Tones

Among the artistic movements of historical modernism, countless theories, ideas and manifestos emerged that offered new alternatives to traditional concepts of music. Even the concept of music itself changed fundamentally: the arrival of sound recording devices extended possibilities to capture everyday sounds, the exclusivity of tonal sound structures was questioned, and composers and performers experimented with new, mechanical sound-producing tools and compositional methods. However, it was only after the Second World War that these new ideas became fully realised with the advent of electronic instruments.

This exhibition presents a selection of innovative musical endeavours from the period, based on music theory texts and artworks published in Lajos Kassák’s journals Ma (Today) and Dokumentum (Document), published during the 1920s, and explores the most important Hungarian forums for modern musical trends, with interviews tracing the later history of the new music.
In addition, works by contemporary artists and composers revisit and re-interpret earlier avant-garde endeavours and experiments. 

Exhibiting artists: Zsófia Ádám, János Bali, Bálint Bolcsó, Krisztina Erdei, Réka Farkas-Kovách, Samu Gryllus, Csanád Kedves, Krisztián Kertész, Áron Lakatos, Eszter Nádas, Zsófia Nagy, Péter Tornyai, Zsombor Tóth, Dániel Váczi

Vernissage: 6pm, 9 December 2022
The opening will feature the premiere of Andrea Szigetvári’s work for mechanical piano, Peano Piano – Fractal Sonification. Both the instrument and the opportunity to rehearse were provided by the Budapest Music Center.