Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Presented by Liszt Academy

The greatest masters respected as exemplars, from Bach and Haydn through Mozart to Stravinsky, had no compunction whatsoever about using popular melodies and motifs that in themselves had little artistic value yet offered a great deal of utility, for instance, they were easy to whistle or dance to. Astor Piazzolla discovered his musical raw material in the tango; Stravinsky lifted Russian tunes and hurdy-gurdy airs as much as inimitable Viennese waltzes for Petruska; while there is a foxtrot to be discerned in the dances of John Adams’s (in)famous opera. Gergely Vajda’s latest work was inspired by a global hit, the song known internationally as ‘Gloomy Sunday’, written by Rezső Seress in the 1930s.