The festival will open with a grandiose work: the Hungarian National Philharmonic will bring to life The Legend of St Elizabeth, an oratorio by Liszt, who was always intrigued by the story of the Hungarian-born saint. The works of the festival’s namesake have always been close to the heart of Vasily Petrenko, who conducts the world’s most famous orchestras, so it is no surprise that his programme with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra includes two works by Liszt, along with Prokofiev’s symphony; they will even have a Liszt specialist by the piano, József Balog. For the concert of the Cluj-Napoca Hungarian Opera, their acting artistic director György Selmeczi chose Liszt compositions that are rarely performed in concert halls. Music meets poetry, the works of Goethe, Schiller and Liszt come together courtesy of Martin Haselböck and the Orchester Wiener Akademie, at the concert that closes this year’s festival. The soloist of the evening is a luminary of the young generation of pianists, Fülöp Ránki.

The festival programme also includes lighter genres. Praised by The New York Times and The Times for his hypnotic and liberating mode of mixing jazz and electronica, the young Italian pianist-composer Francesco Tristano loves to experiment with different styles, and now the Hungarian audience can experience his magic in person. Tomorrow Comes The Harvest was a project and record that grew out of the vision of Detroit DJ Jeff Mills, Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, a founder of Afrobeat, and veteran keyboardist Jean-Phi Dary. With Allen passing in 2020, Mills and Dary are joined in Müpa Budapest by Indian–French virtuoso of the tabla, Prabhu Edouard. As part of their European tour, the legendary Einstürzende Neubauten bring the songs of their 2024 album; founded forty years ago, the band is instantly recognisable for their alien pop, a seminal experiment in blending rock, alternative pop and mainstream. Isolation Budapest, the joint pop music festival of the Liszt Fest and the Akvárium Klub will see its third iteration now, bringing the most progressive artists and bands to those who seek refreshing new music.

It has become almost a tradition for Recirquel to premiere its latest production at Müpa Budapest’s festivals. Directed and choreographed by Bence Vági, Paradisum, which combines contemporary dance and circus, explores the myth of rebirth after a destroyed world has fallen silent, a state where the body is the means of communication and movement is the sole shared language. The Háromszék Dance Ensemble will also present the Hungarian premiere of its new production at the festival: Ecce Homo brings to life in the language of dance distinctive elements from the oeuvre of the painter genius Mihály Munkácsy, with the stage becoming a special setting for the paintings.