Péter Eötvös: Tale in the Sound Dome

Eötvös Péter’s cult radio play written in 1968, the Mese, is one of the early works that earned him entry into the circles of the professional musical elite of the time. After the piece, a lifelong collaboration with Karlheinz Stockhausen began: among other things, they played together in the world’s first sound dome, in Osaka.

The 12-and-a-half-minute piece titled Mese was created using motifs from one hundred Hungarian folk tales. The story, fused together from the many texts, was recited by Molnár Piroska; the Kossuth Prize-winning actress embodied every character, but the composer distorted her voice by speeding it up and slowing it down. The recordings were originally made in Budapest in 1968, from which Eötvös Péter created an electronic music composition in the Cologne radio studio, which was first presented in Darmstadt.

Fifty-five years after the piece’s creation, MOME University’s Media Design BA students — as part of the curriculum — created visual material based on the composer’s instructions, from various approaches. In the end, five different versions were produced for the hemispherical screen of the House of Music’s Sound Dome. It’s no hidden surprise that Molnár Piroska appears in the piece this time as well.

The works of the following Media Design BA students will be presented. (Two of their works are always included in that day’s screening at random.):

Adrienn Horváth

Nóra Siteri 

Ákos Székely 

Máté Szőnyi

Bori Takács 

Duration: 27 minutes
Age recommendation: The screening is recommended for ages 12 and up.
The screening is in Hungarian.

Supporter
With the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.