EJN Award for Adventurous Programming 2024: Budapest Music Center (BMC)

The renowned music house in Budapest was awarded for its strong commitment over the years to the development of creative music through its many activities: the Concert Hall & Opus Jazz Club, the music information centre & archive, the BMC record label and more. The Award, this year reaching its 13th edition, is bestowed each year by the Europe Jazz Network (EJN) to a European festival or venue who succeeds in creating visionary and fascinating musical programmes for its audience.

The Award winner was selected through a two-phase process: in the first stage all of the 190+ EJN member organisations from 37 countries were asked to indicate a potential award winner (not necessarily an EJN member). Later on, a selected jury of EJN members and other respected music professionals met online in June 2024 to choose the winner out of the resulting list of 22 nominated festivals, clubs and concert venues.

Comment from the Award Jury 2024: “The Budapest Music Center (BMC) is adventurous in its commitment both to domestic and international artists, in a programme which is stylistically diverse, and fearless in its allegiance to music as an art form. BMC is a musician’s dream: a renovated 120 years old building converted into a true house of music, with beautiful performing spaces, an information centre and apartments where musicians can be hosted. On another level, we believe their commitment also embodies the freedom of expression as a democratic right, which is inspirational in promoting music beyond borders and beyond the limitations of day-to-day politics.”

The 2024 jury of the EJN Award for Adventurous Programming included: Raluca Baicu (North Sea Round Town, The Netherlands), Xavier Barcelo (Fira B!, Spain), Alexander Hawkins (artist, UK), Harun Izer (Istanbul Jazz Festival, Turkey), Louis Rastig (A L’Arme!, Germany, previous award winner).

Comment by BMC “We are thrilled and humbled to receive the EJN Award for Adventurous Programming. It is the most important recognition of the Budapest Music Center's 26-year contribution to European jazz, a long journey of evolution and discovery, as embodied in the current programming of the Opus Jazz Club. We are grateful for the creative energies of the artists who drive us, our team members past and present, and the invaluable friendships we have made along the way with our professional partners within and outside the Europe Jazz Network. We can't wait to continue the adventure with you.”

The 13th EJN Award for Adventurous Programming will be celebrated during the 10th European Jazz Conference in Ghent, Belgium, from 12 to 15 September 2024, with the EJN members and many other professionals from the creative music sector in Europe and beyond, and at BMC in Budapest later on during this year.

Photo: the BMC team / credits © István Huszti / BMC

About Budapest Music Center (BMC)

Since its inception in 1996 by renowned trombonist and academy professor László Gőz, the Budapest Music Center (BMC) has been a beacon for contemporary Hungarian music, dedicated to presenting it to a global audience. As a unique fusion of concert organiser, record label, and information hub, BMC has been instrumental in enhancing the international stature of Hungary’s rich musical heritage. In 2013, BMC expanded its reach with the opening of a state-of-the-art headquarters, equipped with a 300-seat concert hall, the Opus Jazz Club, a comprehensive Music Information Center and Library, and the ever-growing BMC Records label, boasting over 350 releases across classical, contemporary, and jazz genres. Additionally, the headquarters houses the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation, a prestigious institution committed to fostering the next generation of conductors, composers, and performers.

https://bmc.hu/en

At the heart of BMC’s cultural offerings lies the Opus Jazz Club, a vibrant venue where the finest talents of the European jazz scene perform regularly from Wednesday to Saturday. Each year, Opus presents over 200 concerts, more than 70 of which feature international artists. Praised for its remarkable acoustics, rich concert programming, a cherished Fazioli piano, and refined dining, Opus has quickly ascended to the ranks of Europe’s top jazz clubs. It has become a destination for international jazz enthusiasts and curious listeners alike, drawn by a lineup that has included luminaries such as Dave Liebman, Irène Schweizer, Vincent Courtois, Daniel Erdmann, Akit Takase, Michel Portal, Louis Sclavis, Keith Tippett – and more recently, Leïla Martial, Valentin Ceccaldi, Théo Ceccaldi, Kit Downes, Clément Janinet, Kirke Karja, Thomas de Pourquery, and many more.

https://opusjazzclub.hu/en

BMC Records, established in 1998, has evolved into one of Europe’s premier independent labels, amassing a catalogue of over 350 releases. The label is deeply committed to honouring traditional musical values while promoting bold, experimental approaches. Through its releases, BMC has built lasting international recognition for many Hungarian artists and fostered fruitful collaborations between musicians and orchestras across borders.

The catalogue spans the works of Hungary’s iconic composers – Liszt, Bartók, Ligeti, Kurtág, and Eötvös – performed by acclaimed artists such as Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Barbara Hannigan, Ensemble Modern, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In the jazz realm, BMC Records has featured releases with giants like Archie Shepp, Chris Potter, Hans Lüdemann, and Émile Parisien. Numerous accolades from Midem, Jazzman, Deutsche Schallplatten, and Diapason Magazine, coupled with thousands of positive reviews in the global press, attest to the label’s growing influence in European music. Its releases are available both in CD format and online.

https://bmcrecords.hu/en


About the EJN Award for Adventurous Programming

Each year, since 2012, EJN the Europe-wide association of promoters, presenters and organisations who specialise in creative music, contemporary jazz and improvised music, awards an European promoter who exemplifies the values of EJN and skillfully succeeds to create visionary and fascinating musical programmes for the audience.

Previous winners of the EJN Award for Adventurous Programming have been: A L’Arme! Festival in Germany (2024), Le Guess Who? festival in the Netherlands (2022), Jazzfest Berlin by Berliner Festspiele in Germany (2021), Victoria-Nasjonal Jazzscene in Norway ex-aequo with Porgy and Bess in Austria (2020), JazzFest Sarajevo in Bosnia Herzegovina (2019), Jazz Festival Ljubljana in Slovenia (2018), Tampere Jazz Happening in Finland (2017), Manchester Jazz Festival in the UK (2016), Moers Festival in Germany (2015), Jazz em Agosto in Portugal (2014), Bimhuis in the Netherlands (2013) and 12 Points Festival in Ireland (2012).

In addition to the Award for Adventurous Programming, EJN established two other awards: the EJN Award for “Music & Community” (first edition in 2018), highlighting outstanding projects of social inclusion through creative music, and the “Zenith Award for Emerging Artists” (first edition in 2019), in collaboration with 12 Points Festival.

https://www.europejazz.net/activity/ejn-awards