Although the two masterpieces making up this concert date from the same stylistic phase of the Romantic era, their authors represented opposing artistic sides. Johannes Brahms is one of the most frequently heard composers in the world's concert halls. Nevertheless, the particular piece being played at this concert is something of a curiosity. Rinaldo never gained popularity, despite the fact that it gives a good indication of what it might have sounded like if Brahms had tried his hand at writing opera. This cantata for solo tenor, four-part male choir and orchestra was written in the 1860s, concurrently with the German Requiem, and set to the dramatic poem by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which was in turn based on one episode from a 16th century epic.
Puccini's mass is the thesis composition of a 25-year-old composer that took on its final form in a later revision and only saw the light of day decades after the maestro's death. Since then, however, it has become one of the world's most popular masses, not least of all thanks to its "listener-friendly” scope. The soloist for this work, Benjamin Russell, studied at the Zürich Opera studio after earning his degree in Dublin. He is known to audiences as a member of the Wiesbaden Staatstheater.

Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic