(Chick Corea)

Failoni Chamber Orchestra

The FAILONI CHAMBER ORCHESTRA of the Hungarian State opera was founded in 1990 from the young soloist of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra. It took the name of Sergio Failoni, expressing their honour to the great Maestro.

Concertmaster from the beginning is Béla NAGY, awarded with the Gold Cross Of Merit Of The Republic Of Hungary.

Sergio Failoni, the famous Toscanini School Italian conductor, started the series of the opera performances in the Arena of Verona, conductor of Chicago Civic Opera, the New York Metropolitan and Scala in Milan.    He played an important role in performing opera life in Hungary as the leading conductor of the Budapest Royal Opera House.

    Usually the orchestra consists of 18-20 musicians, but this number can be extended according to the piece they play. Their repertoire includes mainly baroque pieces but they also play modern and contemporary music.
    They perform all kinds of music on a high level from Bach to Bartók and from Paganini to Joplin, always including a special piece in their program. Since their foundation they have often given concerts in Budapest, in the countryside as well as abroad.

     In their concerts and recordings they have worked together with such famous singers, musicians and conductors as Placido DOMINGO, José CURA, Ennio MORRICONE, Andrea BOCELLI, Julia HAMARI, Katia RICCIARELLI, Edita GRUBEROVA, Éva MARTON, Andrea Rost, Roberto SERVILE, József GREGOR, Kurt RYDL, Ramon VARGAS, Yuri SIMONOV, Rico SACCANI, Will HUMBURG, Michael HALÁSZ, János ÁCS, HanspeterGMÜR, Pier Giorgio MORANDI, Thanassis POLYKANDRIOTIS,  and Rod STEWART. Even Rudolf NUREYEV, the great dancer conducted them at a very special gala event at the Budapest Opera House.

       The orchestra has a close working relationship with the world famous CD recording and manufacturing company NAXOS, allowing them to have produced more than 20 CD recordings together, out of which two received the CD of the Year distinction in London.

       Since 1997 the orchestra has been collaborating with the Compiegne Théatre Francais de la Musique and until now they have premiered together with enormous success performing:

                       Mozart Le Noces de Figaro
                       Bizet La Jolie Fille de Perth
                       Stavros Xarhakos Le Visiteur
                       Meyerbeer Dinorah.

       They appeared in the Compiegne Opera and were on tour with the Figaro production among others at the Casino de Paris. The recording of the Mozart oeuvre has been won by Prize of the French Critics, as well.
         The Failoni Orchestra recorded the music of the latest hit of the Győr Ballet, and the music of their Carmen production - which was composed by the English composer Christofer Benstead.

 

   The orchestra regularly appears abroad giving concerts in Athens at the Herodes Atticus Theatre, in Thessaloniki, in Bologna, Sardinia Island, in Lebanon, in Germany, France, Spain (in newest Valencia Concert Hall), Hannover (EXPO 2000), Mexico. The orchestra often gives charity concerts as well.

       Between 1993 and 1997 Rico Saccani, from August 1999 until 2002 Mr. János ÁCS well-known Hungarian Italian conductor (as well Three Tenors Concerts) was the artistic director.
The manager of the orchestra and the programmes has been Roland Bokor between 1990 and 2007.