The trumpet call at the beginning of the overture to Wagner's five-act opera Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes, summons the characters in the drama to battle. This is followed by the melody to Rienzi's prayer, and then by the battle hymn and military march that close the piece.
In Widmann's 2006 concerto, the soloist plays throughout with hardly any pause at all. Although the composer does not push the limits of the genre, he does experiment with extremes in terms of both tempo and tone. After guiding the listener through a barren and frightening underworld as an Orphean hero, the soloist eventually closes the composition in the ethereal heights.
'Remember him well! He's a man on the verge of global fame,' said Sergei Diaghilev, who commissioned The Firebird, of Stravinsky. This ballet music based on Russian folk tales amazed the Parisian audience. This story of Prince Ivan's fight, aided by the Firebird, against Koschei, who turns princesses into statues, will come to life - this time, with the complete ballet score - in passages from folk songs, bird calls, a distorted scherzo, a beautiful lullaby and celebratory fanfares.

Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra