ASO Presents Autumn Leaves

An evening of jazz with guest cimbalom virtuoso Jeno Lisztes!

Our first CMF concert of the 2025-26 season, “Autumn Leaves”, will be a truly unique experience! A program of jazz classics without the traditional or standard jazz band, but with an unconventional group that will feature the cimbalom!

It is rare to hear the exotic instrument (cimbalom) in any concert hall, but even more so in an eclectic, classically focused chamber music setting like our CMF series. We are fortunate, though, because we managed to bring back by popular demand our guest cimbalom virtuoso, Jeno Lisztes, returning to Birmingham from Budapest. Jeno is one of the top and most in-demand cimbalom players of today! He performs regularly with major orchestras worldwide. Recently, he was a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, among other orchestras. I’m very excited that he will be back! Following our CMF performance, Jeno will also make his solo debut with the ASO on our Maestro’s Ball concert on September 19th. Some ASO audience members might remember our 2018 CMF concert, which showcased Jeno’s virtuosity in an all-Hungarian program. This time, on our upcoming CMF concert, he’ll show his versatility in our jazzy-themed program that includes selections by Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, WC Handy, Hoagy Carmichael, Claude Bolling, and others. Joining Jeno and me will be our guest bassist from Arizona, Catalin Rotaru, an excellent virtuoso on his instrument, as well as our own ASO colleagues and friends, Mark Libby on drums and Serghei Tanas on violin.

I am very excited about our new 2025-26 CMF season, a season that is very varied, from the jazzy sounds of the cimbalom in September, to the voices of sorrow and hope in February, and to Schubert’s Death and the Maiden string quartet in April. I hope that many of you will come and hear all three concerts in our series, starting with our first one on September 16th at 7:30 PM at Brock Hall.

— Daniel Szasz, ASO Concertmaster

Thanks to our series sponsors Drs. Sandra Gianturco and William Bradley.