MÜPA CAN BRING SOME JOY AND COLOURS IN QUARANTINE LIFE
Even some months ago we could not have imagined that we will have to stay at home and the online space will be our only way to consume cultural contents, even the greatest concerts and shows. COVID-19, however, changed our life within a few days. This urged Müpa to make deliver world stars and recordings from the most renowned concent halls into our homes.
Bobby McFerrin on our couch while we are having the Saturday hangout with our friends on video chat? Or virtually contacting parents and grandparents for the sake of listening Denis Matsuev’s piano concert? Programme organisation and coordination works in competely new ways as we mostly live our live within four walls and even have to meet beloved ones, colleagues and acquaintances online.
All around the world, it was cultural institutions that were the most rapidly affected by the new regulations, and they will most probably be the last to be allowed to reopen. In Hungary, concert halls, theatres, exhibitions closed from one day to another, and many artists and professionals of the sector had to go on a forced break.
However, many cultural spaces and artists did not react with closing completely down, but they started to deliver content in the online space, so they gave people the chance to “go out and have fun” without having to leave your home. It is also a great advantage for people who did not really have chance to buy tickets regularly. We are experiencing a digital turn in cultural life which is surely going to have long-term effects.
Müpa has been a leader in digital solutions in Hungarian cultural life, so it is no surprise that they also reacted swiftly. First step was to make its archive open and completely free, with HD quality recordings of concerts, performances and literature nights. And on the 25th of March, Müpa Home was launched to broadcast a show every single night.
To make the Müpa experience complete, they even create online programme guides, and the start date always depends on the genre of the show. Müpa is the only Hungarian member of the ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation), so thanks to an international cooperation and broadcasting series, they can also launch international online broadcasts from any part of Europe as part of their virtual concert programme.
What can we expect in the coming days?
April 3, Friday: an archive concert by one of the most beloved pianists of the world, Denis Matsuev, which he gave in 2017 at the Budapest Spring Festival with Beethoven, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev.
April 4, Saturday: from Jazz Spring 2018, Bobby McFerrin will enchant us all once again! We can join his multigenre trip from jazz through pop, R&B and classical music to world music – sometimes in only one song! Don’t Worry, Be Happy is a very important message if we consider the current situation.
April 5, Sunday: we can end the week with a virtual tour to Luxembourg. The London Symphony Orchestra concert can be seen from the marvellous Philharmonie Luxembourg concert hall.
Müpa brings superstars in our homes in the time of quarantine – but let us hope that we can soon return to concerts that are a real community experience.
ECHO’s shows can be seen on the Müpa Facebook page, on mupa.hu, the Müpa Youtube channel, and in various social media.
Article: Anikó Magócsi
Translation: Zsófia Hacsek
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