Every performance this French artist boasting a uniquely broad repertoire that ranges from Bach to Kurtag gives in Budapest is a celebration. And another reason this evening promises to be a remarkable one is because the world-famous pianist only rarely performs the Brahms piano concertos. Not only are Hungarian concertgoers intimately familiar with Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, it is also a source of pride for them, as it was here, at the Vigadó Theatre of Pest, that the first public performance of the work took place in 1881, with the composer himself as soloist.
Opening the second part of the concert will be two piano pieces by Debussy that were arranged for full orchestra by two top conductors of the 20th century: one by Leopold Stokowski, and the other by Bernardino Molinari. Although Bartók composed The Miraculous Mandarin between 1918 and 1924, the revolutionary novelty of his one-act pantomime set to text by Lengyel Menyhért continued to cause shock well afterwards: after its 1926 world première in Cologne, for example, further performances were banned by none other than the mayor of the city, Konrad Adenauer.
(This is the new date for the concert originally scheduled for 25 May 2020.)

Presented by: Concerto Budapest