The Csigó Art Fest is back at the Csigó Mill in Gyulakeszi from June 27 to September 12, 2026, filling a long Balaton summer with compelling classical music, contemporary art, and the curious, personal world of collecting. The intimate, family-run venue at 109 Kossuth Lajos Street hosts concerts, instrument showcases and exhibitions, workshops, music courses, quizzes, lectures, and onstage conversations—plus the festival’s signature after-concert salon chats with wine tastings. Artistic director: Katalin Bartunek. Admission prices are listed per event; some programs are free with registration. Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs.
Opening Night: Misi Boros’s Piano Glow
June 27 launches with a piano evening by Misi Boros, returning for a fourth time to the mill’s cozy concert hall. Known for an engaging, conversational style, the Junior Prima winner and Young Ambassador of Hungarian Classical Music blends performance with music-history nuggets. On the program: works by J. S. Bach, L. v. Beethoven, R. Schumann, and Béla Bartók. After the concert, a relaxed salon talk, signing, and wine tasting. Ticket: 4,500 HUF. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Festival Spine: Music, Making, and Meeting
Running June 27 to September 12, the series invites classical lovers to settle into a rhythm of listening and learning at the Csigó Mill. Alongside concerts, expect playful quizzes, accessible workshops, and discussions that shrink the distance between performers, collectors, and audiences. Address: 8286 Gyulakeszi, 109 Kossuth Lajos Street.
Exhibition: Boxed Worlds Unboxed
All summer long, Dobozvilág (World of Boxes) showcases contemporary box art from the First Hungarian Spectacular Collection. Exhibiting artists: Katalin Albert, Miklós Ganczaugh, György Makky, Krisztina Nagy, László Pátyerkó, Péter Prutkay, György Szemadám, László T. Szabó, Péter Újházi, and Sándor Zoltán. Curated by collector and art director Ákos Vörösváry. Entry is free. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Exhibition: The Migrating Cranes of György Szemadám
Painter, polymath, and perennial surprise, György Szemadám reveals his visual art in a focused selection drawn solely from the First Hungarian Spectacular Collection. The Migrating Cranes exhibition turns the mill into a quiet observatory of flight, folklore, and form. Entry details as posted on site. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Handel by Candlelight: Baroque Night
On July 4, singer Gabriella Ács and Liszt Prize-winning harpsichordist and conductor Zsombor Tóth-Vajna recreate the intimate glow of Handel’s own salon, where the composer often accompanied favorite singers himself. Expect the Baroque emotional palette in full: oratorio gems, operatic pearls, and that timeless Handel sheen. Post-concert salon with chat, signing, and wine tasting. Ticket: 4,500 HUF. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Strings Meet Marimba: Chamber Momentum
July 18 brings the Sonus Cordis String Quartet with percussionist Tamás Schlanger, a returning favorite. Their program threads Bach, Debussy, Bartók, Prokofiev, and more through the warm, unexpected sonority of marimba—sometimes fusing delicately with strings, sometimes pulsing with elemental force. Many works are arranged by Schlanger for this lineup. Supported by NKA and MMA. Afterward: salon talk, signing, and wine tasting. Ticket: 4,500 HUF. Location: Gyulakeszi.
“Klassz a pARTon!” Spotlight: Mónika Ruth Vida
On July 24, the festival partners with Klassz a pARTon! to host Junior Prima and Cziffra Festival Talent Award-winning pianist Mónika Ruth Vida, a global competition laureate and returning Csigó favorite. Program:
– Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor, K. 1; Sonata in G minor, L. 35
– W. A. Mozart: Sonata in D major, K. 311
– Sergei Rachmaninoff: Sonata in B minor, Op. 36
– Franz Liszt: Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418; Vallée d’Obermann, S. 160/6; Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este (The Fountains of the Villa d’Este), S. 163/4; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S. 244
Entry is free but requires prior registration. A charity raffle runs during the evening. Afterward: salon conversation, signing, wine tasting. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Viola d’amore: Between Arms and Heart
August 8 asks a playful question: viola d’amore, or viola da braccia—or both? Duo Amici, the partnership of violist/viola d’amore player Veronika Botos and pianist Mónika Ruth Vida, roams the viola’s realms through dances, serenades, and fantasies. Selections from Mussorgsky, Debussy, Schubert, Brahms, Max Bruch, Ferenc Erkel, Ferenc Liszt, Couperin, and Glazunov. Botos is principal violist of the Hungarian State Opera and the Budapest Philharmonic Society, decorated with the Silver Cross of Merit; Vida is a Junior Prima and Cziffra Festival Talent laureate. After the concert: salon talk, signing, and wine tasting. Ticket: 4,500 HUF. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Sonata Night: Éva Csermák & András Németh
On August 15, frequent guests Éva Csermák (violin) and András Németh (piano) carve a grand arc through core repertoire: Beethoven’s Sonata in G major, Op. 30 No. 3; Ravel’s Sonata in G; and Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1. The duo’s return promises high-wire classicism with modernist bite. After: salon conversation, signing, wine tasting. Ticket: 4,500 HUF. Location: Gyulakeszi.
Finale: Tamás Érdi Closes the Summer
September 12 caps the season with Liszt and Prima Primissima Prize-winning pianist Tamás Érdi performing Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. A regular at the mill since 2014, Érdi also helped found the Klassz a pARTon! festival here in 2015, introducing many young talents to the Csigó audience. His mother, Márta Érdi, tells his extraordinary story in the book Akinek a madarak is Chopint énekelnek (To Whom Even the Birds Sing Chopin). A documentary on his life, filmed in Hungary and abroad, is slated for 2026. His wife and creative partner, Réka Érdi-Harmos, shares close-up glimpses of his daily work on social media. Post-concert: salon talk, signing, wine tasting. Ticket: 4,500 HUF. Location: Gyulakeszi.
