Hungarian Gems Series - Concert #2

The commending words, written in Vienna at the time, "Music theatre has three genres: opera, operetta – and Lehár." referred to Franz Lehár, who as one of the most popular composers of Hungarian operetta and the innovating force on the Viennese operetta stage, gave works like The Merry Widow, Gypsy Love or The Count of Luxembourg to the world. Lehár penned his works with inexhaustible imagination, sense of humour, high standards, yet he was a highly prolific composer: altogether, 31 operettas are linked to his name. With his music, he could impress the visitors of suburban inns just as much as the aristocrats of elite upper-class balls. It attests to his extraordinary talent that Dvořák took note of him as a composer, and Puccini is believed to have remarked that if Lehár had built his career as an opera composer, he would have been Puccini's greatest rival. Concerto Budapest's Hungarian Gems Series will provide insight into his oeuvre not only through excerpts from his operettas but also his Concertino for Violin and Orchestra and a beloved waltz.