CONFESSIONS - Liszt / Bartók / Mahler - Júlia Pusker, Róbert Farkas E/1.

Róbert Farkas has selected Slavic music for his concert program, and will also introduce the music of the Romantic period and the 20th century. Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) was born and in Ukraine and began his musical studies in his home-country, but identified himself as Polish. He was a forerunner of modern Polish music that later became world famous. The soloist in his Violin Concerto No. 2, Abigél Králik, was born in the United States, and has been living in Hungary since the age of 10, playing the violin with great success ever since. Shostakovich's work, written in honour of the 1954 Party Congress of the Soviet Union, is a festive and pleasing work. On the other hand, Tchaikovsky’s last symphony is a true Romantic masterpiece, rightfully receiving the epithet 'Pathetic'.

The figure of Coriolanus, the tragically doomed Roman general, must have impressed Beethoven, who saw himself as a similarly lonely hero. Although the Austrian play that inspired the composer has not stood the test of time (at best we hear of Shakespeare's drama of the same title), Beethoven's Overture to Coriolanus is eternal. As is Symphony No. 8, a masterpiece of serenity reflecting Haydn, premiered in 1814, and a secret favourite of the composer because of its light, playful tone. 'My little F major', he referred to it in one of his notes. Gábor Takács-Nagy is one of the most innovative Beethoven conductors of our time; he can show something new with even a well-known piece like Symphony No. 5, which is now forever stamped with the adjective "fate", arbitrarily chosen by the composer's secretary.

The first evening of Gábor Takács-Nagy's Beethoven series begins with the King Stephen overture, with which the new Pest Theatre was inaugurated in 1812. Contemporary records attest to Beethoven's love and respect for the Hungarians, which he expressed by building the music of the overture from Hungarian recruitment melodies. With respect to Symphony No 1, critics point out that the influence of Haydn, the great predecessor and teacher, is still strongly apparent, along with a nostalgic reminiscence of his homeland, the Rhineland. Numerous music historians point out that Beethoven wrote a lighter, more cheerful symphony after his great, dramatic symphonies: following the great Eroica Symphony, Beethoven composed his charming Symphony No. 4 in 1806, which also carries humorous overtones.