BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Budapest Festival Orchestra wants its audience back. The prestigious orchestra, founded and led by renowned composer Iván Fischer, took to the streets with that message: Five members of the orchestra performed classical music to motorists and passers-by from a truck in the afternoon traffic in the Hungarian capital on Wednesday. The musical parade was aimed at encouraging Hungarians to start returning to live performances in concert halls as the pandemic wanes, after more than a year in which people were homebound and forced to take in their culture online. Fischer said he believes that live concerts “are very important” and that he hopes people will finally put away their computers and phones to enjoy live music again.
