MÁV Symphony Orchestra gave an Advent charity concert under the title Christmas! in honour of the elderly at Liszt Ferenc Music Academy on 17 December, 2013. The main patron of the event was Minister of National Development Zsuzsa Németh; Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs of MND János Fónagy delivered an address at the concert.

On behalf of the Government, János Fónagy thanked the elderly for having worked honestly throughout their lives and having raised their children often under difficult circumstances. He expressed hope that throughout the years of their well deserved retirement they had the chance to take much pleasure in their families, grandchildren and communities. It is by raising retirement pensions and reducing overhead costs that the Government has helped and is to continue to help the elderly, he pointed out.

The concert Christmas! was aimed as a way of greeting for the elderly and their invitation to a joint celebration. Members of the targeted age group could apply for free concert tickets at the well-known organisations for the retired in Budapest. 

At the full-house concert of Christmas classics, extracts were performed from works of Bach, Franck, Handel, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Gounod, Massenet, Puccini and other composers. The event featured Tracy Cox, the winner of this year’s Operalia signing contest. This was the first time for this year’s winner of the contest founded by Plácido Domingo to perform on stage in Budapest. The concert featured two more, excellent Hungarian opera singers – Ingrid Kertesi (soprano) and Andreas Magony (tenor) – trumpeter György Kovács and actor Gyula Mesterházy. MÁV Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Ádám Medveczky.

(Ministry of National Development - Communications Department)