POWER OF HOPE / We do not forget!

TICKETS

Symphonic concert of touching music from the most powerful films of the Holocaust era, organized for the occasion of the Memorial Day Victims of the Holocaust and Racial Violence.

This concert will be exceptional again. For the second time, on the occasion of the Memorial Day of the fight against racial violence and the victims of the Holocaust and war crimes, the festival creates a compiled author's program especially for this occasion. Following the Slovak premiere of Cinema concert Obchod na korze (The Shop on Main Street), through art we will once again point out the horrors that happened and are happening because of hatred.

Visitors can listen to beautiful music from melancholic and sad true movies like The Pianist, Life is Beautiful, The Diary of Anne Frank and more.

The intention was to create a unique work especially for this occasion; in a modern, easy and popular way, but nevertheless at a highly professional and artistic level, we will bring this bitter period in our recent history to the general public.

Through film and music, we reopen the themes of the value of life, fellowship and tolerance. Edge films and documentary stories with this theme, accompanied by artistically high-quality music, as an expression of deep respect, pain and sorrow for the suffering of this minority. The Holocaust must still be remembered right these days, at a time of increasing extremism, denial of the Holocaust and increasing racial violence.

Performing:

Alba Regia Symphonic Orchestra

Conductor:

Zoltán Pad

Dress code:
Formal

Taking into regard the character of the event, the organizer reserves the right to refuse the entry in case of inappropriate clothing. No entrance is allowed as of the concert starts.

In case of inclement weather occurring after the start of the concert, the entrance fee cannot be refunded.

Festival discount:

1. 20% discount on all tickets purchased before and on 31.7.2023.

2. 25% discount for pensioners, disabled persons, students and teachers – applicable only for sectors 1, 2, 3 and 4. If you use this discount, you agree the organizer can check the relevant document upon entry.

3. Quantity festival discount - 25% discount when purchasing 5 tickets (combination of different concerts is possible), 35% discount when purchasing 10 tickets. For larger quantities, contact richard.bednar@symfoniaumenia.sk.

4. Discount for residents of Ružinov 50% - if you use this discount, you agree the organizer can check your identity card upon entry. The discount only applies for sectors. The discount must be applied in the basket after selecting tickets at full price. Only for sectors 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The event is brought to you by the Bratislava-Ružinov district.

This event is organized in cooperation with the Museum of Jewish Culture.

Zoltán Pad, conductor, studied at the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest and in Munich with a DAAD scholarship. Since 2014, he is chief conductor of the Hungarian Radio Choir.

He is an internationally renowned conductor, who in recent years received the opportunity to conduct outstanding ensembles including the SWR Vokalensemble in Stuttgart, the MDR Radio Choir in Leipzig, the NDR Vokalensemble in Hamburg, the French Radio Choir, the Zürcher Sing-Akademie, the Chamber Choir Ireland, the ChorWerk Ruhr, the Polish Radio Choir, the Arsys Bourgogne Chamber Choir, the Croatian Radio Choir, the Cracow Singers and the World Youth Choir.

In January 2023 he makes his debut at the Netherlands Radio Choir, in March he gives concerts of a Reger-Brahms programme with ChorWerk Ruhr. In April, he will be guest at SWR Vokalensemble.

His extensive repertoire ranges from Renaissance music to recently composed works, he has conducted many first performances of contemporary pieces. He is a devoted interpreter of Hungarian contemporary music, and the works of Bartók, Kodály and Ligeti.

He is a committed pedagogue and leads workshops and conducting courses all around the world.

As conductor of the Hungarian Radio Choir, he has conducted numerous concerts in Hungary and abroad, with several contemporary a cappella pieces premiered on their programme. Most pieces were also recorded for the Hungarian Radio.

He conducted at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg - as choir master he appeared at the Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele), at the Donizetti Festival of Bergamo, and at concert venues such as the BOZAR in Brussels, the MÜPA in Budapest, the Auditorium de la Radio France and the Auditorium Rainer III. at Monte Carlo.

In recent years, he has worked with outstanding conductors and ensembles including Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Harding, Péter Eötvös and the Vienna Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Alan Gilbert, Helmuth Rilling, Christoph Gedschold, Kazuki Yamada, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Zoltán Kocsis, György Vashegyi, Gergely Kesselyák, Iván Fischer, Ádám Fischer and Carlos Miguel Prieto.

He is a welcomed guest conductor of orchestras, primarily conducting oratorical works. He worked with the Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra, Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, Oradea Philharmonic Orchestra and Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra.

Between 2009 and 2014, he worked as chief conductor of the Kodály Choir Debrecen, which is one of the few professional choirs in Hungary. During this time, Zoltán conducted over 130 concerts with the choir and prepared a further 131 more concert programmes.

Among many other pieces, he conducted Concerto for Choir by Alfred Schnittke and The Sealed Angel (Zapechatlennyi angel) by Rodion Shchedrin and the oratorio The Company of Heaven by Benjamin Britten as its first Hungarian performance.

In December 2012, under the direction of Zoltán Pad, the Kodály Choir was awarded the Prima Award of Hungary.

In the autumn of 2012, he was the choir master of the joint chorus of the Kodály Choir Debrecen and the Choir of the Hungarian State Opera in Verdi’s Aida performed in Doha, which was the first operatic performance in the history of Qatar.

He has conducted concerts with the Purcell Choir, the Cantemus Choir and the National Choir (of Hungary).

He also has considerable experience as a university lecturer. 2005-2021 he worked as assistant lecturer, then subsequently senior lecturer of the Liszt Academy of Music. In 2011, he completed his doctoral studies with first class honours, with his DLA thesis entitled The “passion” of Dietrich Buxtehude.

In 2008, he led the choirs of the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing.

Zoltán Pad is regularly invited to conducting master courses (Limerick, Ireland; Marktoberdorf, Germany) and he regularly works with youth choirs. He is a returning jury member at international choir and conductor competitions.

Between 2009 and 2014, he was a member of the Artistic Board of the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition, and held the position of artistic director of the contest in 2013/14.

In March 2018, he was awarded the Liszt Prize and in 2022 Lajtha-prize in honour of his work.