The cross-border CENTROPE-Gala Chamber Concert of the International Danube Philharmonic was held without an audience on February 8, 2021, organized by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Bratislava.

You can listen to the concert on the YouTube channel of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Bratislava.

The concert was financed by the Austrian Cultural Forum (Bratislava) and the Hungarian Cultural Institute (Bratislava as well). Hungary was represented by clarinetist Gábor Varga.

The International Danube Philharmonic and the “Europa”-Club have been organizing joint projects for many years. A review into the past and an outlook into the future:

With the second link you can listen to the recording of Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances played by the orchestra, recorded in the Church of Mary in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in 2018. Collaborators: International Danube Philharmonic, Gábor Varga – clarinet, Tamás Cheh Band, conductor Dániel Cséfalvay.

A rare beautiful memory of Hungarian history connected to Austria is the Church of Mary in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg. According to the legend, the predecessor of the Romanesque-Gothic church in the cemetery of the town was founded by King St. Stephen in 1028. In memory of our first king, the Hungarians made a pilgrimage here for a long time.

In honor of the preservation of this historical monument, in November 2015, at the initiative of the "Europa" -Club Hungarian cultural association – in the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna - we organized a charity concert, where we were able to raise so much donations that we could inaugurate the bust of our King St. Stephen, the work of Transylvanian sculptor László Hunyadi, in May 2016. (see St. Stephen's booklet in the appendix)

Since then, every year we have solemnly put a wreath on the bust of St. Stephen in BDA and the event ends each time with a concert of the International Danube Philharmonic in the Church of Mary. (see the appendix St. Stephen's booklet)

And at the same time, we would like to inform the members of the Friends of Hungary Foundation that we are planning to hold the traditional St. Stephen's celebration event in Bad Deutsch Altenburg on June 12 this year, we hope that our plans will come true!

Attached you will find some information on the CENTROPE cross-border cooperation (Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) and the Saint Stephen booklet.

CENTROPE koncertný cyklus – Medzinárodná dunajská philharmonic // Digitálny concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGw6wNThR2c

Kovács B.: Hommage á Béla Bartók; Folk Music; Bartók B.: Romanian Folk Dances:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xn-pczvWuQ