EBU Member RTS has picked Hungary as its central theme to feature on French speaking channel Swiss Radio Espace 2 from 10 to 22 November. During this time, several programmes will present Hungarian culture, history, music and literature, totalling almost 50 hours on air.

The radio programmes will deal with topics ranging from Zoltán Kodály, the 'Hungarian soul', and Béla Bartók, through Hungarian gypsies and intellectual and literary life in 1914, to traditional folk music and, last but not least, interviews with widely recognised Hungarian writers and poets. In one of the programmes, emigrants will relate their stories of why they came back to Hungary after decades of living abroad.

The special project will culminate in a concert entitled 'Journey of folk songs' on 21 November. This will be presented simultaneously in Hungarian and French, will broadcast live by both the Swiss Espace 2 and the Hungarian Radio Bartók. It will feature chamber music by Béla Bartók: compositions based on original folk melodies. Antal Zalai (violin) and József Balog (piano) will perform the pieces which the Buda Folk Band and Borbély Quartet will filter through their characteristic folk and jazz style, respectively.

This unique blend of folk, jazz and classical music, as well as the collective improvisations will be available online as a video concert recording for EBU members on Euroradio 2See. The concert starts at 8 pm on 21 November 2014 and lasts two and a half hours.

The joint project of the Swiss Radio Espace 2 and the Hungarian Radio Bartók was supported by the Hungarian Radio Nonprofit Ltd (MR) and the Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA).