Music Director of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups Domonkos Héja presented the Groups’ new season. Featuring international and Hungarian stars the Groups bring four hundred years of music history to life through familiar and lesser-known masterpieces. The composers of this season range from the 17th century Charpentier through Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to Mahler, Stravinsky and contemporary composers such as Philip Glass and Péter Eötvös. Guest soloists of the season include singers Dorottya Láng, Polina Pasztircsák and Emőke Baráth as well as pianists Dezső Ránki, Zoltán Fejérvári and Gábor Farkas. In 2027 the Groups will once again welcome French violinist Renaud Capuçon, whose performance in Budapest was voted ‘Concert of the Year’ by the audience in 2025.
Even if the next season does not start until September 2026, a limited number of season tickets for the performances of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups will be available from 18th March. This way music lovers will have the chance to enjoy unforgettable experiences at discounted prices. In addition, this season’s concerts by the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of the Hungarian National Radio will be staged in Budapest’s most beautiful concert halls and venues.
The renewal of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ artistic management continues. Music Director Domonkos Héja joined the Group on 1st May 2025, and Máté Szabó Sipos officially became the Chief Conductor of the Choir of the Hungarian National Radio on 1st January 2026.
Máté Szabó Sipos / Photo: Attila Vörös
“I would like the Choir to be recognised as one of the world’s best choirs within reasonable time,” Máté Szabó Sipos said in an interview. “This depends not only on professional precision and the sound of the Choir cultivated over so many years but also on the Choir’s visibility on the international stage. I would like to refresh the Choir’s repertoire through the inclusion of more exciting styles and more modern concert structures. And I would also like to place emphasis on training the next generations.”
Following the retirement of György Igric, from mid-April 2026 the position of Artistic Director of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups will be assumed by music historian and associate professor at Liszt Academy Gergely Fazekas.
On the occasion, Gergely Fazekas stated that
“I would like to act as a sort of bridge that connects different stakeholders – artists and organisers, conductors and soloists, orchestras, choirs and children’s choirs –, and I wish to highlight possible connections between musical eras, styles and genres. It is a great honour for me to be part of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ community, and I hope to live up to the trust placed in me.”
During the 2026–2027 season, Music Director Domonkos Héja will conduct the Groups on seven occasions: we will see Domonkos Héja as the conductor of oratorios, symphonic pieces and concertos alike. Rachmaninoff’s rarely heard cantata entitled ‘The Bells’ comes to life under his conduct just as well will Brahms’s ‘A German Requiem’, Baroque works, French music at the turn of the 19th century, Haydn’s ‘Nelson Mass’ and Péter Eötvös’ late work entitled ‘Concerto for Saxophone’.
“Our most important task is to teach children to love and enjoy music from a very young age. There is immense potential in joint performances by the three Groups – i.e. the Symphony Orchestra, the Choir and the Children’s Choir – and we strive to showcase this musical power through the performance of monumental works. In the 2026/2027 season, we will continue to work with the orchestra and choirs every day with renewed vigour and energy so that we can ensure that the Hungarian Radio Art Groups can demonstrate – to the high standard everybody is accustomed to and, above all, to an even wider audience – why it is such an elevating and inspirational experience to attend concerts and to listen to classical music,” Music Director Domonkos Héja said.
The Groups will be welcoming Honorary Conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Frizza on four occasions. Among other works, Riccardo Frizza will conduct Beethoven’s late masterpiece entitled ‘Missa Solemnis’, Mahler’s ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’ and Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie fantastique’.
Take a look at the season’s programme booklet!
The Groups’ Principal Conductor János Kovács will occupy the conductor’s podium three times during the season: alongside works by Haydn, Mozart and a French-Spanish musical programme, János Kovács will conduct Franz Liszt’s grand-scale oratorio entitled ‘The Legend of Saint Elizabeth’. A special highlight of the season will be the performance of ‘Symphony No 5’ by popular American composer Philip Glass: the event – conducted by Gergely Vajda – will feature the Symphony Orchestra, the Choir and the Children’s Choir (in fact, the Children’s Choir also appeared in the Symphony’s 1999 world premiere in Salzburg). And it will be a real treat to the ears to listen to J. S. Bach’s ‘St. Mark Passion’ reconstructed by organist and composer Bálint Karosi currently living in USA. Among the guest soloists, French star violinist Renaud Capuçon is noteworthy: his performance in Budapest was voted ‘Concert of the Year’ by the audience in 2025. The season’s concerts will feature star singers such as Dorottya Láng, Polina Pasztircsák, Emőke Baráth and Georgian bass Avtandil Kaspeli, alongside pianists including Dezső Ránki, Zoltán Fejérvári, Gábor Farkas and winner of the 2024 Concours Géza Anda Competition Ilya Schmukler.
In addition to oratorio concerts with the Orchestra, the Choir of the Hungarian National Radio will also give numerous solo concerts during the season with Principal Conductor Máté Szabó Sipos (Charpentier’s ‘Midnight Mass for Christmas’ and Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’ are both on the programme). In addition, the Group will also be joined by German conductor and Artistic Director of Chorwerk Ruhr Florian Helgath and winner of the Eric Ericson Award 2024 Alexander Lüken.
The Choir of the Hungarian National Radio will begin rehearsals for next season’s repertoire as early as in the summer of 2026 while enjoying playful activities and genuine holiday experiences. Under the guidance of Principal Conductor Soma Dinyés, the choir members will be preparing for their stage performances, and the season will once again conclude with concerts rich in music historical curiosities. In 2026, the Choir will host Leipzig Radio Children’s Choir, which is regarded as one of the most highly acclaimed children’s choirs on the international stage.
In both 2026 and 2027, bringing classical music experiences to younger generations will assume a key role. On the one hand, the ‘initiation-purpose’ concerts of the Choir of the Hungarian National Radio for nursery schoolers – themed around St. Nicholas, Carnival and Mother’s Day – will welcome the youngest children and their families to the Choir’s double concerts. On the other hand, the ‘Bachpack’ Youth Concert Series, aimed at 10–16-year-olds, offers interactive programmes ranging from ‘edible and digestible’ music through Baroque adventures to musical journeys coupled with urban discovery. In the scope of this Series, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra offers these events at extremely favourable rates for school groups. These concerts for children and teenagers have been staged with full house for years, and are among the Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ most popular programmes.
Noémi Radványi (violin), Ildikó Fodor (violin), Tamás Cs. Nagy (viola), Judit Nagy (cello), Klára Bábel (harp) / Photo: Attila Vörös
Tickets for the concerts will be available from 1st June. It is worth buying your tickets as soon as possible but definitely before the dynamic pricing scheme comes into effect on 1st August. If tickets for three or more concerts are purchased concurrently, a bulk purchase discount applies, which can mean savings of up to 15–20%. What is more, thanks to the Hungarian Radio Art Groups Gift Voucher, there will be a choice of over 50 concerts to select from and cater for your musical taste.
In the case of most concerts, through creating a lower ticket price category, the Hungarian Radio Art Groups aims to support those who, despite their more modest means, would like to enjoy classical music experiences.
Once again this year, the audience can look forward to the Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ two most popular season tickets. Lehel Season Ticket will feature the magnificent concert hall of the Palace of Arts (MÜPA) Budapest as its venue, while concerts in the scope of Dohnányi Season Ticket will take place at the Hungarian stronghold of classical music, in Liszt Academy.
The quintessence of the Choir of the Hungarian National Radio can be experienced in the scope of Sapszon Season Ticket, which will see the Choir perform at a variety of concert venues. Several events will be held at Budapest’s stunning architectural masterpiece Matthias Church located in Buda Castle: this venue guarantees that while listening to the Choir’s uplifting sound, the audience will be able to admire the acoustics and magnificent interior of Matthias Church as part of the musical experience.
The Hungarian Radio Art Groups is also reviving Vásáry Season Ticket Series in honour of its recently deceased Honorary Music Director as well as President and Conductor Kossuth and Liszt Ferenc Prize winning pianist Tamás Vásáry. This way, the Hungarian Radio Art Groups pay tribute – through staging grand orchestral works – to the prominence of conductor Vásáry, who had a fundamental influence on Hungarian classical music. Vásáry Season Ticket Series features popular oratorios such as Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’, Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis’, Liszt’s ‘The Legend of St. Elizabeth’, Brahms’s ‘A German Requiem’ and Haydn’s ‘Nelson Mass’.
The Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ 2026/2027 programme booklet containing the descriptions of the season’s concerts is now available for download and can also be flipped through online.