SUMMARY

The two protagonists of tonight’s programme are César Franck (1822–1890) and Thierry Escaich (born in 1965). Although their lives started roughly a century and a half apart, there are many parallels in their careers, which rest on three inseparable pillars: composing, organ performance and improvisation. Of Franck’s 12 organ works, his Cantabile in B major (listed as the second of his Three Organ Pieces and composed in 1878) is the shortest and without doubt the most striking. In 1890, Franck suffered a serious traffic collision that later led to his death. After the accident, he still composed a series of organ pieces, the Three Chorales (1890), in the first of which, the Chorale in E major, he develops three themes in a progression of new forms. Franck, however, never restricted himself to the realm of organ music, but also wrote chamber and symphonic pieces. Among his four symphonic poems, Le Chasseur maudit is the most significant. Composed in 1883, it is based on a ballad with a similar title by Gottfried August Bürger and illustrates each moment of the source work with orchestral music. Escaich composes in many genres and forms, and his catalogue contains more than 100 works whose rich, distinctive harmonic world and obsessive rhythmic energy make them appealing to a wide audience. An important part of his output as a composer consists of his works written specifically for the organ, as well as compositions in which the queen of the instruments plays a dominant role: solo and chamber pieces, three concertos – the third of which, 2017’s Quatre Visages du temps, will be heard tonight – and La Barque solaire, a symphonic poem composed in 2008 for orchestra and solo organ. Improvisation played a key role in Franck’s work as it does now in Escaich’s.

Playing alongside Escaich tonight will be Concerto Budapest, one of Hungary’s leading symphony orchestras, which combines the historical past with the dynamism of young musicians, bringing a completely new colour to the Hungarian music scene with its wide-ranging and innovative programming and unique sound. Although the orchestra’s artistic director is András Keller, taking the podium this time will be his young fellow artist, Gábor Káli, who has already demonstrated his ability at the helm of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, among other ensembles. This season, he is conducting at the Bavarian State Opera and the Semperoper in Dresden, and working with the London Philharmonic, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. He has also been a guest of the Orchestre de Paris, and the Vienna and Singapore symphony orchestras.

2023. február 19.

Lawrence Brownlee S Vend Gei Bel Canto Riaest

Közreműködik: Lidia Fridman – szoprán, Gyungmin Gwon – bariton, Pannon Filharmonikusok

Vezényel: Nikolas Nägele

2023. február 26.

Matin Koncertek J Gkorszaki Szakik

Gioachino Rossini Bruschino R C M Oper Ja Nyom N

Látványtervező, rendező: Toronykőy Attila

Vezényel: Oberfrank Péter

2023. március 8.

Nathan Laube Orgonaestje

2023. március 31.

Bart K

TAVASZ

Szemjon Bicskov S A Cseh Filharmonikus Zenekar A Bart K Tavasz Nyit Koncertje

Közreműködik: Cso Szongdzsin – zongora

2023. április 6.

Bart K Tavasz E Tv S P Ter S A Klangforum Wien Ligeti 100

Közreműködik: Kelemen Barnabás – hegedű, Fenyő László – cselló, Fejérvári Zoltán – zongora, Klangforum Wien

Vezényel: Eötvös Péter

2023. április 16.

Bart K Tavasz Bar Ti Krist F S

A Philharmonia Orchestra

Vezényel: Santtu-Matias Rouvali