Singular // Plural – Pro Progressione

One of the most vibrant contemporary music events returns to Budapest for the thirteenth time. Between 9 January and 8 February 2026, the Transparent Sound New Music Festival once again reshapes the boundaries of concert experiences. Under the title Singular // Plural, the 2026 edition presents performances by international and Hungarian artists, interactive programs, and interdisciplinary events, focusing on the diversity of artistic worlds

This year’s festival places special emphasis on the relationship between individual and collective expression, and on the dialectic of the solo sound and collaboration. The title Singular // Plural refers to the tension and richness that emerge when artists start from their own personal voices to create shared spaces and collective musical experiences, as well as when new, individual gestures arise from collaborative creation.

The Transparent Sound New Music Festival (meaning also ‘see-through note’) was founded by two composers, Balázs Horváth and Samu Gryllus, in 2014 in cooperation with several renowned concert halls and organisations in Budapest: the Franz Liszt Music Academy, Trafo House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest Music Center, Müpa Budapest and FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture, among others.

In a musical sense, “transparency” also refers to compositions with both audible and visual layers – in the form of new-music theatre or new media –, as they are a special focus of this festival.

The festival seeks to build bridges between traditional and experimental musical forms, inviting dialogue with audiences open to new experiences. Programs take place at venues across the city, including the BMC Concert Hall, Opus Jazz Club and the Music Information Center Library, the Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy, the House of Music Hungary, FUGA, Müpa, and – new venues this year – the MU Theatre, the GODOT Institute of Contemporary Art, and Bartók Pagony. In collaboration with partner institutions, the festival aims to make musical approaches often considered opaque or difficult more accessible and engaging.
The festival traditionally opens on 9 January at the Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy with Préludes: Chopin & Lazkano by Ensemble Cairn (FR), conducted by Guillaume Bourgogne. The UMZE Ensemble commemorates Péter Eötvös with a special concert of his experimental works from the 1970s at the House of Music Hungary. At the Budapest Music Center, the Korossy Quartet presents the music of German master Helmut Lachenmann, who turns 90 this year.

Renowned international ensembles and performers also take the stage in Budapest. This year’s program features violist Paul Beckett and the young Argo Kollektiv from Austria at FUGA, guitarist Samuel Toro Perez at BMC, and the Dsilton Trio at the Opus Jazz Club. The BMC Concert Hall hosts a collaboration between composer Dániel Péter Biró, based in Norway, and the world-renowned cellist Lucas Fels, who lives in Germany.
At the MU Theatre, the Danish ensemble Scenatet presents Memoriam, an interdisciplinary performance offering a distinctive new music theatre experience. One of the festival’s highlights is Parallel Realities at the Müpa Festival Theatre, bringing together works by István Márta and Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson (CH) with the Modern Art Orchestra, complemented by an introductory talk. The internationally collaborative film-concert Snapshot from the Tunnel by the Szemző Aquatic Quartet, featuring Fluidian – Emil Gherasim (RO), Alexander Krestovský (CZ), Tibor Szemző, and László Gőz, invites audiences to an unconventional musical journey at the BMC Concert Hall.

A distinctive feature of the festival is its wide range of interactive programs, offering new modes of listening for all age groups. At the House of Music Hungary, families are invited to the community performance Music to the Space! led by Vera Kardos, Samu Gryllus, Tara Khozein, and Vince Varga. Children’s workshops led by Zsófia Remes and Emese Molnár take place at Bartók Pagony, while interdisciplinary programs also include Fragments at the GODOT Institute of Contemporary Art. The Transparent Sound Film Club, curated by Marcell Dargay, welcomes audiences to the BMC on three occasions in January, screening landmark experimental and cult Hungarian films accompanied by discussions.

The festival continues to see it as a core mission to bring contemporary music closer to a wider audience, while providing space for new works, new collaborations, and new listening experiences.

For detailed event information, visit the festival’s continuously updated website and Facebook page:
https://atlatszohang.hu
https://www.instagram.com/atlatszohang/
https://www.facebook.com/atlatszohang
https://www.youtube.com/@atlatszohang6330

The festival is a member of the https://www.effea.eu/