Wagner was a looming presence for the greats of the fin de siècle period like Debussy, Mahler, Richard Strauss and their contemporaries. One of these was Edward Elgar, for whom Tristan und Isolde comprised the most undiluted part of the legacy of Wagner's oeuvre: it was the 'first modern work', which influenced his search for a musical path forward for decades to come. It will be exciting to hear two excerpts from the opera - the preludes to acts 1 and 3 - played in alternation with movements from one of Elgar's chief works, the Cello Concerto that catapulted the long-disregarded Jacqueline du Pré into the public consciousness after she recorded it. The Hungarian National Philharmonic's German guest conductor, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, started his career at Staatsoper Hamburg before moving on to Deutsche Oper Berlin. Later, he would go on to head both the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the San Antonio Symphony. At the age of 35, István Várdai is one of the world's leading cellists and a student at Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts.In the first part of the concert - following Schumann's dramatic Manfred Overture - Várdai's fellow soloist, who is also the composer of the remarkable double concerto to be performed - will be the Argentinian bandoneon player Juan Pablo Jofre. Known professionally as JP Jofre, he is a wonderful virtuoso of the instrument of Astor Piazzolla in every respect.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest