Mendelssohn was born in 1809, and Schumann in 1810. What they had in common was their aim to combine musical thinking rooted in deeply revered Classical music with the ideas of their own age. Both of Mendelssohn's works were created during the early 1830s, a period rife with revolutionary passions. Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt ("Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage") was inspired by a poem by Goethe, and the Fifth Symphony serves as a musical monument to a much earlier era, also of revolutionary significance: the Reformation. Schumann's Cello Concerto is so Romantic that it relates its own reflective inner world, one laden with emotion, in the wonderfully beautiful voice of the solo instrument, which is suitable for a wide range of expression. Péter Csaba, permanent guest conductor of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, is a citizen of the world in the best sense of the word: born in Transylvania, he works as a violinist, conductor and teacher. He pursues his musical activities in France, Finland, Sweden, Spain and, of course, here at home in Hungary, and he has been recognised with high-level state decorations from France and Finland. Camille Thomas, the soloist for the Schumann concerto, was born in Paris in 1988 and began playing the cello at the age of four. She is now an artist welcome anywhere in the world she brings her instrument.

Presented by: MÁV Symphony Orchestra