Pannon Philharmonic

Juraj Filas was born in 1955 in Kassa, of Slovak and Czech ancestry, but he also spoke Hungarian and spent many years in the United States. He believes that the mission of music is to heal wounds, open hearts and bring people together. His way of thinking is that musical harmony is the balance the world needs. In this context, his music is mostly optimistic, uplifting and human. According to conductor Gergely Kesselyák, he has used the human voice in his works to a standard that only Verdi or Puccini could achieve. The Requiem was composed in 2002, performed at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere, and was a resounding success worldwide. The 80-minute work for large orchestra, with three soloists and a mixed choir, is subtitled Oratio spei, or Prayer of Hope. The work uses not only traditional texts from funeral services, but also a number of biblical passages relating to the resurrection and eternal life. The author died of a coronavirus infection on 31 December 2021.