The future belongs to the young, so they say, but we might also add that so does the present. The international music scene is kept in motion in no small part by these young titans, who inject it with new colour and new energy; the world of classical music is consequently in a state of constant renewal. Naturally this is only true of the truly outstanding talents, and both the soloist and conductor of this concert - with a combined age of just 50 - fit that category.
Born in England, Alex...ander Ullman gained fame in Budapest as winner of the International Liszt Piano Competition in 2011, but this was only one triumph of many achieved by this young musician, who has now made his home in the United States. The journey of the evening's conductor Balázs Bánfi began in the town of Tatabánya, from where he proceeded through the Academy of Music in Budapest and on to the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, where he graduated in 2012. Bánfi has taken the opportunity to pursue further studies under masters such as Zubin Mehta, Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Bertrand de Billy and David Zinman. He has been conductor of the Szolnok Symphony Orchestra since 2011, but also maintains close ties to several Austrian orchestras.
The Danubia Orchestra Óbuda was founded in 1993 as a youth orchestra of secondary music school pupils by Domonkos Héja, then still a conservatory student and now chief music director of the Budapest Opera House. The student initiative did not run out of steam; indeed, the ensemble has taken enormous strides on the path of growth over the years. Its portfolio already contains three internationally distributed recordings, and it has performed under noted conductors from Péter Eötvös to Neville Marriner.
The Tchaikovsky piano concerto featured this evening is an emblematic work of the Romantic period, while Mahler's Symphony No. 1, which the composer premièred in Budapest at the age of 29, is likewise filled with youthful energy and bittersweet irony. The work brought new colour to the contemporary music scene of the time and continues to captivate audiences today with its overwhelming vitality.
Presented by: Palace of Arts
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