Clay Paky products were found in abundance at the recent Havasi Symphonic Red Concert held 4 & 5 March 2010 at the Budapest Congress & World Trade Centre. This was a surprise concert during the conference of the 20th anniversary of Generali-Providencia Insurance company, Hungary’s second largest insurance company.
Wolrd renowned pianist Balázs Havasi was the featured entertainment, performing with the Havasi Symphony and 40-person choir. Havasi holds the Guinness Record for “The Fastest Pianist of the World” by managing to beat the same bar on the piano 490 times within a minute – a title he earned in November 2009. No one has ever tried to do the same.
The Budapest Congress & World Trade Center is the largest, most modern congress and meeting facility in Hungary, located in the heart of Budapest. Lighting Designer Attila Lenzsér used nearly all Clay Paky lighting, which included more than 80 Clay Paky fixtures. Lenzsér was also programmer and operator for the event. Lighting was supplied by Lajter Light Ltd.
Lenzsér explains, “The Alpha Wash fixtures illuminated the symphonic orchestra because it is possible to finely control the colours and the dimming of them, and that was very important because in this event we didn’t use any conventional lighting. I tried to create very cold and very hot ambient light. Also it is possible to change the beam size of the Alpha Wash in big areas. As for the Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200, they have a strong circle with the highest power output. They were used to highlight Balázs Havasi, as well as the conductor and the soloists.”
“In the case of the luminaires below the projection screen,” continues Lenzsér, “it was necessary to see a very strong beam in front of the background images projected on the screen, so for that we used the Golden Spot, which is powerful enough for this purpose. The Stage Colours illuminated the scenery and the background curtain. This was important to create adequate colours.”
The overall design concept had inspiration from the manager of the band, who had some ideas after seeing the Budapest Congress & World Trade Centre. He worked with Lenzsér to create an illuminated stage in different levels and incorporate background projection. This was combined with the plexiglass panes in the stage, and the lights from the background. Lenzsér did previsualisation in wysiwyg and control was from a grandMA full size console.
Gabor Nemeth of Pelyhe Ltd., Clay Paky distributor for Hungary explains, “While some of these particular fixtures such as the Stage Color and Golden Spot are from previous product lines in the Clay Paky catalogue, it is a testament to the reliability of the Clay Paky range. Every event will have a budget, so keeping Clay Paky in stock proves to pay off over the years.”
It paid off indeed. The concert received a standing ovation and the Generali-Providencia Insurance management team was both surprised and highly impressed.
To read more about the Havasi Symphonic, visit http://www.havasi.eu/