In October, the Budapest Festival Orchestra will take the stage with British conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner for the very first time, Iván Fischer’s children’s opera The Gruffalo will make its Hungarian debut, and the BFO’s production of The Magic Flute will travel to Vicenza for performances at the Teatro Olimpico. In November, the BFO welcomes audiences to the season’s first Concertino concerts at the Liszt Academy, while fans of the Surprise Concert have another date to mark in their calendars: tickets for the orchestra’s Christmas concert go on sale on 13 October.
A First Encounter with Sir John Eliot Gardiner
On 3, 4 and 5 October, the Budapest Festival Orchestra will perform with Sir John Eliot Gardiner for the first time. The multiple Grammy Award-winning conductor, renowned for his electrifying energy, has put together a program of works by Sibelius and Haydn for their concerts. In a special opening to the evening, the musicians will put down their instruments and perform as a choir, beginning the concert with a deeply moving work by Sibelius. This will be followed by Haydn’s Drumroll Symphony and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2.
3–5 October 2026, Müpa Budapest
Iván Fischer’s Children’s Opera Makes Its Hungarian Debut
This season, Iván Fischer also features in the orchestra’s program as a composer: his children’s opera The Gruffalo will receive its Hungarian premiere on 17 October. The internationally beloved story by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler has been translated into Hungarian for the production by Ádám Nádasdy. Eszter Novák directs the opera, with Róbert Farkas as Music Director. Benjamin Rózsa appears as the Gruffalo, while Júlia Fujita plays the Mouse. The half-hour opera is an ideal introduction to this genre for young children, and after the performance they can also take photos with the Mouse, Gruffalo, Owl, Fox and Snake.
Venue: BFO Rehearsal Hall
Save the Date!
For those whose Christmas is not complete without the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s Surprise Concert, there is an important date to remember: tickets for the 26 December concert go on sale on 13 October. A concert that is itself a gift, led by a conductor who is a master of surprises. On the day after Christmas, Iván Fischer and the BFO will celebrate with their audience.
26 December 2026, Budapest Congress Centre
Off to Vicenza!
The BFO’s production of The Magic Flute, which premiered to great acclaim at Müpa Budapest in September, is heading to Italy. Audiences at the Vicenza Opera Festival will have three opportunities to see Iván Fischer’s production, while the festival program will also feature a symphonic concert.
23–26 October 2026, Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza
Back at the Rumbach Synagogue
The OMIKE–BFO synagogue concert in October will focus on Franz Schubert and the music of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Serbian and Transylvanian folk music, klezmer melodies, and works by Liszt and Schubert will be performed on 15 October at the Rumbach Street Synagogue.
15 October 2026, Rumbach Street Synagogue
Concertino – At the Liszt Academy for the First Time This Season
The BFO’s first Concertino concerts of the season will take place at the Liszt Academy on 6 and 7 November. The ensemble will perform without a conductor, led by one of its concertmasters, Daniel Bard. Another BFO musician will step into the spotlight as a soloist: Junior Prima Award-winning trombonist Attila Sztán will perform Albrechtsberger’s light and elegant Trombone Concerto. Alongside the invigorating modern sounds of Erwin Schulhoff and Handel’s increasingly fast-paced concerto grosso, the concert will conclude with one of Tchaikovsky’s popular chamber works, which pays tribute to the music of Mozart and Haydn.
