Budapest Festival Orchestra

An emotional roller-coaster ride with a happy end – in a nutshell, this is how one could sum up the programme in which, after the tragedy of Pelléas and Mélisande, we hear Saint-Saëns’ often stormy cello concerto surrounded by extremes before moving on to Schumann's symphony conceived on the basis of positive life experiences. Both Rachmaninov and Shostakovich considered the concerto, full of astonishing technical challenges, to be the finest cello work of all time. Schumann was lifted out of one of the most difficult periods in his life by his appointment as musical director for the city of Düsseldorf on the Rhine, and he spent many happy hours on excursions in the area with his wife. The symphony performed in this recital came out of these experiences. The concert is conducted by Gergely Madaras. There can be no better proof of his international acclaim than the fact that in September 2019, Mezzo TV selected him as artist of the month and produced a documentary about his life. Miklós Perényi cellist will be the soloist of the concert.