Kossuth and Liszt Prize-winning pianist Endre Hegedűs first played two Romantic piano concertos in one evening in the year 2000. These orchestral piano evenings have since become a tradition in Budapest's concert halls. This evening we will first hear Chopin‘s Piano Concerto in E minor, completed in 1830. The composer is known to posterity as "the poet of the piano”, and no work in his oeuvre lacks his beloved instrument. Following a lengthy orchestral introduction, the piano dominat...es the entire first movement. In the Larghetto, the world of Mozart's slow movements embraces that of Chopin's nocturnes, while the inspiration of Polish folk music provides boisterous momentum to the closing movement. Chopin premièred the work himself, to great success. "What is the source of this youthful invention? This audacity? This energy?' asked the composer himself with regard to this work. This sense of wonderment continues to sustain the composition to this day.
A performance of Tchaikovsky‘s evergreen Piano Concerto in B-flat minor follows after the interval. "Banalities have to be weeded out from it and some unplayable parts must be made playable,' was the response of Nikolai Rubinstein in initially refusing to play the work. Eventually, it was premièred by Hans von Bülow in Boston in 1875 - to resounding success. The unusual, large-scale first movement filled with unexpected twists, the Allegro non troppo e molto maestroso, is followed by a lyrical Andantino semplice with a simpler three-part structure, where the middle Scherzo section is bookended by a beautiful Romantic melody. The closing movement - Allegro con fuoco - begins with a boisterous theme in 3/4 inspired by a Ukrainian folk melody, which then switches to a gentle, more melodic tone before expanding into a vast anthem proclaiming the beauty of life. A footnote to the work's story is that Rubinstein later realised his error and went on to perform the solo part in Paris.
Conductor Csaba Somos partners Hegedűs for the first time. The collaboration between Somos and the Danube Symphony Orchestra has already yielded some handsome fruit. This evening promises passionate and captivating interpretations of two Romantic masterpieces.
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Refreshments – Without the Queue
Thanks to our new catering service at the Átrium Snack Bar, you can forget about waiting in line during intermissions for some refreshments and get your order prepped especially for you by the time the intermission actually starts. Find out more about pre-ordering here.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.