The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been operating since 1891 under such chief music directors as Rafael Kubelík, Fritz Reiner, Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim and Bernard Haitink. (The orchestra's two performances at the then recently inaugurated Müpa Budapest in 2005, conducted by Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim, were unforgettable ones.) Riccardo Muti has helmed the Chicagoans since 2010. While one of the most significant chapters in the versatile conductor's career was connected to Milan and La Scala, he also maintains an equally fruitful relationship with the largest orchestras in Europe and America, from Berlin and Vienna to Philadelphia and New York. One of the most successful creative figures in 20th- and 21st-century American music, Philip Glass has for six decades been composing works of the repetitive/minimalist school that have drawn great interest in every genre, from solo piano works to operas. The work of his being performed now is titled The Triumph of the Octagon. The composer took inspiration from Castel del Monte in the Puglia region of southern Italy, not far from the city of Andria. The architecture of this 13th-century castle built by the German-Roman emperor Frederick II is full of magical symbols reflecting the properties of the number eight. Although Mendelssohn and Richard Strauss represent the German music of two different eras, their works on this programme share a common feature: both the Italian symphony and Aus Italien were created under the spell of their composer's travel experiences in Italy. What is more, they both evoke the magic of Italian landscapes and the temperament and lust for life of the Italian people through their melodies.

The performance will be preceded from 6.30 pm by an introductory presentation in Hungarian by Szilvia Becze entitled Prologue in the Auditorium, where concert ticket holders will be invited to get to know the performing musicians and the works to be performed more closely. Admission to the programme is subject to prior registration on our website.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest