Transparent Sound New Music Festival

The 2026 festival placed special emphasis on the relationship between individual and collective expression, as well as on the dialogue between solo sound and collaboration. The title Singular // Plural referred to the tension and richness that emerged when artists worked from their individual artistic voices to create shared spaces and collective musical experiences, and when new, personal gestures arose from collaborative creation.

The Transparent Sound New Music Festival — whose Hungarian name, Átlátszó Hang, evokes the idea of a “transparent sound” — was founded by composers Balázs Horváth and Samu Gryllus in 2014, in cooperation with several renowned Budapest venues and organisations, including the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest Music Center, Müpa Budapest and FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture.

In a musical sense, “transparency” also referred to compositions combining audible and visual layers, including new music theatre and new media, which were a special focus of the festival.

The festival sought to build bridges between traditional and experimental musical forms, inviting dialogue with audiences open to new experiences. Programmes took 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 — as new venues in 2026 — the MU Theatre, the GODOT Institute of Contemporary Art and Bartók Pagony. In collaboration with partner institutions, the festival aimed to make musical approaches often considered opaque or difficult more accessible and engaging.

The festival opened on 9 January at the Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy with Ensemble Cairn’s performance of Préludes: Chopin & Lazkano, conducted by Guillaume Bourgogne. The UMZE Ensemble commemorated 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 presented the music of the 90-year-old German master Helmut Lachenmann.

Renowned international ensembles and performers also took the stage in Budapest. The programme featured 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 hosted a collaboration between Norway-based composer Dániel Péter Biró and Germany-based, internationally renowned cellist Lucas Fels.

At the MU Theatre, the Danish ensemble Scenatet presented Memoriam, an interdisciplinary performance that offered a distinctive new music theatre experience. One of the festival’s highlights was Parallel Realities at the Müpa Festival Theatre, which brought together works by István Márta and Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson (CH), performed with the Modern Art Orchestra and complemented by an introductory talk.

The film-concert Snapshot from the Tunnel, an international collaboration by the Szemző Aquatic Quartet featuring Fluidian / Emil Gherasim (RO), Alexander Krestovský (CZ), Tibor Szemző and László Gőz, invited audiences on an unconventional musical journey at the BMC Concert Hall.

A distinctive feature of the festival was its wide range of interactive programmes, which offered new modes of listening for all age groups. At the House of Music Hungary, families were invited to the community performance Music into Space!, led by Vera Kardos, Samu Gryllus, Tara Khozein and Vince Varga. Children’s workshops led by Zsófia Remes and Emese Molnár took place at Bartók Pagony, while the interdisciplinary programme also included Fragments at the GODOT Institute of Contemporary Art.

The Transparent Sound Film Club, curated by Marcell Dargay, welcomed audiences to the BMC on three occasions in January, screening landmark experimental and cult Hungarian films accompanied by discussions.

The festival remained committed to bringing contemporary music closer to a wider audience, while providing space for new works, new collaborations and new listening experiences.

Further information is available on the festival’s website and social media channels.
 

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/ 

With the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Other supporters:

With the support of the National Cultural Fund.

Co-funded by the (OKT) Osztrák Kulturális Fórum.

Co-funded by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Co-funded by the Arts Council Norway.

Co-funded by the Ministry of Culture.

Partners:

Zeneakadémia

Budapest Music Center

Opus Jazz Club

Fuga

Magyar Zene Háza

Gryllus  Kft

Tenger Média

UMZE

MÜPA

Mu színház

Bartók Pagony

Godot