"Beautiful Moments": On Musical Moments of the Past and Present – A lecture by Jörg Widmann

The musical polymath Jörg Widmann arrives at the Budapest Festival Orchestra with a captivating, vibrant, and dynamic lecture-performance. While seated at the piano, at times singing, playing, or nearly dancing, the clarinetist-composer-conductor presents music history through chords – from Bach to 21st-century works.

The lecture is inspired by the 1965 essay Schöne Stellen by the seminal philosopher and music aesthete Theodor W. Adorno, who wrote about the charm of the “beautiful moments” found in music. The performance explores the very essence of music, while also highlighting Widmann’s great idols: Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Bach.

The tense balance between tradition and innovation is a hallmark of Widmann’s own compositions as well. In his presentation, he also speaks about how his works are shaped by the seeming contradiction between historical forms and new ways of expression.