Music was and is an essential part of daily life in Hungary.

Sir Georg Solti

Polish-Hungarian gala performance at the Liszt Academy

31 January 2014

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, took part in a gala performance in the Liszt Academy on 29 January.

In his opening address the Hungarian premier emphasized that the Hungarian and Polish people had been bound by common ties for centuries. As examples, he mentioned the joint Hungarian and Polish kings, Józef Bem, Lajos Kossuth, the assistance provided to Poles who fled to Hungary, Polish solidarity in 1956, and Hungarian support for the Polish Solidarity movement during the 1980s.

Photo: MTI / Szilárd Koszticsák

Donald Tusk said that while today Hungarians and Poles celebrate their freedom won a quarter of a century ago, they do not forget those who have not yet attained this. According to Donald Tusk, the Ukrainians show that they are ready to pay a high price for freedom, and a message must be sent to them that in their situation there can be no better solution than consensus.

Photo: Liszt Academy / Sándor Benkő

During the evening the Wrocław Chamber Orchestra performed works by Penderecki and Wojciech Kilar, Gergely Bogányi played Chopin's Ballad in G minor, Ferenc Liszt's Un sospiro and Gnomenreigen, as well as Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 by the 19th century genius and founder of the music academy. The gala performance was also attended by Minister of Defence Csaba Hende, President of the Curia of Hungary Péter Darák, Chief Prosecutor Péter Polt and members of the diplomatic corps.