Budapest orchestra performs live concert from moving truck

The Budapest Festival Orchestra wants its audience back

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The Budapest Festival Orchestra wants its audience back. The prestigious orchestra, 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. “I believe that live concerts are very important," Fischer said. "I think especially now that everyone is fed up with their computers and phones, people will throw them away. They will be back to socializing, getting to know each other, hugging, and talking."