Classic Melodies - Alumni Concert on the Occasion of World Music Day

On the occasion of World Music Day (October 1), a concert was held in the University's ceremonial hall on October 3, 2025, at 7 p.m. During the evening, excerpts from works by Chopin, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, and Dvořák, among others, were performed by outstanding performers. Part of the donations from the tickets sold will go towards the ELTE Alumni Scholarship Fund, which supports talented students in need at the University. 

The Aula Magna was filled to capacity on Friday evening, October 3, 2025, where music lovers gathered to celebrate World Music Day by listening to excerpts from operas and operettas, as well as various classical music pieces. The main organizer and director of the two-act evening was opera singer Tamás Clementis, and the host was Endre Kerekes. The concert began with Barbara Fazekas (a graduate of the Faculty of Arts) giving a stunning piano performance, followed by Tamás Clementis singing Zakariás' aria (Verdi: Nabucco). This was followed by compositions by Mozart: excerpts from The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and Don Giovanni were performed by Nóra Tatai and Ágoston Szabó, and Koppány Bene, who were appearing on our stage for the first time. Our beloved returning performers, Zoltán Szakács (TTK '98) and Noémi Ouanphanivanh-Kiss (TTK '07, '16), both ELTE graduates, represented Dvořák and Mendelssohn with their piano and violin performances. Following Ágoston Szabó's solo performance (Verdi: The Marriage of Figaro), accompanied on the piano by Katalin Alter, we were treated to the voice of Andrea Cziglényi, complemented by Ferenc Oláh's piano playing. The first act ended with the Giorgio-Elvira duet from Bellini's opera I Puritani (Tamás Clementis and Nóra Tatai).

After a short break, the second half of the evening began with Nóra Tatai's memorable aria (Puccini: Madama Butterfly), followed by Ödön Farkas' rarely heard composition Ballade hongroise (Zoltán Szakács-Ouanphanivanh-Noémi Kiss), Then, performed by Koppány Bene and accompanied on the piano by Tamás Sógor, we were treated to Fiesco's aria (Verdi: Simon Boccanegra). Donizetti's melodies were brought to life by Ágoston Szabó, who performed Malatesta's aria from Don Pasquale. The musical cavalcade was further enriched by another performance by Andrea Cziglényi. We were treated to another duet by Tamás Clementis and Nóra Tatai, who performed Leonora and Guardian from Verdi's opera La forza del destino. The concert concluded with the serenade from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (Ágoston Szabó) and the well-known Barcarolle (Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann) (Nóra Tatai and Tamás Clementis).  

The enthusiastic audience rewarded the artists with thunderous applause, as well as László Bartal, conductor of the Hungarian State Opera House, who also played the piano during the event. 

The event was open to ticket holders, with donations going towards the pianist's fee and technical costs, as well as contributing to the annual replenishment of the ELTE Alumni Foundation's scholarship fund. We would like to thank the opera and operetta singers, as well as the piano and violin artists, for supporting the talented and needy students of the University with their performances!

Thanks to ELTE Online staff members Bence Végh and Boglárka Varga for the photos.

Call for the event