• Mozart: Requiem, K. 626 - Confutatis and Lacrimosa
• Mozart: Piano Concerto in D minor, K. 466
• Rachmaninoff-Kocsis: Vocalise
• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil - excerpts
• Bartók: Cantata profana, Sz. 94, BB 100
• Bartók: Four Orchestral Pieces, op. 12, Sz. 51, BB 64 - Marcia funebre

"We must strive for a sense of eternity, not for one of finality. What we must do is transmit to the audience, in the most sincere and faithful way possible in each given moment, the experience that hits us when we first encounter the piece and which continues on with us as we engage with it. I cannot imagine a loftier aim than this.” Incorporating his artistic philosophy into these words, Zoltán Kocsis expressed himself with the same clarity and nuance that he did when relaying his musical ideas and his opinions about matters of the world. And if there was ever anyone who fulfilled the expectations he had set up for himself, it was him: for nearly half a century, he triumphed as a performing artist both alongside a piano and on the conductor's podium. Distinguished with the most prestigious awards Hungary and the world had to offer, including for his recordings of music by Debussy, he was considered an outstanding expert on and interpreter of the works of Bartók and one of the most accomplished performers of works by contemporary Hungarian composers, especially György Kurtág: the world-famous composer even dedicated a number of pieces to him. In addition to playing a role in the rediscovery of less well-known dramatic works by Richard Strauss, Kocsis was also behind tremendously successful performances of Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder and the same composer's unfinished Moses und Aron, which Kocsis himself completed, as well as of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande.
The concert in tribute to the memory of Zoltán Kocsis reflects his links to various composers, compositions and performers. He took the helm of the featured Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra in 1997 in order to renew the ensemble, and together with the Hungarian National Choir mounted numerous large-scale productions. His son, Krisztián Kocsis, is one of the most promising representatives of the younger generation of Hungarian pianists. Miklós Perényi was one of his favourite chamber partners, and the two of them played the 1990 transcription of Vocalise together more than a few times. He enjoyed a superb professional relationship with conductor János Kovács, who also worked with his orchestra a great deal, particularly during the last year of the ailing musician's life.
And Bartók.... On his gold-standard recordings that made up the Bartók New Series, Kocsis performed the piano pieces himself and conducted most of the orchestral works. He made his last appearance at Müpa Budapest on 7 October, conducting Bluebeard's Castle and The Miraculous Mandarin, both scheduled for release in 2016. His friend and colleague Péter Eötvös bids him farewell with Bartók.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest, Hungarian National Philharmonic

Parking information

The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.