gaudeamus Music Competition Amsterdam. The ensemble’s extensive discography stretches over the whole spectrum of Percussion repertoire and includes the complete works for percussion of John Cage and works of Peter Eötvös, György Ligeti and Steve Reich.

  The performance is so astoundingly good and played with such amazing energy, that one is simply swept along. You fulfilled my dreams.“

  Steve Reich about Amadinda Percussion Group live recording of Music for 18 Musicians (Hungaroton, 2004)

• Juraj Valčuha[personal profile]  – conductor (SK)
• Veronika Lacková[personal profile]  – piano (SK)
• György Oravecz – piano
• Zoltán Rácz – piano