Berlioz had rapturous words of praise for Liszt's piano playing, and Liszt listened captivated to Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique when it was first presented in 1830. Together, the two invented the concept of programme music, with Liszt also starting to compose his first piano concerto at the same time, in 1830. At least the first sketches date from this period: it was only in 1849 that he finally finished the work. The première took place later still, in 1855, in Weimar, and he continued to polish it even after that. Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique still seems modern, thanks to the ‘idée fixe' that takes on many different forms over the course of the piece. The concert overture Roman Carnival is a beautiful example of painting with musical tones.
János Balázs is a Liszt Award- and Kossuth Prize-winning artist and an associate professor at the Liszt Academy. Charles Dutoit is a true international star who served as the music director in Montreal for 25 years and also worked as a chief conductor in Philadelphia, Paris, Tokyo and London. He is one of the greatest masters of performing French music. It is a pleasure and an honour for the MÁV Symphony Orchestra to have him accept their invitation every year since 2019.

Joint concert of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra and the György Cziffra Festival.


Presented by: MÁV Symphony Orchestra