British Music Celebration at Müpa

Müpa’s popular, all-day concert series returns on February 15th, this time with the (life)works of three legendary English composers in the spotlight. With no less than eleven concerts featuring the best of the Hungarian music scene, events in the Glass Room by the students of the Academy of Music, film screenings in the auditorium and an exhibition, the English Marathon selects some of the most memorable pieces of British music history. Ticket sales have begun, and the detailed program is now available on Müpa’s website.

Müpa’s February Marathon is not just a series of concerts, but a winter farewell whirlwind that music fans look forward to every year, taking place in a festival atmosphere. The series of events in 2026 will present the best of the musical heritage of three defining eras in the island through the works of Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten. Purcell's works evoke the soul of 17th-century England, Elgar's compositions speak of imperial self-awareness and gentlemanly elegance, while Britten's pieces elevate modern British music to eye and ear level. From morning until late at night, the audience can marvel at the unadulterated English melodies at a total of eleven concerts in the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall and the Festival Theatre.

The day will start with a family concert by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, which will bring the wonders of island music closer to the youngest. The concert hall stage will then be taken over by the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, the Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra, the Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra and the National Philharmonic Orchestra for a fifty-minute concert each – each presenting pieces from the three composers’ oeuvres from a different perspective. Chamber music and vocal works will be given a starring role in the Festival Theatre: the Magnificat Girls’ Choir, the Ars Oratoria Chamber Choir, Magyar Valentin and the Korossy Quartet, Zoltán Fejérvári and Oszkár Varga, as well as the Purcell Choir and Capella Savaria will perform. The orchestral concerts will be conducted by Marcell Dénes-Worowski, Domonkos Héja, Róbert Farkas, Gábor Hollerung and János Kovács, while Valéria Szebellédi, Zoltán Pad and György Vashegyi will conduct the choirs that will line up on the day.

In addition to the excellence of the Hungarian classical music scene, the Glass Hall, where the concerts of the Academy of Music’s emerging talents will showcase the diversity of English music – from captivating Baroque melodies to refreshing trends of the 20th century. In addition to the all-day concert series, the marathon experience will also be enriched by a tableau exhibition titled Made in England, which will be open to visitors for two weeks from 15 February 2026. The exhibition, which can be seen in the Flag Square of Müpa, presents the lives, inspirations and artistic connections of the three composers.

The detailed program of Müpa’s 2026 music marathon can be found by clicking here.

Source and photo: Müpa Budapest