In the spring of 2025, the Bartók Spring International Art Weeks will enliven the life of the capital with the most exciting performers and diverse artistic offerings from the domestic and international cultural scene for ten days.

The Bartók Spring International Art Weeks, a unique series of all-art events, was launched in the spring of 2021 on the 140th anniversary of the birth of the world-famous Hungarian composer Béla Bartók.

The festival offers a glimpse into Bartók's impressive oeuvre, but it does not exclusively feature the compositions of the world-famous composer. Instead, it aims to showcase Bartók's spirituality, creativity, and creative approach in countless genres, from contemporary classical music to world music, jazz, dance, and fine arts to pop music, through the works of the best in the Hungarian and international art scene.

 Program recommendation

The program series will once again feature world stars this year: two favorites of the Hungarian audience, Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann, will perform a joint song recital, Bach's grand oratorio, the St. Matthew Passion, will be chosen as the program by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a musical group with excellent knowledge of the era, one of the most influential figures in European jazz, the Norwegian jazz saxophonist, and Jan Garbarek will give a concert with one of his favorite fellow musicians, the Indian percussionist, Trilok Gurtu.

You can witness collaborations where international performers take the stage with Hungarian musicians. The soloist of the Munich Philharmonic's first Budapest concert will be Barnabás Kelemen, with whom they will conjure up a Bartókian spring in the concert hall, as they have chosen pieces from the festival's namesake for the evening in addition to Schumann's Spring Symphony. The concert of the Kammerorchester Basel, which constantly strives for excellence, will feature the brilliantly talented violinist Júlia Pusker. At the same time, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra musicians, led by Wynton Marsalis and bringing together the best instrumental soloists of our time, will be joined by Balázs Szalóky, who graduated in New York.

Several multi-art productions were prepared specially for the festival. For example, in a joint performance by dancers from the Corvinus Közgáz Folk Dance Ensemble, actors from the Forte Company, and students from the University of Theatre and Film Arts, many movements of Bartók's Microcosm come to life in the Mezőség countryside. The music and dance are accompanied by the lines of the Transylvanian writer András Sütő. 

You can also see the inspiring collaboration between the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble and the Győr Ballet for the third year in a row, exploring Bartók's influence on the culture of distant peoples.