Tchaikovsky, an avid reader and passionate theatre goer, was a Shakespeare enthusiast. He wrote an orchestral fantasia based on The Tempest, composed an overture-fantasia for Hamlet and in 1876-77 planned an opera of Othello from Stasov's libretto, though the latter was unfortunately never brought to fruition. His Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasia is an unparalleled gem of Romantic orchestral music, a tragically beautiful hymn on the exaltation of love in death.
After the Romanticism of Tchaikovsky, we have Prokofiev, who had already embarked on his Neo-Classical path when he debuted his Violin Concerto No.1 in D major in 1923. The evening's soloist will be the Japanese German Arabella Steinbacher. Steinbacher was born in Munich and has trained under such masters as Ivry Gitlis and Dorothy DeLay.
During the concert that saw the world premiere of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, the audience witnessed the conducting debut of Stravinsky, who also features in tonight's programme. Zsolt Hamar will conduct the strikingly moving, sparklingly virtuoso puppet theatre-burlesque Petrushka, one of three ballet masterpieces from Prokofiev's so-called 'Russian period'. The composer originally created the piece in 1910-11 for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, before rewriting it in 1947. In this evening's performance, the audience will enjoy the revised version of the piece.

Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic