Melos-Ethos

Performers:

• Amadinda Percussion Group (HU)
  <p class="text2">Károly Bojtos</p>
  <p class="text2">Aurél Holló</p>
  <p class="text2">Mátyás Szabó</p>
  <p class="text2">László Tömösközi</p>
  <p class="text2">Zoltán Váczi - percussion</p>
  <p class="text2">Zoltán Rácz - artistic director, conductor, piano, clapping</p>
  

  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)

• VENI ensemble [profile of ensemble] (SK)
  <p class="text2">Soňa Urbaničová - piccolo flute</p>
  <p class="text2">Jana Gazdíková - flute</p>
  <p class="text2">Igor Fábera - oboe</p>
  <p class="text2">Michal Šintál - English horn</p>
  <p class="text2">Ronald Šebesta, Branislav Dugovič - clarinets, bass clarinets</p>
  <p class="text2">Eleonóra Škutová - piano, synthesiser</p>
  <p class="text2">Zuzana Paštéková, Marek Zwiebel, Peter Mosorjak, Beáta Rašková, Ľuboslav Nedorost - violins</p>
  <p class="text2">Peter Šesták, Peter Zwiebel - violas</p>
  <p class="text2">Boris Bohó, Vladimír Sirota - violoncellos</p>
  <p class="text2">Karel Pevný - double bass</p>
  <p class="text2">Daniel Matej - artistic director</p>
  

  VENI ensemble was founded in 1987 by several enthusiasts, students of composition and performers from the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava who shared a common desire to express their own opinion through corresponding music. VENI ensemble is an open group of musicians. The core of the ensemble is made of several permanent members who invite others to collaborate in specific projects. The group’s main activities are concert appearances at national and international festivals of contemporary music (Exposition of New Music, Brno; Kulturspektakel, Vienna; Contemporary Music Marathon, Prague; Melos-Ethos, Bratislava; Quaderni Perugini di Musica Contemporanea, Perugia; New Music Studio, Prague; The New Music Week, Bucharest; Evenings of New Music, Bratislava; Wetterfest, Vienna, etc.). In addition, the group sporadically records for broadcasting companies at home and abroad (Slovak Television, Slovak Radio, Hessischer Rundfunk). In 1990, VENI ensemble recorded an LP for Globus International Prague, and in 1992, the Music Fund, Slovak Radio and Pavian Records co-produced the CD VENI ensemble with financial support from the state culture fund PRO SLOVAKIA. In 1995, VENI ensemble recorded for MUSICA the CD Between with music by Daniel Matej. Currently, it is finishing work on the CD Bratislava with pieces commissioned from Richard Ayres, Tomáš Boroš, Allison Cameron, Daniel Matej, and Christian Wolff. VENI ensemble’s repertory is based on works by composers working with and around the group, by young composers from abroad, whose music is closely related, and by 20th-century composers who served as father figures for members of the group (especially Erik Satie, Charles Ives, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Terry Riley).

• Bratislava Chamber Soloists [profile of ensemble] (SK)
• Duo Percufonia (SK)
  <p class="text2">Jaroslav Gregorovič</p>
  <p class="text2">Štefan Bugala</p>
  <p class="text2">percussion</p>
  

  DUO PERCUFONIA was founded in 2004 by Jaro Gregorovič (1973), graduate of Bratislava Conservatory, Royal Conservatory in Haag and Štefan Bugala (1976), graduate of Bratislava Conservatory and Janáček Academy in Brno.

• Ildikó Fodor – violin
• Mária Horváth – voice (solo)
• Zoltán Rácz – conductor
• Klára Lóczi – voice (solo)
• Katalin Károlyi – voice (solo) (HU)
• György Oravecz – piano
• Steve Reich – clapping