The Liszt Fest International Cultural Festival has only just come to an end, but its organiser Müpa Budapest is not resting on its laurels, and is preparing for the 2027 Bartók Spring International Arts Weeks, whose first stars are finally here.

On 21 March, the world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis returns to Müpa Budapest with the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to present gems from the American musical tradition, from Duke Ellington to Jeff Beal, Lecuona and Gershwin, with a programme that moves along the blurred boundaries between jazz and classical music.

On 26 March, Good Friday, one of the most renowned exponents of historically informed performance, Ton Koopman – who also visited Müpa Budapest two years ago as part of his 80th birthday tour –, and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir will present the St Matthew Passion, which Johann Sebastian Bach wrote 300 years ago in 1727.

On 4 April, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House will perform two seminal works of 20th-century music, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, under the baton of Jakub Hrůša. In Bartók’s opera, Judith and Bluebeard will be portrayed by two world-famous soloists, Elīna Garanča and Christian Van Horn, who already captivated audiences in the same roles at the Carnegie Hall.

Further details about the festival’s programme are to be revealed soon, while tickets for the concerts already announced are now on sale, and will make perfect Christmas presents.